Designer jeans glossary

It's All About the Jeans

Jeans can flatter your butt no matter what you look like What are the best style of jeans for a man?Understanding all those jeans terms Find the most flattering jeans for your body type How to choose the right pair of jeans

Wearing Designer Jeans

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Understanding all those jeans terms

While every brand of designer jeans has their own unique names for each style of jeans, there are some consistent terms across brands which help you know exactly what you're getting. If you've ever wondered what the jeans' industry's standards are, here's the fashion rundown.

Jeans Rise Terms

Rise: Rise of jeans is the length of the fabric from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband.
Super Low Rise Jeans: Generally super low rise jeans have less than seven inches of rise and the waistband sits well below the belly button.
Low Rise Jeans: Low rise jeans usually have more than seven inches of rise but less than nine. The waistband is about three inches below the belly button.
Regular Rise Jeans: Regular rise jeans have a rise of more than nine inches but less than eleven. The waistband is still below the belly button but just barely.
High Rise Jeans: High rise jeans rise over eleven inches and have a waistband which covers the belly button.

Jeans Leg Styles

Boot Cut Jeans: Boot cut jeans flare a bit at the bottom to fit well over a sexy pair of boots.
Flared Jeans: Flared jeans have even more of a flare at the bottom than boot cut jeans. These jeans are also a bit narrower through the knee.
Skinny Jeans: With no flare at all at the bottom, skinny jeans are tightly fitted throughout the leg, butt, and thigh.
Straight Jeans: Straight jeans are the same width throughout the leg, thigh, and bottom.

Other Assorted Jeans Terms

Abraded: Many fashionable designer jeans nowadays are abraded, or artificially battered, to get a chic worn out look. Sometimes jeans are abraded with global sanding (using power sanding tools to abrade jeans).
Stone Wash: Stone washed jeans are jeans that are put in a washing machine with pumice stones to soften the fabric. These are not to be confused with acid washed jeans, those terribly styled jeans out of the eighties.
Wash: The wash of designer jeans is the texture and color of the finished jeans, accomplished by "washing" them.
Whiskers: The stylistic wrinkles you often see on the front of jeans around the crotch are called whiskers.