The best jeans for your style essences
Jeans are one of the most universal, iconic fashion items. But do they actually flatter your style type?
Jeans—meaning pants made from denim—were originally designed as durable workwear for people with physical jobs, like miners and farmers. Fittingly, jeans are inherently casual. So they’re a wardrobe staple for the two most casual essences, Natural and Gamine.
What if your style type doesn’t have Natural or Gamine? Here’s the best jeans for all the style essences:
Natural jeans
The Natural essence is characterized by wide, long, and straight shapes.
So wide-leg or relaxed-fit, full-length blue jeans tend to be Natural:
Elements like distressing, fading, and a very light wash also enhance the laidback Natural feel:
Gamine jeans
The Gamine essence is defined by short, narrow, and angular shapes.
So cropped jeans and skinny jeans tend to have Gamine:
Fully Gamine skinny jeans. Very dark or brightly colored skinny jeans are often fully Gamine, because they feel bold.
Skinny blue jeans can be Gamine, but if they’re in a very light wash, they’ll likely be Gamine Natural, because they feel laidback.
Natural Gamine jeans
If you combine elements of Natural and Gamine jeans, you get Natural Gamine jeans:
The wide leg makes these Natural. The cropped length adds Gamine. If these jeans were full-length, they could be completely Natural.
Skinny jeans can be Gamine Natural in a very light, Natural wash:
Cropped (Gamine), distressed (Natural), and relaxed-fit (Natural) jeans:
Other types of denim that flatter Natural and Gamine
Naturals and Gamines are gorgeous in a variety of denim styles beyond jeans.
Denim jackets often flatter Natural, while cropped versions can have Gamine.
And Gamines are great in denim mini-skirts and fitted denim shorts, whereas longer and roomier versions will likely have Natural.
Jeans for the other essences?
It’s theoretically possible for jeans to be fully Dramatic, Romantic, Ethereal, Ingenue, or Classic—but most typical denim jeans won’t be.
Here’s why—plus elements of denim that can work for non-Naturals and non-Gamines.
Dramatic jeans?
Dramatic’s vibe is avant-garde, formal, and very sleek—not exactly the defining qualities of denim.
The below jeans have some Dramatic because of their long, floor-length silhouette:
But these jeans also have Gamine, because they’re very fitted at the upper leg, and Natural, because of the loose boot-cut combined with denim’s inherent casualness. And if these jeans were a more typical length, they’d no longer have Dramatic.
One way to make denim more Dramatic is to choose black jeans or dark-wash jeans:
These have Dramatic because the dark wash and straight-leg create a severe feel. But these jeans are also simple and polished enough to have Classic, and the denim fabric still has a casual feel that adds Natural.
It’s definitely possible that you could find a pair of jeans that are long, straight, dark, and sleek enough to read as fully Dramatic. But it’s hard to get past the reality that denim exudes casualness.
Romantic jeans?
The Romantic essence is defined by luxurious, elaborate glamour—so like Dramatic, it’s hard for jeans to be fully Romantic.
One example of highly Romantic denim is these side slit jeans:
A high slit tends to be an alluring Romantic feature in skirts and dresses, and the same is true of denim. The above jeans are highly Romantic.
But because of the casual fabric, combined with the overall long silhouette, they still have some Natural. Their unusual shape combined with their length and angular hems also add Dramatic.
In a darker wash or black denim, these jeans could read as even more Romantic. But they’d still likely have some Dramatic or Natural.
Other elements that can add Romantic to jeans include any details that read as glamorous, like rhinestone embellishment. But blingy Romantic jeans will typically also still have Natural, Gamine, or both.
Ethereal jeans?
Flared jeans or bell-bottom jeans often have a lot of Ethereal, because they create a long, curving silhouette. This is especially true if they’re very light-wash.
But Ethereal is defined by an otherworldly, light-as-air feeling—the opposite of denim’s sturdy, down-to-earth vibe.
So while flares and bell-bottom jeans do tend to have Ethereal, they also usually have Natural and/or Gamine.
Ingenue jeans?
Ingenue clothes tend to appear girly, with short, circular shapes.
So if you can find a denim circle skirt, it could be fully Ingenue:
The above dress also has Gamine because of the structured, short-sleeve top.
For highly Ingenue denim pants, you can choose white cropped jeans with a slim or slightly relaxed fit. But these will still likely have Natural and/or Gamine.
Jean capris can take on some Ingenue if they have small floral embroidery—but, guess which two other essences they’ll probably also have? (Hint: Natural and/or Gamine.)
Classic jeans?
I wouldn’t say it’s typical for jeans to be fully Classic, but it is possible! Classic jeans will appear overall polished and minimalist:
The above jeans appear fully Classic. They’re polished and somewhat sleek, with a dark wash and a fairly straight, narrow silhouette in a typical length.
Classic jeans also tend to have a mid-rise or moderately high-rise—low-rise jeans, or very high-rise jeans, can look too unusual to be fully Classic.
Does rise matter for the style essences?
When choosing jeans that flatter your style essences, you typically don’t have to worry about whether they’re high-rise, mid-rise, or low-rise.
Classic jeans are the exception, as noted above.
The other main exception: if the rise is extremely high or extremely low, it might bring in Dramatic because of the unusualness. But most typical pairs of jeans don’t have an extreme rise.
For example, rise doesn’t usually determine whether jeans overall read as laidback (Natural) or bold (Gamine), as wide (Natural) or skinny (Gamine), or as full-length (Natural) or cropped (Gamine).
Low-rise jeans can still have an overall long, full-length Natural silhouette, and high-rise jeans can have an overall short, cropped Gamine silhouette.
So high-rise, mid-rise, and low-rise jeans can all work for Natural, Gamine, and your other essences (again, Classic is the exception), depending on what the rest of the jeans look like.
What jeans to wear if you don’t have Natural or Gamine?
If you don’t have Natural or Gamine but do have Classic, you can try to find denim that appears as polished, minimalist, and typical in silhouette as possible—not especially long or short, tight or loose, flared or skinny.
If you don’t have any Natural, Gamine, or Classic, it’s possible to find jeans that completely harmonize with your essences—but it’s likely going to be tough.
But you can still wear jeans that partly flatter your essences.
So if you’re Ethereal Dramatic, you can wear dark, straight-leg, nearly floor-length jeans, and they’ll complement your Dramatic (even if they also have some Natural). Or you can wear flared jeans, and they’ll complement your Ethereal (even if they have some Natural or Gamine).
Irony and beauty of denim
Jeans once represented individuality—in the mid-1900s, seeing jeans as fashion was uncommon. So wearing them symbolized rebellion and a rejection of the constraints of more high-maintenance style.
The irony: in the modern age, wearing jeans typically no longer works as a symbol of rebellion (unless you wear them to like a wedding). Instead, jeans have become a default fashion choice—more symbolic of conformity than individuality.
But obviously it’s not bad to wear denim. Jeans endured because they’re durable, versatile, and extremely cool-looking. With their ability to look even cooler with fading and big rips, they embody the not-trying-too-hard attitude that so easily reads as fashionable.
Should you wear jeans?
So if you don’t have Natural, Gamine, or Classic, you should of course feel free to wear denim—or you can prioritize visual harmony and be a modern fashion rebel who doesn’t wear jeans.
Conclusion
Most typical styles of jeans are highly Natural or Gamine or both
Some jeans have elements of Dramatic, Romantic, Ethereal, or Ingenue, but jeans don’t typically have only these essences, because denim tends to feel highly casual
Jeans can be fully Classic if they appear especially polished and minimalist
Summary of the best jeans for your essences:
Natural—full length blue jeans or light-wash jeans in a relaxed-fit or wide-leg style, especially with fading or distressing
Gamine—cropped blue jeans, dark-wash jeans, or colored jeans in a fitted, skinny-jean style
Classic—polished-looking jeans without unconventional elements; Classic jeans will be typical in length and have elements like tailored but not skin-tight silhouettes, straight legs, and a sleek look
Dramatic—narrow, straight-leg, floor-length, very dark-wash or black jeans (because denim is inherently casual, jeans with highly Dramatic elements will still often be Dramatic Natural)
Ingenue—white denim slim-fit or slightly relaxed-fit capris, especially with floral embroidery (jeans with these elements will often be Ingenue Natural or Ingenue Gamine—a denim circle skirt can read as fully Ingenue)
Romantic—very dark-wash slit jeans or jeans with rhinestone embellishment (jeans with these elements will often be Romantic Natural or Romantic Gamine)
Ethereal—flared or bell-bottom jeans, especially in a light wash (jeans with these elements will often be Ethereal Natural or Ethereal Gamine)
