HORSESHOE, banana or barrel – whatever you call them, they’re the jeans of the year.
Loved by Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and up-and-coming actress Tina Kunakey, these wide, curved-leg denims hug the hips, bag around the thighs, become voluminous around the knees then taper toward the ankles and might look like you borrowed a clown’s trews.
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9But barrel-legs are spring 2024’s coolest silhouette.
While the A-list are all over them, the shape doesn’t appear to be something us mere mortals can pull off.
But as a personal stylist, keen follower of fashion and jeans obsessive, I had to see what all the fuss was about.
Can a size-12, middle-aged woman wear them? Or are they best left to celebrities and Gen Z?
Whether I’m out for dinner with my partner Nick, 54, or going round the supermarket, I’ll be in one of my 30 pairs of jeans.
They tend to be of the bootcut variety.
Either that or my trusty pair of Levi 501s which I first wore in the late Nineties — the high waist nips me in while the straight-cut leg enhances my pins.
But like with the skinny-jeans trend of the Noughties, I have so far been happy for the baggy, wide-legged trousers of the late-Eighties to stay firmly in the past.
I loved them the first time round but I just can’t see the appeal today.
I can’t imagine how a pair of what the shops are calling barrel, carrot or balloon jeans can be fashionable for a fiftysomething woman.
But that does make me behind the curve, so to speak — as according to New Look the demand for a looser, Nineties silhouette is up 96 per cent this year.
The barrel-leg shape sounds as if it should tick all the boxes for my size-12 figure.
I’m slightly pear-shaped and am conscious of my bottom and thighs so will often size up in jeans.
At 5ft 6in, I am nowhere near the towering height of supermodel Rosie, so I’m dubious about how an exaggeratedly baggy, ankle-grazing jean will look.
But, after seeing a gorgeous pair from Free People all over my Instagram, styled in a relaxed, boho way — and noticing how the shape creates a thigh gap on other people — I’m all for giving it a whirl.
The first ones I tried from Asos swamped me.
They reminded me of Sam Smith’s latex balloon-legs look from the Brit Awards last year — a vibe that’s cool for the red carpet but not for Sainsbury’s.
And they were so long. Even with heels they were scraping the floor — and I’m of average height.
I have friends who are a few inches shorter than me and they’d be tripping up on them.
I tried several other pairs and with all them, even the Asos ones, I was surprised how flattering they were.
A high-rise really nips you in at the waist and, despite being worried the barrel leg would make my thighs look bigger, it created a lovely, soft, hourglass silhouette.
The barrel shape made my legs appear slimmer than any regular straight-leg jeans or mom jeans would.
But I definitely preferred the more subtle pairs — they were more wearable.
My favourite was the Barrel from River Island.
9The darts — the detail around the knee area which give the trouser the barrel shape — gave a more sculpted, horseshoe fit that wasn’t as extreme as others.
This pair was the right side of that dramatic shape, meaning I get to look cool and current without attracting glances.
But here’s the dealbreaker: Is this trend sophisticated enough for a grown woman?
It works on twentysome-things who don’t mind show-ing off their midriff in a crop-top or slouching around in an oversized sweat-shirt, but how should us midlife women style them?
As a stylist I know that for everyday wear it’s important to balance them out a bit by tucking in your top so your outfit doesn’t appear too bulky on your bottom half.
A fitted long-sleeve tee like the one I teamed it with was perfect.
When it comes to footwear, best go minimal with classic trainers — though if you’ve got an invite to somewhere fancy, a pair of pointy-toe, barely-there stilettos will give you that sophisticated edge.
And, contrary to the myth that wide-leg oversized jeans are man repellers, my partner really liked me in this look.
But he had been concerned I’d look clown-like, so part of that may have been relief.
Out of all of the pairs I tried, he preferred the Marks & Spencer style which was a paler wash colour.
So, will I add barrel-leg jeans to my already over-spilling wardrobe?
Definitely.
It is a great way to update your look, particularly as there are so many variations to suit most body shapes.
I recommend trying on a few pairs the next time you go shopping.
What I love about this trend is that it pushes you to have fun with clothes, while still being comfortable and practical.
And you can go as far as you like with it. Just perhaps not as far as Sam Smith.
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