When the trend tickles, milk it? Reviews of lower priced wide legs

I mentioned that I wanted to try some lower priced wide leg jeans for comparison with my pricier versions. Good news for budget fashionistas who want to try this look -- it is available at the box stores in well fitting versions! 

I ordered this Old Navy version thinking I would cut it off for crops, maybe. I did not notice it has slight distressing in the photos. But amazingly, I like it! A lighter weight jean than the one I got from Everlane, a bit drapier. It has some poly in the fabrication. Very comfortable. TTS. I got it on substantial discount so it was, as Jenni so memorably put it of a skirt that wasn't, "cheap as chips." 

I also ordered this ankle length wide leg crop from GAP in petite, so it would be the right length. I really like it! I think this one also comes in other colourways. 99% cotton, 1% elastane. 

I also ordered the lilac linen BF shirt from GAP to try. Not the best linen, but acceptable. It is very long, as you can see. I think I will keep and wear open over something else or else tied at the waist, like this. 

If you are eager to try the wide A line style, but you're on a budget, I would say the options out there are good and worth investigating. 

Happy to answer any questions about these or the others. 

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39 Comments

  • Runcarla replied 1 year ago

    Very nice!

  • Tanya replied 1 year ago

    Both jeans look great on you, Suz, and I especially like the first pair.   It is super flattering.

    Thank you for the review on the linen shirt!   I have been literally looking at it this morning, as I decided I'd like a button down shirt in lilac, and am trying to decide if cotton poplin or linen would make more sense.  I am currently leaning towards the latter.

  • Irina replied 1 year ago

    I bought a linen shirt from the Gap in 2016 and wore it every summer since. It’s threadbare now but still in my closet. Hope yours will do well, such a pretty color. 

  • Dee replied 1 year ago

    Great looking faded wide legs, I too, have been having some good luck lately with jeans at ON.
    And the striped top works beautifully again with these  jeans and so does the lilac linen shirt knotted at the waist. Yep, you know I’ll be trying that too lol.

  • Angie replied 1 year ago

    KILLER jeans x2

    Legs look sooooo long in #1, Suz! Full length pants visually extend the leg line more effectively than I remember - we've been in crops for a decade so my memory needed jogging ;)

     I love the wide crops too! Just as flattering - simply different. 

    Pretty purple shirt! That I like best knotted. 

  • LJP replied 1 year ago

    These look great on you, Suz, as do most things ;)  I was actually in a Gap store an hour ago doing a return, and fingered the High Rise Stride but my size was gone.  Probably for the best anyways, as the saying goes: the definition of insanity is repeating the same behaviour and expecting different results . Or something like that.  I also saw those linen shirts , and remembered the orange one I bought a few years ago (also from the Gap and also long like this). The length tripped me up, figuratively speaking, and while I even tried wearing it over a swimsuit, it never hung nicely after I washed it, so I eventually gave it away.  Linen is tricky, isn't it?  

  • Indigoprint replied 1 year ago

    Love those full length high rise. In your experience how high is the rise for you?

  • pil replied 1 year ago

    Thanks for posting this, Suz, I’ve been toying with trying this trend.

  • Suz replied 1 year ago

    Thanks, all. I'm having fun with these. It kind of makes up for at least four years of terrible denim shopping for me. I enjoy incorporating trendier denim into my outfits but honestly,  since fall of 2019, I could not even find many satisfactory classic styles (which I also enjoy). I reverted to a favoured BF style for several years, and finally found some cropped "dad" jeans from ON that took me through last fall. But I ordered and sent back SO MANY PAIRS over the pandemic years -- some I'd seen on other forum members that looked fantastic just looked dumb on me. For some reason, I do not do well with many straight leg styles. I loved the Levis that many of you have but the fit was terrible on me. (Interestingly, I tried some Levis on in a different style my recent shopping trip as well and while they were okay, they were not great.

    oh! That i don't have to hem is another rare thrill.  Some of these come in lengths and some are meant to be cropped or the new shorter full length and some are petite.

    Indigoprint, I'm 5'4" with a long rise for my height but a short waist. The rises on these vary some. The manufacturers do give measurements but they are not always super accurate, or rather, they may be accurate. for a particular size (not always one's own size). 

    Anyway -- the Everlane's and the ON have a 12" front rise and come to my navel. 

    The Paige and the GAPs have an 11.5" front rise. The Paige come just as high on the Everlane's (so it's not only a question of rise length, I guess, but other factors that influence fit). The GAPs are a smidge lower. They are petites. Normally I can't wear petite pants because the rise is too short, but on these very high rise pants it can apparently work -- barely. The problem for me is always in the back -- I can get a wedgie with a too short rise. But on these -- the wide legs makes the difference. 

    Lisa, you are so right about linen.  I,ve had some shirts that do what you describe.  I'm hoping my experience is more like Irina's but you never know.  

    Angie, you are so right, It's amazing how full length pants extend the leg line! I still love crops, too.  Best of both worlds.  

    Dee, i'll be flattered when you wear the shirt combo!

  • Jules replied 1 year ago

    They look great! I’m personally very happy with ON and Gap denim in general. Quality is good, lots of styles both trendy and modern classics, and my size is readily available *and* shown on models.

  • rachylou replied 1 year ago

    These are fantastic! :)

  • Jaime replied 1 year ago

    Wow! The long wide leg jeans are your jeans style Suz! Who knew? I agree with Angie about the leg lengthening but more than that long wide legs just seem jive with your style perfectly. Like the crops and lavender shirt as well! Your style is on fire!

  • Suz replied 1 year ago

    Thanks, Jaime. It's official -- Mr. Suz, who chuckled when he first saw the wide legs  (like half the people I've run into) today announced that he LOVES them.  ;)   I definitely benefit from the leg lengthening from a figure flattery perspective, but I agree, it's more a good style fit than anything else. 

    I did wear these back when I was a teen so maybe they just feel natural. Anyway. I will enjoy the trend while it lasts. 

    Still a huge fan of BF jeans, too. 

    Jules, I agree, and I think the denim is actually better in the past few years than it was maybe a decade ago. I like that they show on models of various sizes and shapes as well. 

    Thanks, Rachy

  • Debbie replied 1 year ago

    My favorite was the linen shirt tied at the waist and the full length jeans. Your style is amazing.

  • slim cat replied 1 year ago

    Fab new jeans! Everything fits and works proportionally - nice new things!

  • bella replied 1 year ago

    Great finds! You look amazing in that lilac.

  • lyn67 replied 1 year ago

    Wow, Suz, gorgeous fit on  these jeans-love them on you! I hate skinnies and love a crop wide leg but sported  them only in more fluid weighty fabrics till now and also  I could not embrace the full length version for me yet-not to speak about jeans so rigid-I am not slender anymore and always feel like a block in them but great IRL visuals, thank you-maybe I can warm myself up for them somehow with the time passing...(I am always late with trends:-(().

  • Brooklyn replied 1 year ago

    Ooh nice! I like the first pair in particular. You are set for Spring!

  • kkards replied 1 year ago

    That 1st pair, the length, the fit, the wash!   Perfect.  


    And the linen shirt is a great color.  But I do wonder about the length.  It’s great tied, or worn thrown over a tank as a 3rd piece, but it’s really long 

  • replied 1 year ago

    Love the first pair of jeans especially! I'm very happy about the return of wide legs too. They feel much more elegant than skinnies.

  • Star replied 1 year ago

    Love the jeans on you, especially the first pair.  The shirt looks great tied.

  • Janet replied 1 year ago

    These look so fantastic on you, Suz! Isn’t it great to discover new-to-you item that fits so seamlessly into your style?

    I’d be tempted to try those jeans but that rise is likely too long for me. I don’t know if I really *need* more, but I’m so enjoying my wider legged jeans! I get compliments and questions whenever I wear my Nili Lotan Celias. Even my sister asked about them when she saw a photo, and I had to admit they were ridiculously expensive. But I’m wearing and enjoying them so much it’s worth it! If I were smart, I’d be searching out a *darker wash* wide leg pair! I think I have the light and mid wash covered between these two.

  • Helena replied 1 year ago

    Love all of these!!

  • RobinF replied 1 year ago

    These are great! I am always happy to spend less when I am unsure that I will actually like the trend. The high rises just won't work for me and from what I have seen most inexpensive wider leg styles are high rise. I like the linen shirt too. Pretty color.

  • Indigoprint replied 1 year ago

    Thanks Suz...I appreciate you taking the time to explain with details and examples.

  • Jules replied 1 year ago

    Also wanted to mention that I think the longer ones, worn with that top but shoes instead of sandals, would make a great transitional spring outfit (on a dry day), for those colder "spring" days where we want something visually lighter and fresh but it's not actually that warm yet. Your white boots would probably work?

    Anyway between yours and mtnsofthemoon's reviews I am probably going to be ordering some new jeans today ;)

  • BlueJay replied 1 year ago

    Fantastic, Suz! Old Navy and The Gap have been amazing for me for the past two or three years. I hadn't bought anything from Gap since c. 2002! HA! Now I have one pair of jeans and one pair of pants. Love the lilac shirt!

  • lynn replied 1 year ago

    Oh my, you look fabulous in both pairs of jeans!!  I can’t even pick a favorite!  I struggle with long shirts unless they look good untucked. I can tie them at the waist but that is never my most comfortable outfit.  Anyway, You look beautiful !  

  • Suz replied 1 year ago

    Thanks, all. I get it about rise heights. For those who have a very short rise, the high rise generally won't work as well. How well I remember the days of "mid-rise" that was closer to low rise on long rise me. And low rises that ended below my hip bones. Or pressed into my hip bones in an agonizing way.

    Having said that, I do find the recent higher rises much, much more forgiving and they tend to work of a wider cross section of body shapes and sizes, in part because a lot of them have are more proportionate than the first high rises were. The back rise is longer, there are often darts at the waist, and so on. And the shape of the bottoms makes them either flare attractively or drape, depending on the fabric. 

    Jules, I will certainly wear them with sneakers for cooler spring days. In fact, I did so, yesterday! We are just moving out of boot weather here -- so probably not boots for much longer. But the white ones do work -- I wear them with the Everlane jeans all the time. The Everlanes are the jeans for transitional weather -- they are more substantial and "crisper" so they work brilliantly in March and April temps and will be great in October, too. They will be a bit hot for later spring. But these ON jeans will fill that gap. And even be wearable in summer, to an extent. The GAP crops more so, of course. 

    lyn67, these don't feel like the older wide legs did -- rigid or boxy. In some cases it is the fabrication and in some cases the cut. 

  • Zaeobi replied 1 year ago

    Those ON wide legs are fabulous on you - I like how the waist is fitted but the backseat is deliberately a little slouchy (in a cool rather than oversized way). I need a ~12" rise to effectively cover all the junk in the trunk (& the car bonnet/ hood, lol!), so it's useful to know we have a similar height/ denim fit!

    Speaking of which, you mentioned Levi's - their classic 501s never work for me. But I've had surprising luck with the fit of Lee jeans (especially vintage styles), so they may be another denim brand to consider?

    I also like the Gap crops on you but agree with the others that the full-length Old Navy's are so much more leg lengthening on you! I wonder whether the horizontal line of your ankle strap sandals has more to do with that than the hemline, though?

  • KMM replied 1 year ago

    Suz these look fab on you.  Indigoprint beat me to it re: question about the rises.  I love wide leg pants and would be happily throwing all of my money at them but I need a 9.5" rise or lower, which are proving to be scarce still.  You rock those high rises!

  • Suz replied 1 year ago

    KMM, I would try them on, anyway. Angie also has a lower rise but she is able to wear this new style. They fit a lot differently from some of the older wide legs. 

    Zaeobi, for sure, the style of the sandal definitely adds to the shortening effect. It won't necessarily be the shoe I'll wear with these; it's just what I had to hand. I wasn't really trying to style them at all -- just a try on for fit. I think the ON jean would absolutely work on you and the price is reasonable, especially if you get a sale, so it might be worth a try. 

  • Firecracker (Sharan) replied 1 year ago

    I like both of these on you, Suz. The light wash blues are great, especially for summer with the footwear you're showing here. Score!

  • notsaf replied 1 year ago

    Do not crop! I adore that long length on you, which I've never seen before. They make you look so elegant and tall -- but the shape and color are also very current. Fabulous!!!!

  • Jonesy replied 1 year ago

    These look magical on you, Suz--you were made for this style!! They look so chic and the fit is immaculate. I would wager that they will both become workhorses for you, with all kinds of footwear.

  • Zaeobi replied 1 year ago

    @Suz
    No worries, I figured - just throwing it out there based on my first impressions :)

    They're great jeans though - & your modelling of the ON ones is tempting me too! But alas, I think I need to sit on my hands for a bit when it comes to blue jeans... I'm glad to see dark washes trending again (I still only see people wearing light & mid washes out here though!), but I think coloured denim works better for me at this leg of my style journey.

    Plus I have to remember I'm no longer in a 4 season, 'denim all year' sort of climate :P

  • Jules replied 1 year ago

    Suz! I ordered the ON jeans in my normal size 14 and I love them. They just cover my belly button (I have a short waist but a normal rise I think) and fit well everywhere. Length is perfect for me to wear with flats like my underused blush Birkenstock Buckleys. And the full length does make them wearable now or at least pretty soon, vs. so many seasons of trying to work with cropped pants. I’m excited! Thanks for posting :)

  • Suz replied 1 year ago

    Jules, I'm so glad!! We've been lucky with ON jeans in the past year or so. And GAP. For years, they did not work for me -- now, suddenly, better luck. So interesting! 

  • Laurie replied 1 year ago

    ON for the win, again! The fit is so perfect on you Suz! 

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