Types of Jeans

Get familiar with the different types of jeans to help you choose what works best for your style and body type or size. Jeans are among the most versatile pants that both men and women can wear. You can pair them with a plain or fashionable t-shirt, hoodie, blouse, or any top, and then wear sneakers, heels, boots, sandals, or any footwear.

Jeans are made of different types of denim, as well as available in various waist cuts, such as low, mid, and high-rise. Today, we’ll focus on the kinds of jeans based on style, leg cut, and leg length, as well as how they fit.

Types of Jeans Based on Leg Length

Jeans usually end below the ankles or sometimes longer, depending on the length of your legs, but they’re also available in shorter lengths, including:

Cropped
Capri
Cuffed, Rolled, or Folded Hem

Cropped

The length of these jeans usually ends just below your mid-calves or ankles; hence, they’re sometimes called ankle jeans.

Capri

These jeans are a little shorter than cropped jeans, as they end higher than your mid-calves.

Cuffed, Rolled, or Folded

In contrast to cropped and Capri jeans, the shorter length of this kind of jeans isn’t because they cut shorter but because they have cuffed, folded, or rolled hems. That way, the bottom of the jeans has exposed denim undersides.

These three jean types are perfect for long-legged individuals. Shorter-legged women can also wear them by pairing these jeans with high-heeled shoes with a similar color tone as your skin to add more leg length. You may also want to choose high-waisted versions of these jeans.

Types of Jeans Based on Leg Cut or Fit

In this category, jeans for women are divided into 16 types. Some of these only have slight differences in the cut and you may find that the terms are used interchangeably by some jeans manufacturers.

The most common types of jeans you’ll find are the following:

Skinny
Cigarette
Boyfriend
Girlfriend
Flared
Bootcut
Straight Cut
Regular Cut
Relaxed
Tapered
Wide leg
Trouser
Jeggings
Jogger
Paper Bag
Sailor

Regular Cut

Regular cut jeans are straight down from your hips to your thighs. These jeans follow your body more closely than straight cut and are smaller at the ankles.

Relaxed

Relaxed cut jeans are a similar cut to regular but much looser all over. They are not totally baggy however. As they are looser in the bottom and thigh area, relaxed cut jeans are considered extremely comfortable. This style is considered more casual than other types of jeans.

Loose Fit Jeans

Loose fit jeans are loose in the bottom, thighs, hips and calves. These jeans are comfortable and do not restrict movement. They will fit over boots and shoes since they are loose at the ankle.

Boyfriend

Women with curvy, pear-shaped, or apple-shaped bodies can opt for boyfriend jeans. However, they’re not suitable for short or petite women. Boyfriend jeans fit perfectly near your hips and waist and then start to broaden at the end. Being stylish and loose, these jeans are comfortable for lounging, traveling, and any casual activities. They’re available in both regular and crop types.

Girlfriend

If there’s such a thing as boyfriend jeans, there’s also girlfriend jeans, a somewhat slimmer version of the standard boyfriend jean style. These have a straight cut in the thigh and hip areas but aren’t as baggy as the boyfriend jeans. Girlfriend jeans are the style of choice for ladies with full bottoms and those with curvy figures and plus-size bodies. Petite women should completely avoid this jean type.

Skinny and Pencil

Stretchable, these jeans fit snugly or tightly, hug your skin, and contour or take the shape of your thighs, legs, and butt. Skinny jeans have a sub-type known as a skinny crop. While the regular type ends in the ankle, the cropped ones end before the shins. Sometimes, they’re folded at the end for aesthetics.

Pencil jeans are perfect for individuals with hourglass and athletic or muscular bodies and those with slim and toned legs. Petite ladies also fit skinny jeans perfectly, making them look taller than usual. You should avoid these jeans if you have a pear-shaped or round body.

Cigarette

The cigarette types of jeans are also skinny but have a slightly wider leg opening, allowing its hems to cover your shoes. It will hug your thighs and hip and run straight from the knees to the hems.

This skinny type of jeans is great for women with toned and fit legs. When you wear high-heel shoes with these jeans, they can elongate your legs.

Bootcut

Formerly known as mommy jeans and perfect for ankle boots, bootcut jeans are tight on the thighs and butt but not as tight as flared jeans. The tight-fit ends on the knees. They open until the calf muscles and then slightly flare at the ankle area, but not as wide as the flared jeans’ bottoms, to accommodate your boots.

Since bootcut jeans are now trendy for all ages, newer styles have more tapered designs than the original ones. For cropped versions, these jeans flare out right above the shins area. Bootcut jeans are great for all body types, but most especially curvy ladies.

Flared

Most famous in the ‘70s and starting to gain popularity again, flared jeans are tight on the thigh and butt areas and are wide at the bottom. They’re perfect for tall, curvy women, as well as those with round and pear-shaped bodies. On the contrary, short, curvy women should avoid wearing these jeans.

Wide Leg

Aptly named, these jeans are wide both at the thigh and bottom areas. They start to flare out around the mid-thigh area. Their difference from flared jeans is that they have a triangular shape rather than the flared jeans’ hourglass shape. That’s because of the more gradual flaring of the wide-leg jeans. Wide-leg jeans are best for ladies with short legs.

Jeggings

Jeggings are technically a pair of leggings or trousers made to look like jeans in their coloring and styling. They are super stretchy and considered one of the most popular and comfortable types of jeans you can wear. Because of their extreme stretch, they look tight and fitted to the body.

Straight Cut

Classic and conservative, these jeans’ width is consistent and has a style between boyfriend or flared and skinny jeans. They’re tight on the thigh areas and slightly loose on the ankles and calves. These jeans hug and snug your lower limbs perfectly and make your legs look a little longer than usual. As such, they’re suitable for most body types.

Tapered

Form the name itself, tapered-fit jeans come with a relaxed fit from the waist to the hips and narrow down until the ankle area. They’re usually mid-rise or low-waisted. These types of jeans look good on women with proportional hips but not great for ladies with an inverted triangle body shape.

Trouser

Available in two hem sizes, narrow and medium-width, trousers can also fall in the wide-leg category but have dressier styles. These jeans also commonly lack the usual flat-fell seam and a five-pocket design. Instead, they have slash pockets and finer details than standard wide-leg jeans.

Trouser jeans can flatter most body types since they can help lengthen your body figure, but they’re incredibly best for petite ladies. Narrow-hemmed trouser jeans are ideal for slim, petite women, while mid-width-hemmed ones are suitable for plus-sized petite females.

Jogger

As one of the most comfortable types of jeans, jogger pants don’t snug or fit onto your thighs or legs. They also have garters at the bottom so that you can adjust their length, as well as for them not to look too baggy. They’re like lounge pants but made of denim or jeans, either plain or mixed.

Paper Bag

You can quickly identify paper bag jeans because of the style of their waists. Commonly, there’s a cloth belt or strip attached to them with the same width as the jeans’ waistband. With the volume they add to the mid-area of your body, these types of jeans aren't perfect for apple-shaped bodies and those with well-defined or thick waistlines.

Sailor

Inspired by sailor uniforms, these jeans' nautical-like design is all thanks to the buttons used as ornaments. You commonly find the buttons on each side, covering the entire length of the pocket opening, but you can also find pocketless versions. The number of buttons used also varies.

Types of Jeans Based on Style

To bring out the fashionista in you, jeans come in several styles; no longer just plain ones. Some of the most popular ones are:

Ripped
Distressed
Crocheted or Laced
Patched
Side-Slit

Ripped

As the name implies, these types of jeans have rips in several areas, usually in the legs and thighs. Since their popularity, some people even intentionally rip their old jeans with sandpaper, cutter, or blades, or cut some areas using scissors.

Distressed

In contrast to rip-style jeans, distressed pants aren’t torn but look a little worn out. Still, some distressed jeans come with small rips.

Crocheted or Laced

For a more feminine and stylish look, some manufacturers create jeans with crocheted or laced areas. They’re like ripped jeans, but the ripped areas are covered with lace fabric or crochet designs. You can even create your own if you have the sewing and crocheting skills.

Patched

Also known as patch-work jeans, these fashionable pants have patches on some or most of their areas. Similar to the crocheted or laced types of jeans, you can buy them commercially or make one of your own, covering holes and rips with a patch of your choice. You can also iron patches on your jeans to style them easily and more temporarily.

Side-Slit

Giving your legs more room to move and allowing more air to come in, these jeans have slits on both sides. They became popular around 2018, and they’re both fashionable and casual-looking. You can also find side-slit jeans with zippers or buttons so that you can wear them as “regular-style” jeans.

Types of Jeans - In Conclusion

As versatile as they may be, not all types of jeans will look good on you. Different leg lengths, styles, and cut or fit will look better in a specific body type, shape, or size than another. Fret not because there are ways to work around each of these types of jeans. You just have to learn the right tops and shoes to wear. Just keep in mind that each fit or cut of jeans will be available in different leg lengths and styles, and vice versa.

Types of Jeans - Leg Length, Cut, and Style