3 Jean Shapes I Want to Try in 2026

Plus, how I plan to style them.

Nikki Ogunnaike's avatar
By
published
in Buying Guides
collage of Nikki Ogunnaike wearing jeans
(Image credit: Nikki Ogunnaike)
Jump to category:

Friends! Welcome to the very first Self Checkout of the new year! How’s it going so far? Better yet…how’s your closet going so far? Were you like me over the holidays—full purge mode, even though I 100 percent advised against that last year?

I don’t know what came over me, to be honest. If I had to guess, it had something to do with the many (many) TikToks I watched at the end of the year that reminded me 2025 was the year of the snake (representing wisdom, transformation, and, of course, a time to shed!). Combined with the fact that I’ve always understood the trend cycle to be just about ten years long and that I’m slightly nostalgic for what life was like in 2016, I’m ready to return to some styles of yore. What’s old is new again, especially when it comes to jeans. So, here are the three denim shapes I’m starting with in 2026.

THE STRAIGHT-LEG JEAN

Shocking coming from a professed barrel-leg lover, huh? Not that I’ll ever get rid of them, but my eye is craving something a little more streamlined. I’m finding it in straight-leg jeans. Not to be confused with a skinny cut (I don't think I'll ever go back to that!), just something a little slimmer.

THE HIGH-WAISTED JEAN

I remember it like it was yesterday: the day during the 2020 pandemic I got rid of nearly every pair of high-waisted jeans I owned in favor of a lower or mid-rise (or let’s be really real—sweatpants!) style. That meant my healthy collection of Levi’s Wedgie and Ribcage jeans, the only styles I’d worn up until the pandemic, was gone. Now, I won’t say I regret that move…but I am ready to revisit a less bulky style that’s slimmer through the hips and thighs.

THE BOOTCUT JEAN

Though I’m already annoyed by how much time I’ll spend with my tailor if I go this route, something about a baby kick or a long and lean flare is really calling my name. Again, it’s a little more restrained than my usual baggy or barrel-leg styles.

BONUS: 6 SHOES I’LL WEAR WITH MY NEW DENIM

After one gets a new pair of jeans, the next logical question is…which shoe to wear with them? My suggestion would be to pair your straight-leg denim with a sleek sneaker or flat; high-waisted jeans with loafers or pumps; and bootcuts with boots (obviously).

Reading List

First time reading Self Checkout? Catch up on the past few weeks.

Nikki Ogunnaike
Nikki Ogunnaike
Editor-in-Chief

Nikki Ogunnaike is the Editor in Chief of Marie Claire US. She has previously held roles at Harper's Bazaar, GQ, ELLE, Glamour, InStyle, and Vanity Fair. She authors the popular Marie Claire newsletter Self Checkout. You may also recognize Nikki from her time as the host of Snapchat’s Online, IRL and IGTV's The Run Through.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, in her free time Nikki enjoys running half marathons, learning about wine, and watching reality TV without an ounce of shame. You can follow her at @nikkiogun.