Cuffed Jeans Or How To Look Effortlessly Chic?

You know those relaxed but chic looks we put together so effortlessly and really unconscious as if we’ve mastered the sartorial art since well… forever? And then we go off and read something somewhere (me reading in WhoWhatWear) that says BAM! the look we’ve taken for granted for years is a trend! I wonder is it really like that? Do we unconsciously dress to trends and don’t treat them as such until some validated thing or person declares them trend worthy? I mean think about it, just last week I was going on about how massive a trend white sneakers is. Really? Or sweaters in fall. Coats in winter. Sandals in summer. Wow, thank God for the clear sign, otherwise I’d have gone to work in my PJs in summer and bathing suit in winter.

Trend alert or not, apparently we’re convinced cuffers. All of us. Rolling and folding our jeans since we were kids and cuffing them on and on and on and on every single day. Almost. Much like its siblings (the half tuck, the rolled up sleeves) we do it in such a fashionable haste it’s both great and easy to overlook. Or take for granted for that matter. But 3 people wearing the same thing does a trend make, and by the looks of cuffed trousers around town we’re smitten with this style. Men and women alike. So why do we cuff our jeans? Where did all this cuff craze begin in the first place? Who started it? Why? Does it really do any justice to our style?

And is there a shtick to this thing, or just roll those fuckers as you wish? The CUFFED JEANS TREND has a lot to do with our pop culture and our guilty pleasure for celebs spotted by paparazzi on the street. How do they look on a daily basis? What are they wearing? Usually it’s super relaxed styles, casual, boho-chic, quite messy looks – with the Cuffed Jeans being ubiquitous when it comes to their off-duty style. We looked. Saw. Loved. And emulated.

There’s something very Parisian in cuffing your jeans, as if you’re chic on the go and require no preparation whatsoever to look simple and sophisticated. Which couldn’t be more true. So long live the stars! :)

Then came the bloggers. And before we knew it every fashionsta, stylist, editor & fashion passionate at Fashion Week was cuffing like mad, for the same reason previously stated. It’s cool. It’s incredibly chic and French vibed. And it’s no rocket science.

Or is it? I always wondered if there was more than the beauty of unawareness and carelessness when it comes to nailing these effortless looks? Style you have. It’s fashion you buy. If this is true (and I think it is, you just learn to master the former in time) then some of us are born with the messy penchant. So then, how can the rest of us fool the less connoisseurs that we too belong with the cool kids of fashion? How do we cuff our jeans to nail this trend to its perfection?

Let me start off by saying my POV on this one (not that anyone really gives a crap): no rules chicas! Ever. The beauty of fashion is that wrong does not exist, and the CUFFED TREND is one of the best showcases of this theory of mine.

ANY jeans style can be cuffed. In as many rolls or folds as you wish. It goes with ANY shoe style. ANY outfit. Any occasion. Any age. Any sex. It’s fantastic.

Oversized Jeans: cuffing BF jeans or super large styles can be done in half, 1, 2 or 3 folds. Thick messy folds look great with oversized jeans as they give more definition to your legs and silhouette, and the exposed ankle is a very cheeky but well placed detail for showing off inches of your frame. It adds that bohemian and careless vibe to an outfit and it looks amazing with heels.

Skinny Jeans: the cuff on these is thinner and less visible maybe, but it looks great. It elongates the legs, and showing a bit of ankle with heels, loafers, or tennis shoes is just the perfect way to add a bit of chicness and to break the monotony of long clean jeans.

A thing I’ve noticed as a long term cuffer and addict of the cuffing is that doing this shtick to BF jeans will make them look more feminine. For skinny jeans, if they’re not very long (my case all the time) it’s a great way to mask their shortness. I also love the white washed out denim of the cuffing against the ankle and the shoes. Especially heels.

More looks: Not a new thing at all, this cuffing business is in the spotlight right now which means 2 things: (1) if you haven’t cuffed, you’d better start to, and (2) if you’re a cuffer you just got a major applause and style validation. :)