The Best Women’s Skinny Jeans For Men
I have been a fan of jeans for as long as I can remember, there is something about denim which I find timeless. Yet, not every pair of jeans makes the cut, for me they need to meet a range of important criteria. The number one most important factor to me is the fit, how it looks on my frame guides my overall decision when making a purchase. Next up is the wash, after all, even if it fits well it needs look good too in terms of colour! Versatility is also a key point, but less so, as I can invariably pick out items to match a favourite pair of jeans. However, comfort is a very critical ingredient when it comes to determining a new addition to my wardrobe, I will only ever wear stretch fabric now, I can’t even imagine going back to 100% cotton! They were so restrictive and uncomfortable, not to mention you can’t get a good, close, skinny fit with rigid denim as you wouldn’t be able to move, so if you love close fitting, super stretchy skinny jeans, I’m haring my top 5 pairs with you. Of course as you can tell from the title, these are women’s jeans, but I find they have a much closer fit and more stretchy fabrics compared to the men’s options. I definitely recommend women’s skinny jeans if you want a fit like this.
Sizing Tip – I’m usually a 30 in men’s jeans and I take a size 28 in women’s, so the general rule is size down two sizes from your men’s size. It’s always a good option to order a few sizes if you can, just to be sure as everyone has different body shapes. I always size up to a 29 in light blue washes too, as I find a legging fit in light blue is too revealing, I prefer slouch to them, but I like black to be skin tight. Let me know if you have other questions! Just click the title of the jean to purchase.
GRLFRND Candice Skinny Jeans in Love Hangover
For years I had rejected the idea of me wearing black denim, I just believed it was something that would not suit me at all (plus the fact that they attract all manner of dust, debris and hairs!). Then one day I got the opportunity to try on the slightly faded black distressed pair from GRLFRND (courtesy of Lorna’s jeans), and my denim world changed forever and I fell in love. Since that fateful day, these jeans have probably been my most worn pair of jeans since adopting women’s skinny jeans. It got so bad, that nearly every one of my outfits revolved around wearing these jeans. Everything about them is close to perfect – super skinny fit, even around the ankles (which many brands fail to get right), excellent distressing with their amazing distressed knee holes! And a level of comfort which is almost unsurpassed (the Hudson Barbara still win the comfort award – see below). I love them so much, I regularly think about obtaining a couple of extra pairs as a backup! Am I the only one that does that?
J Brand Maria Skinny Jeans in Dove
I have always loved grey denim, yet for whatever reason it seems to be one of the hardest colours for brands to get right, they inevitably look bad. Then my opinion changed in one stroke when I encountered the J Brand Maria In Dove Grey, the wash itself is exemplary! Not too dark or too light and featuring an incredibly realistic hint of wear. Plus, it pairs with almost anything I throw at it out of my wardrobe. The fit itself is almost nigh on perfect, perhaps fitting a little looser than others in this list, but only very slightly! I also have the Maria in black in my collection, which include all the aforementioned plus points just in a super black shade! These have the added bonus of being even more comfortable and stretchy than the dove. If you don’t mind smaller back pockets, these are a great fit as the length is longer too.
FRAME Le Skinny de Jeanne in Westwell
This pair of jeans is a fairly recent acquisition, I have seen the Frame brand quite frequently yet I had never considered them as a viable option. Even so, I was still on the lookout for a light wash pair of jeans with distressing, something which I was still missing from my selection of jeans. Once I saw this new pair from Frame on Lorna, I knew that my hunt had come to an end (she’s somewhat of an enabler, ha ha). The wash on these jeans is nothing less than stunning, I cannot help but admire the lap whiskering every time I put them on! It looks similar to the golden age of Diesel jeans when they released beautiful pairs of jeans every season before it all came to an end. The knee holes are expertly designed too, with small threads of material running from one side to the other. I did actually size up a couple of sizes, as I believe that lighter denim should appear a tad looser as I mentioned, even so, they are super stretchy and still hug my legs for a great fit.
Hudson Barbara Skinny Jeans in Hideaway
This is one of the very first pairs of women’s skinny jeans I purchased, others led the way for me, but this pair was the one that cemented my love with jeans designed for the opposite sex. Not only do they feature a stunning light-medium wash, but they are single-handedly the most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever owned (even more so than the original Diesel Jogg jeans, before they ruined the fabric with the newer releases). Even after wearing them all day, they don’t feel uncomfortable, they are the perfect travelling denim! Yet, despite being so stretchy they have never stretched out and gone baggy, I believe it is the addition of Tencel to the material content which makes them so special. They are like silk on the skin.
Citizens of Humanity Rocket Sculpt Skinny Jeans in Eden
Finally, we have the Sculpt Rocket from Citizens Of Humanity. The fit of these jeans is incredible, giving your legs an amazing silhouette. The fabric on these jeans is quite thick in comparison to other jeans in my top list, even so, the stretchiness hasn’t been compromised in any way, so they are still a very comfortable pair of jeans! The wash itself is very distinct, lovely deep colour with a tiny hint of green mixed in which gives a very unique look which can be sometimes hard to pair. Even so, when you get the correct outfit combination to complement the Citizens it ensures an overall fantastic look! I have a mid to light blue in the Sculpt Rocket as well and wear them frequently. The Sculpt is a great fabric as it’s super stretchy, but doesn’t bag out, so they always have a close fit no matter how much you wear them.
So these are my top 5 women’s skinny jeans for men and I recommend any of them, depending what you’re looking for. Let me know if you have any questions! Adam.
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Is the Rocket available with a 31.5-32″ Inseam somewhere? All I see when i have looked for them are 28″ and 30″ inseams.
Hi Brad! Unfortunately 30″ is the longest they come in, but since they’re so skinny, they don’t go further than the ankle anyway, but it does depend how tall you are to be honest!
I don’t think 30″ would make it to my ankles lol!
Oh no, ha ha! That’s the trouble with being a tall guy and wearing women’s. The only ones I could recommend to you then are the FRAME Forever Karlie, she’s over 6ft herself and designed skinny jeans with a long inseam, so they might work well for tall guys:
https://www.shopbop.com/s/products?query=frame+karlie&searchSuggestion=false
I will look into these. The black looks great. I live in AG jeans with about 11 pairs in the collection. I have a couple pairs of guy jeans but have basically just stopped wearing them. I work in an office so a lot of time khaki pants are on order and I have converted all of those over from the women’s section as well. Who wants fat flappy looking ankles? lol
Hey Brad,
can’t agree more – proper skintight fit all the way!!, i’m fortunate enough to have a short inseam…
I was looking at some 10year old slim skinny jeans the other day which are positively loose… how did I ever think that was a good look… for me it needs to be a close fit down to the ankle…
Tom
Ha ha! Adam is the same was as that, the older jeans he used to wear that he thought were skinny are more like slouchy straight now!
Yes that sounds correct Lorna. J Brand was the first to get my attention when they came out with their 912 and 910 skinny jeans about 10 years ago with 12″ and 10″ hems. These were their 2 predominant early releases and have been discontinued for years. Based on my own experience owning a number of each the 912 is comparable to some of the skinny jeans currently in the men’s market. Should have bought fewer 912s and more 910s in hindsight because the 910 had a more suitable inseam around 29″ vs 34″ and fit tighter from the knees downward. I have lots of the ultra skinny jeans by 7 For All Mankind and really like them. Now I’m buy many verdugo ultra skinny jeans by Paige with the transcend fabric and they are also incredibly comfortable. There are no other jeans as flattering or comfortable as skinny jeans for women.
Yeah I remember the 912 that was around 2006 I think, and the 910 that shortly followed. They really did pave the way for skinny jeans! The inseams were always too long though!
What do you think of women’s Levi’s and Levi’s Denizen. I purchased Denizen Jegging and it’s one of the most comfy jeans I’ve worn with with stretch. Doesn’t seem to lose it’s shape either.
Adam,
Thank you for a timely and excellent post. The fit, comfort, and how you look in them are the deciding factors for me in deciding to purchase a pair of jeans. As I also learned long ago, when it comes to skinny jeans, quite often it is a pair of women’s jeans. Your selections are all classic and top notch.
I totally agree that when it comes to skinny jeans, the stretch is a key component. 100% cotton just can’t do it for skinny jeans. However, I’ve lost count of the number of stretch jeans that I’ve donated to goodwill or tried selling on ebay because either they stretched out and didn’t recover or never stretched out leaving me with a pair that was too tight and uncomfortable to wear. How do you manage such uncertainty? I’ve gotten so spooked by the issue that I rarely venture beyond tried and true brands and select fabrics that took me years to find (Citizens of Humanity, Rag & Bone, and Frame). As such I’m not willing to put in the expense of trying new brands and am always wondering if I am missing something.
As skinny jeans have become mainstream and will be here forever, are there further improvements that you expect we will see in the future?
Hi Tim! Adam will reply later, but I wanted to point out it’s good to look for brand’s that do the no stretch out technology, like the Sculpt from COH, that doesn’t stretch out at all, as you know, and PAIGE Transcend is pretty good too, although it stretches a bit, but not enough to not recover from. It’s also important to not wash the jeans on any high heat or put them in the dryer since that damages the elasticity, so Adam and I rarely wash our jeans (purists there! ha ha) and he mostly gets the advice from me actually when it comes to jeans, in fact I think I’ve got him into every pair he has. Not all the washes, but definitely the cuts, so reviews are a good thing to read online whenever you can!
Hi Lorna,
Most of the jeans I’ve had to discard due to stretch issues were never washed. COH’s sculpt is my staple fabric for skinny jeans. I agree, if a jean has a significant # of reviews you can somewhat gauge its performance. However, that really doesn’t work when new brands come to market and it puts me in a wait and see mode…which can trigger questionable spending on my part. All part of being a jeans addict I guess.
As an aside, what do you see as the future innovations we are likely to see in skinny jeans?
I am slim body and I mostly wear skinny jeans.
belated thanks for this Adam!
i adore the grey j-brand maria… a most perfect fit
Matt
Thanks for this article, I wear women’s jeans too, I really like the way they look. I think bomber jackets go best with them.