Horseshoe, Gaucho & Balloon Jeans Trend

The Horseshoe, Gaucho & Balloon Jeans Trend

As I’m scrolling through endless amounts of jeans lately and looking around in the department stores, I’m noticing that skinny jeans are pretty much a thing of the past for trends, and baggy, wide leg jeans are the it new shape.

Take American Eagle for example, the jeans you’re greeted with at the beginning of the store are flares, wide legs, and baggy cuts, and you have to purposely walk all the way to the back of the store to find skinny jeans. It’s the same in Madewell, there are next to no skinny options and it’s all wider leg, straight leg and vintage fits in store. I found the exact same to be true in the department stores – there’s barely any skinny jeans as an option anymore.

I’m not saying that skinny jeans are going anywhere, as they’re not, they have very much entered the staple and classic area of denim, so there will always be skinny jean options, it just means they’re not the forefront of trends anymore and other denim styles are. I’m going to be doing another blog post on the other trending jeans cuts that I’ve spotted, but this one is all about the horseshoe, gaucho, and balloon jeans trend. What are these cuts? Let me tell you below.

Just click on the images to purchase the jeans.

The Horseshoe Jeans

The horseshoe jeans trend is really quite unique, and the name couldn’t be more fitting. They literally are in the shape of a horseshoe. They feature a high rise, really wide legs, and seams at the knee which bring the jeans into a curve shape, with more seams down the front of the calf, so they sort of balloon out into an upside down U. You can see this shape clearly on the models above and they remind me very much of artists jeans from the 90’s.

The horseshoe shape isn’t just a brand new cut that we have never before seen, it’s more of an updated look on a previous cut. I personally don’t like this trend very much as I think horseshoe jeans are too specific in their style and wouldn’t suit very many people, however if you have a personal style that’s more desert, Coachella vibes, like the girl above, you can pull it off and look really cool. It might be a trend worth trying though, just to see if it works for you.

The Balloon Jeans

Balloon jeans are also trending dramatically at the moment. We’re seeing them on influencers during Fashion Week, inside the stores, and everywhere in between. The balloon shape is very much what the name says – it’s a wide leg, baggy jean that has rounded legs. These can sometimes be called barrel jeans, and they specifically come in a wider leg barrel too (thanks to Levi’s), but the goal for balloon jeans is to create a really wide, rounded appearance. I think this trend is easier to pull off than the horseshoe, as it’s a little more versatile and ranges in slim to wide cuts, so it will suit a lot more body shapes. I will say that the balloon jeans trend is one that’s creeping up everywhere, so definitely try it out! Madewell make some slim and affordable options.

The Gaucho Jeans

Now the Gaucho jeans trend used to be popular in the 1970’s, and the main difference with these is that they are cropped. They’re still a high rise, wide leg fit, fitting loosely, but with a more cropped leg. You might think this sounds like a culotte, and you’d be right, they are almost identical, so if you’re a fan of those, you might definitely love gaucho jeans! As I said, they are designed to be worn cropped, however, if you want to wear them longer, like the girl above, you can do so. Citizens of Humanity have some really cool versions of the gaucho out at the moment, so definitely check them out.

I think it’s safe to say that gone are the skinny days for now. Everyone is in favour of the looser fitting denim and I think it does make a nice switch up, however I will always be a skinny jeans girl at heart. What’s your opinion on the horseshoe, gaucho and balloon jeans trend?

Just click on the images to purchase the jeans.