What are the barrel jeans, the “clown pants” that teenagers love?

It might be the exact opposite, but it’s about to become as controversial as skinny. We present to you barrel jeans – “barrel jeans” in French. His ugly name has fascinated TikTok for several months. We can’t count the videos on the app anymore where the new generation is having fun posing in these jeans from all angles with their amazing cut. Tight at the waist, the barrel jeans flare out at the top of the thighs, arcing down to the ankles where they stretch. The main thing that comes out of this is that it is the hardest cut to wear. Too wide, too trendy, or just “too much”?

Either way, it amuses many netizens who criticize the “arched leg” look of these jeans. “The rodeo clown vibe,” “I just don’t get this trend,” “Me and the jeans I’ve been wearing since 2012, we’re going to keep ahead of this trend,” are some of them, not without irony. video comments.

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Looking at celebrity looks from the past few years, we realize that the barrel jean has been on the rise for quite some time now. Jennifer Lopez, for example, was spotted in this pair of denim jeans on May 13 in Los Angeles. Just like models Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, or actress Blake Lively, who have long succumbed to the curves offered by these pants. The most important moment of the show. Sienna Miller can’t live without it until she turned her attention to this piece at the recent Cannes Film Festival. During a movie photocall Horizon. American saga On May 19, the actress known for her bohemian style dares “barrel» in the dark shade.

The spotlight really comes into 2022 when it starts to gain solid popularity. For its fall-winter 2023 fashion show, the house of Alaïa presents a collection that focuses on the fundamentals of fashion: the structure of the garment. The pieces presented on the podium are sculpted, the shape of the fabric is transformed. The shoulders and curves of the clothes are rounded, smoothed, completely transformed. In the featured wardrobe, we find ultra-desirable high-waisted barrel jeans with defined waists, rounded legs and rolled ankles. In March 2024, Julianne Moore adopted this look from a fashion show during a trip to New York.

How to wear barrel jeans?

The problem is, despite appearances, these jeans don’t fit everyone. This is what a TikTok user has to say. “I was so excited when I saw these pants in the store. Then the device broke my heart.” In her video, the young woman films herself leaving the dressing room in a pair of skinny jeans. Indeed, the result is amazing, the upper part of her body looks very small with the lower part, which becomes bigger with the jeans. I wonder if it is not only reserved for models’ bodies.

“In fact, it is not suitable for all body types, because it changes the proportions of the body,” confirms stylist Alexandra Osina. But he reassures. “There are also on the market barrel jeans less extreme in cut, i.e. straighter than wide. These suit almost any body type.” Note also that such excessive proportions are out of the ordinary. Sometimes barrel jeans fit us perfectly, like the latest TikToker, but you just have to get used to the silhouette they give us.

According to the expert, two options are preferable for wearing well. “Or with a crop top and a cropped jacket if you want to make these jeans the main part of your look. Otherwise, with a very long coat. You just have to avoid blazers that stop at hip level, because it will throw all the proportions to dust.” Therefore, it must be combined either very long or very short, but never between the two. That’s the price you pay for being well-dressed when you wear jeans with a radical cut like this one.