New Year, New Denim: Say Goodbye To The Skinny Jean

Skinny jeans are dead. There, I've said it. Whether that fact fills you with dread or relief, it's finally time to ditch your drainpipe denim as the most covetable (and comfortable!) jeans now are a looser-fitting, more rigid style. Yes, stretch denim has helped us to successfully pull up pairs of jeans that otherwise looked entirely unforgiving but, on the flip side, super skinny jeans have also given rise to the stuffed-sausage look.

Our devotion to skinny jeans began, or rather returned, in the early '00s – when indie music ruled the charts and our love of spray-on denim was as strong as our fondness for The Strokes and The Libertines – and lasted well over a decade. But once brands started distorting denim and taking the stretch to new heights (jeggings, we're looking at you), it signalled the beginning of the end.

A few years ago our denim arsenal might have stretched to a few pairs of skinny jeans that we wore on rotation (a black pair for everyday and perhaps a couple of others in varying shades of blue). However, many of us have now expanded our jeans wardrobe as denim has swiftly become a directional or statement item rather than just a staple. Brands like Vetements, Faustine Steinmetz, Aries and Marques' Almeida have transformed jeans into a luxury item, creating new silhouettes, cuts and washes to broaden our tastes beyond the trusty skinny jean.

Make some space in your wardrobe for a new, looser fit. Whether it's boyfriend, bootcut, customised or crop, the choice is yours; just leave the restricting, tapered jean in 2016. Your legs are liberated at long last!