I'm Finally Ready to Embrace Skinny Jeans—Here Are 15 Pairs I Love as a Skeptic

By Swedan MargenApril 3, 2026

Even when skinny jeans were popular, I was never the biggest fan. Wearing pants doesn't come naturally to me, and skinny jeans represented everything I disliked about them. They are restricting and tight, offering no movement. I also found them tough to style for that exact reason.

With everyone claiming 2026 is the new 2016 (this has yet to be seen IMO, but I digress), there's no hiding the fact that skinny jeans are finally making a comeback. I might as well embrace them—not because I feel the need to follow a trend but because I do genuinely feel inspired by the chic women I've seen wearing them around. There's no denying they have a rock 'n' roll sensibility that makes them intimidating but endlessly cool.

Street style imagery of a woman wearing skinny jeans.

I decided to scour the internet for pairs of skinny jeans that don't make me cringe. I was surprised by how much there was out there.

I think the key to loving skinny jeans is just trying a pair that doesn't feel that out of your comfort zone denim-wise. For me, that just meant looking into pairs that felt not so tight and had a wash that gave a vintage feeling. Skinny jeans that look a little worn in also seem to be the norm now, and plenty of them come in a warmer wash than was popular in 2016. That small detail makes them feel a bit more current and a little less twee.