There was a time a few years ago when I questioned whether as an aging boomer, I was getting too old for jeans. That short-lived brain-lapse soon evaporated when I realized that baby boomers were the heart and soul, the very essence of jeans culture and we deserve to be buried (or cremated depending on your preference) in our treasured, weathered, and finally soft, vintage jeans. Remember sitting in a bathtub of hot, salted water in the sixties, wearing your stiff-as-a-board original Levi 501s trying to get them to shink to your body and soften up a bit? We’re never too old. We invented jeans chic, or should I say jeans couture?

Hence, my new dilemma. Wide-leg jeans are cropping (get the double-meaning?) up everywhere. They look cool on those tall, thin, hipless and willow-waisted models in the ads but are they appropriate for normal, short, waistless old boomer gals who enjoy fashion and still want to look au courant?

I’m usually one of the last holdouts to adopt a new trend. By the time I decide to wear bootleg or skinnies, they’re on the way out. That’s because I’m not by nature a follower of trends, but also because I’m a bit cheap and hate to waste money on a passing fad. Fortunately, I never did jump on the low-cut 5-inch-rise bandwagon that was popular among the flat-stomached set several decades ago. I’m always at the tail-end of the fashion evolution and once in awhile it’s to my advantage.

For those who follow fashion and style advice, you know that styling your bottom half with voluminous or flowing fabrics means the top half should be balanced with closer contours—big on the bottom, small on the top, and visa versa. Therefore, this 5’2″ dumpling could risk looking like a bottom-heavy clown if I decided to take a chance on wide-leg jeans. All I’d need would be the giant floppy shoes.

I can no longer wear tops tucked in (I am short-waisted and thanks to menopause I no longer have a waistline ) so pairing wide-leg jeans with a close-fitting top could be risky. For these reasons, slim jeans and long loose tops are much more flattering for my body shape. My legs are still pretty good (thank you Grandma for your genes), but my lack of a waistline demands I respect what Mother Nature gave me and stick to wearing tops that “skim” over the nasty bits.

Most of us have an entire wardrobe of too many jeans’ styles, colours . . . and sizes in our closets. We hold out hope that one day we might again fit into those dark-wash slim fits that were so bang-on and sexy ten (or more?) years ago. Why I’m fretting about adding another pair to what is already too many pairs is a mystery only understood by other women.

I must admit I haven’t yet tried on wide-leg jeans yet. To resolve this dilemma, I suppose I should get myself to a store that carries a generous selection of NYDJ (Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, my favourite brand) and give it a try. At the very least, being faced with the shock and horror of looking at myself in the mirror in something completely wrong and inappropriate for my body shape should put this issue to bed once and for all. Or . . . I might find a soft, somewhat flattering pair that are not totally disgusting on me. They do look comfy.

Have you invested in wide-leg jeans yet? Do you have a happy place in jeans styles or brands?