Roughly 10 years ago, I had the chance to ask model Miranda Kerr what she thought about mom jeans. I was interviewing her about current denim trends—read: a high-rise denim cut beloved by the mothers of millennials in the ‘80s and ‘90s—happened to be one of the buzziest new silhouettes floating around the mid-2010s zeitgeist. The term was actually so insider baseball at the time that the model looked at me in confusion and said, “I don’t know what that is, but maybe I should find out now that I’m a mom.”
The irony is that, back then, the whole point of the design was that its connotations had totally flipped. Rather than catering to those on the playground scene, it was a youthful, IYKYK choice for a downtown crowd that had tired of skinny jeans. You’d be more likely to find it in a hole-in-the-wall thrift store than jean shopping on Amazon (where, now, a quick search currently yields seven full pages of results). But these days? The high-rise, vintage-esque staple has finally been popular long enough to fully become a permanent part of a style lexicon—not only does it work for everyone, but there’s just so much variety out there to choose from. The selection of 2024 pants caters to all body types (curvy, petite, tall), and generally feels classic enough to work for different age groups. Better yet: Many labels have finally figured out how to solve the dreaded waist-to-butt gap situation in the back of the waistband.
Meanwhile, the very definition of a “mom jean” itself has shifted. Now it generally describes denim with a certain high-waisted, retro look, while the width and crop of the legs often varies. Finding a pair that works truly is a very personal process, and depends on the look you prefer—like, say, a baggy, wide leg Gen Z-adjacent vibe vs a more polished, ankle-baring cut that’ll show off your ballet flats. And as a fashion editor who’s been flirting with the look since its early days, these are the mom jeans I swear by as well as faves from industry colleagues and stylish friends whose opinions we deeply trust.
The best mom jeans, at a glance
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