We all know mom jeans: With their high waists, narrow ankles, and huge crotch areas, they have a reputation for being fugly and unflattering.
BUT...what if we just think of mom jeans as bad because we've never tried them ourselves? What if they're actually really great, and we're missing out?
Because it's 2016 and life is short and we should try new things, dammit.
So, six of us ladies at BuzzFeed decided to give mom jeans a try. We followed these guidelines:
Step 1: We all try on two pairs of "mom jeans" (which we're defining as high-waisted with a tapered leg and looser in the crotch) -- and we keep an open mind.
Step 2: We pick our favorite pair, and with the help of stylist Lulu Bernard, we put together outfits with them.
Step 3: We decide whether or not mom jeans are for us!
Alice's First Pair: Topshop Mom Jeans
Alice on the first pair: The waistband on these were really high and felt like a big hug around my torso. Although they looked better on me than I thought they would, I still think everything below the waistband looked too big on me. Plus, the material was really thick and it made moving, sitting, or bending my knees kind of uncomfortable.
Alice's Second Pair: H&M Mom Jeans
Alice's Winning Pair: H&M Mom Jeans!
Nina's First Pair: Topshop Mom Jeans
Nina on the first pair: They were surprisingly cute. Like, I was expecting to go in looking like a hot pile of garbage and I was the exact opposite. I felt — dare I say it? — kind of sexy?!?! I felt ’90s sexy. Pairing it with heels and a crop top definitely helped. I feel like I'm gonna get struck by lightning for saying it, but I LIKED MY MOM JEANS.
Nina's Second Pair: H&M Mom Jeans
Nina's Winning Pair: Topshop Mom Jeans!
Chrissy's First Pair: H&M Mom Jeans
Chrissy's Second Pair: Lee Side Elastic Jean
Chrissy on her second pair: This wash is wayyy more chill, but wow, what kind of rude-ass human doesn't put pockets on the back of jeans?!?! The elastic waist (lol) makes them comfortable in that I-have-totally-given-up type of way. I may be dead inside, but even I can't handle the IDGAF nature of these puppies.
Chrissy's Winning Pair: H&M Mom Jeans!
Morgan's First Pair: Lee Side Elastic Jeans
Morgan on the first pair: Once I got past the initial shock of actually putting these things on my body, I was kind of into them. They're kind of like if maternity jeans and regular jeans had a love child. I'm starting to get why some moms would wear these...once you go maternity jeans it is pretty hard to go back.
Morgan's Second Pair: L.L. Bean Relaxed Fit Jeans
Morgan on the second pair: The second pair I tried on were basically the same as the first except somehow much uglier. They shared the same "stretchy waist" feature that I was so excited about in the first pair, but I felt like I was wearing pants that were made to be intentionally unflattering instead of just comfortable. Also, the wash was pretty terrible.
Morgan's Winning Pair: Lee Side Elastic Jeans!
Kristin's First Pair: Lee Side Elastic Jean
Kristin on the first pair: The high waist takes a little bit of getting used to (I feel a bit like my lower half has been shoved into the opening of a balloon), and I am kind of sad that they are missing back pockets, because now where else am I supposed to misplace my credit card? But yeah, there's a reason why your mom wears these: It's because she doesn't have time for bullshit from regular pants. SHE BUSY.
Kristin's Second Pair: L.L. Bean Relaxed Fit Jeans
Kristin on the second pair: I'm kind of a fan of the big crotch, a surprisingly. I'm one of those people who has a bigger stomach than thighs and calves, so this cut actually works for me. But you'd think being 5'3'' was a super unusual height for the amount of rolling I had to do on these. The color of the wash feels very "dad needs to talk to us about messing with the thermostat." I liked these better at first, but after looking at the photos, I'm having regrets.
Kristin's Winning Pair: L.L. Bean Relaxed Fit Jeans!
Sheridan's First Pair: Lee Side Elastic Jeans
Sheridan on the first pair: The bottoms of these jeans are giving me hives. Plus I have the weirdest torso-leg combination so every pair of pants on me makes my crotch look like it’s a foot long, and these aren't helping.
Sheridan's Second Pair: L.L. Bean Relaxed Fit Jeans
Sheridan on the second pair: OK I have to admit, these aren’t terrible! I like the cut around the ankles waaaaay better than the other pair. A very unfortunate symptom of mom jeans is the dreaded double belly, but I don’t hate mine in these jeans.
Sheridan's Winning Pair: L.L. Bean Relaxed Fit Jeans!
So...have our opinions changed about mom jeans?
Morgan and Kristin are warming up to the idea of mom jeans.
Alice and Sheridan could wear mom jeans if it works effortlessly with an outfit.
Nina and Chrissy are totally down to wear mom jeans — only if they're styled right.
