“The ‘Jeans and Heels’ Outfit Formula Is Making a Stylish Comeback
Rihanna is backing the pairing that might have defined your first 'out-out' aesthetic
Haute Couture Week is the apex of not just the kind of luxury that's one-off but the kind that values the craftsmanship of the so-called petite mains, quite literally the hands who drape, cut, pin, stitch and embellish these clothes. This is why the street style outside tends to look more red carpet than 9-5.
Rihanna
It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when a particular outfit formula emerged at Couture last week. Alongside the ball gowns, there was a pairing that might have been familiar from the last time you got IDed: jeans and heels.
Greta Lee
En route to Dior, Greta Lee was photographed wearing an outfit hot off the catwalk of Dior Homme: a chartreuse beaded camisole tucked into white jeans. And her shoe of choice? A snake-print court heel. And she wasn't the only one. Jennifer Lawrence wore a pair of jeans that you might not have seen for a while because they were a) the lightest of washes and b) flared. Just visible was the point of either shoe, which could have been a boot or a slingback or a court, we'll never know, but which, quite literally, added a sharpness to the whole ensemble.
Of course, Rihanna is all over this mini trend (already), wearing her boot-cut jeans as part of the perfect high-low look earlier this month: a denim jacket and tiger-striped pumps from Alaïa.
For years, maybe even decades, it wasn't the done thing exactly to wear jeans and heels. Seeing how good it looks gives me pause. Why exactly did we decide it was a bad move and that sneakers/loafers/ballet flats were better? It's true that you need to consider what jeans and what heels, but the easiest way around that problem is to stick quite resolutely to a straight-leg or boot-cut with a pointed heel, which could be a court shoe, an ankle boot or a knife-sharp mule.
It's really quite a turn up for an outfit that underscored your first out-out aesthetic, pre-Instagram. Greta Lee even wore hers with 'a nice top', another hallmark of the early '00s. Keep scrolling to see, and shop, the jeans and heels to pair together now—or, of course, dig yours out of the 'archive' and get to it.
Shop The Best Jeans And Heels Combinations
Weekday's straight-leg jeans will pair effortlessly with a pointed heel, just choose the height carefully depending on how you want your hemline to drape.
Greta Lee's white jeans look crisp, yet cool, with a snake-print heel.
A wide-leg jean will pool nicely over a pointed ankle boot if you get the length just so.
Rihanna's boot-cut jeans mean a gently-flaring cut is fair game, especially if you up their ante with tiger stripes or leopard spots.
Charles & Keith gives its neat black court a little something extra; a tiny gap complete with bow-tied ribbon.
These leopard-print slingbacks will make any outfit that revolves around jeans.
Get the length of your jeans bang on to show off these scrunched leather mules instead of swallowing them up.
A croc-embossed leather is a good alternative to animal print if you want to make a statement but a subtler one.
