Been There, Done That, Back Again

Le Chateau top (c/o)
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Le Chateau sandals (c/o)
APC bag
Rayban sunglasses
The Peachbox bracelet (c/o)
Olive + Piper ring (c/o)
CC Lifestyles earrings (c/o)

There was a time when I wanted a pair of flared jeans so badly that it felt like a life or death scenario – most people just need food and water to survive, but as a thirteen-year-old girl in 1998, I was convinced I couldn’t live without a pair of flares. A lot of situations seemed pretty dire back then; I spent my life in a state of near-perpetual embarrassment, tempered by moments of utter elation if my crush said hello to me in the hall at school or the Goo Goo Dolls released a new single. I did get the flared jeans I had coveted, eventually, but they were never quite what I had in mind – when you’re just over five feet tall, the struggle with hems dragging on the ground is very real, but to hem a pair of flared jeans by six inches while keeping their shape is a near impossibility. Despite the fact that I never truly found the perfect flared shape, I wore flares for years, with everything from Converse sneakers to my favourite platform clogs. When I read about the come back of skinny jeans in Vogue, I didn’t believe it could really happen, until I stumbled upon a pair on the sale rack at the Gap and took them into the fitting room on a whim. That whim changed my sartorial life – I fell hard for skinnies that day and within a few months, I abandonned my once beloved flares forever. When I say forever, of course, I mean the better part of ten years – in fashion as in life, you should really never say never. I’ve seen flared jeans pop up here and there for the past year, in street style photos on Pinterest and the occasional #ootd post on instagram. But it didn’t really occur to me to start looking for a pair – been there, done that, I figured. What changed between that thought and the change room at the Mavi store in Yaletown, I’m not exactly sure. What I do know is that I found the perfect pair of flared jeans, the ones that my thirteen-year-old self was sure she couldn’t live without, in that store – and because they were actually the right length for me to wear with heels, there was no way I could leave without them. This doesn’t mean I’m making a permanent switch back to flares – I’ve worn this pair only a handful of times so far, I admit – but it’s refreshing to have options in my denim drawer. I feel a little bit like I’m stepping into the 70s every time I put my flares on, and even though I’ve never really been a 70s-style enthusiast, it is kind of cool, particularly in New York, a place that has always felt a bit like what I imagine 1977 must have been like. So been there, done that, and I’m back again; I can’t wait to restyle my flares for the fall. When it comes to denim, where do you stand – skinnies, flares, or a bit of both?

Je suis désolée pour la manque de traduction aujourd’hui, mes belles – j’ai passée une semaine très chargée et je n’y peux plus. Je vous reviens in français dès lundi. Bon week-end !