We Were (Sort Of) Wrong About One Style Trend That We Now (Sort Of) Love
We stand corrected. But we look fantastic doing it.
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by The Candidly Team
If you follow us extremely closely, you might have noticed that we’re suddenly mentioning something all over the place that we once called “hideous.” Not “unflattering.” Not “too trendy.” “Hideous!”
But whatever our flaws may be, we’re willing to admit when we’re wrong. And the thing we happened to be wrong about this time was …
Barrel jeans.
Some (SOME!) barrel jeans are good. Some are very, very good. And some are f—king amazing. An answer to a curvy gal’s prayers. A shape that makes us feel like we’re in sweats but look like we’re so much taller and slimmer and so ridiculously smart about fashion.
There’s real trickery in good barrel jeans and how that swoopy cut on the leg can creates this flattering, elongating effect. But you have to pick very precise ones. So we did. At 3 different price points. All amazing.
1. THE MUST-HAVE AFFORDABLE OPTIONS
1. Banana Republic Factory Slim High-Rise Barrel Jean
Why we love them: Despite their jogger-like spaciousness, the leg is so, so slimming, the high waist smooths over a belly pooch, and the pockets are big enough to seriously flatter a booty. These jeans honestly have no business costing less than $50.
Price: $45
Gap Cotton Gauze Denim Easy Barrel Pants
Why we love them: Allow us to introduce you to the pants we’ll be wearing all summer long. They’re light and gauzy and blissfully soft, but that arched shape makes our legs look longer and leaner than when we just wear a plain old wide-leg. We’re partial to this denim color that matches everything, but they come in other colors HERE.*
Price: $31 - $79 (depending on the color)
2. THE MID-PRICE ONES You’LL REACH FOR CONSTANTLY
3. Everlane The Way-High® Curve Jean
Why we love them: Do people know how good Everlane jeans are? Their sailor has been a go-to of ours for years, but the silhouette of their Way-High® Curve Jean makes our waistlines look incredible. Such an easy, breezy, organic cotton, summer jean that comes in every wash color you could want. Looks. esepciallly gorj with a fitted top, linen blazer, and ballet flats.
Price: $148
2. The Reese Smocked Pull-On Barrel Pants by Pilcro: Linen Blend Edition
Why we love them: That smocking at the top is heaven on our ever-fluctuating lower bellies. But the slight curve at the bottom just does something magically elongating to the lower halves of our bodies, so they’re excellent for those of us with thicker legs. The color and size selection are also both to die for: tall, plus, petite, they have it all.
Price: $118
3. THE ONES, WE’RE SORRY TO SAY, ARE HIGHLY WORTH THE SPLURGE
Frame The Bubble Crop
Why we love them: All the best (and sort of sorcery-like) things about barrel jeans are captured in this perfect, perfect pair. They seeeeem like they’ll look like a sack. They feeeeel like they’ll look like a sack. But then we look in the mirror and whoosh, our legs and butts and hips and thighs and bellies are so wildly flattered, we want to reach for them daily. Yes, they cost more, but the amount we wear them and how they make us feel is worth it.
And they gave us a code for 15% off. Use THECANDIDLY15.
Price: $285
Citizens of Humanity Marcelle Low Slung Cargo
Why we love them: Those who know us know our obsession with Jen Aniston’s street style. She wears slouchy, cargo(ish) pants rolled to the ankle with flat shoes and perfect-fitting tanks and maybe the world’s lightest scarf, and poof, she’s the chicest woman we’ve seen. The template isn’t too hard to recreate apart from the pants, which always just look weird on us when we try to fold them up at the ankle. This pair, on the other hand, makes all our dreams come true. The shape is just incredible. No surprise they’re the #1 selling pants on Revolve, where they have too many colors we want. But just one in the shade “surplus” will do … for now.
Price: $248
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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