Top Denim Recommendations

Finding the perfect jeans can be really hard. So I figured, why not round up some of my favourite cuts and styles of denim and tell you what brands I recommend. I’ll try to provide links to everything and if I can’t find the exact pair, I’ll just link back to a brand’s website.

Keep in mind, these pieces work for me specifically and I have a pear-shaped body type. I have a smaller waist and larger hips and the problem I tend to get in denim is gaping at the back of the waist (whereas it’ll fit my thighs and hips). Because of this factor, I look for a little bit of stretch in denim in order to accommodate. I do have some more “traditional” thick cotton denim recommendations too - but we’ll get to that later. For sizing reference: I range between a size 24 and 25 waist depending on the brand and I’m 5’2” so I end up rolling or cutting the ends of my jeans since they are always too long.

Classic Skinnies

I own 3 pairs of skinny jeans:

Mid-Rise Dark Wash

These are the Agolde Sophie jean. They retail for $248 cad but luckily I found mine at the thrift store for around $5. The Sophie is made with a super stretchy denim that feels ultra-soft (almost like sweatpants). I think these are considered high rise (but they hit at my belly button - so I consider them mid-rise) and mine are in a really dark blue wash.

These jeans are really comfortable to wear, but I don’t love them. I don’t find they are high enough of a rise for the types of cropped shirts I like to wear and I think the wash of denim just isn’t totally my thing. I keep them mainly for the comfort factor! I have mine in a size 24.

High-Rise Mid-Wash

These are the Citizen’s of Humanity Carlie high-rise skinny jean. These are ultra high-waisted which I love and they do have a lot of stretch to them (but not as much as the Agolde denim). Their denim seems to retail around the $300 cad mark but I found this pair at Winners for around $100 (still expensive!). I also wear these in a size 24. I chopped the hem of these to fit my height (so they weren’t originally a raw hem). These jeans are comfy and the wash works really well with my wardrobe. I wear them a lot.

That being said, I find that the quality isn’t really there. Of all my denim, these ones have snagged and seem like they are going to rip in some areas like on the knee and the thigh. I hope that when they do rip, it’ll look like purposeful distressing so that I can keep wearing them. But ultimately, I cannot recommend them since they are so pricey and they are my only jeans that are showing any signs of wear.

High-Rise Washed Black Distressed

These are the H&M Embrace fit Premium Super Skinny jean. I got these ones in a size 25. They feel exactly the same as my Citizen’s: high-waist, stretchy denim but keeps its shape and it feels like a substantial fabric. Really nice distressing on the knees (without overdoing it). I love them! H&M got it right. They retail for $60 but I ended up getting mine during a sale so I spent around $40 on them. Totally worth it. Considering these feel and look the same as my high-end denim, I think they are entirely worth the price.

They are comfortable, fit really good and they come in tons of different washes with and without distressing. Once again, I chopped the hem off of these ones since I’m short, but the original hem was cool and distressed. Of all the skinny fit denim I own, I would recommend the H&M denim the most because I think it’s the perfect blend of quality and price while also fitting my body and my style well.

Culotte-Style

I own two culotte denim pieces and both are from H&M as well (like I said, their denim is really good for the quality and the price point).

These white denim culottes I got in a size 2 and I sized up from my normal size at H&M. I found that sizing up worked great since white pants can be a bit see-through if they are too tight. While this means that I do need to belt the waist (I have a couple centimetre gap), I find that it doesn’t pull too much through the hips.

For the denim blue version, I purchased them in my normal size, a 0. These are a little snug on the butt as I’m putting them on, but once they’re on - they’re super comfortable. Since I am wearing my normal size, I don’t have the extra gap in the back of my waist like I do with the white ones. Both these culottes are very stretchy denim and with both, I cut the raw hem shorter by a few inches. They retail for $40 but I got mine on sale so I spent a little less than that.

This style of denim really does wonders for the butt and I think it looks really cute and is a nice twist on just regular jeans.

Slim-Straight Traditional Denim

I seem to buy multiples of the same thing when I like something in denim. Both these pairs are the same (just different washes) from Everlane. They are the Cheeky Straight jean in sky blue and washed black. Here is the link, but if you do want to use my affiliate link (anyone can be an affiliate once they make an account with Everlane), click here (this will get me a $25 credit to use on future purchases).

I’ve recommended these jeans to so many people and have reviewed them on the blog as well. You can read my other post: here. These jeans retail for $78 usd, and bear in mind duties and taxes if you live in Canada like me.

Now, I love these jeans. They fit great, they're a slim-straight leg and they come in great washes. I sized down to a 23 to have a slimmer fit (but a 24 probably would’ve fit just a little bit baggier and maybe not as high rise).

The Cheeky Straights are a high rise more traditional cotton denim. It’s thick and substantial with a teeny bit of stretch (maybe like 5%). I get a lot of wear, especially out of the sky blue colour-way because it’s such a classic and I think it works with a lot of outfits and is season-less. On both of these, I chopped the hem once again, so they come to you properly hemmed and you can choose between an ankle or regular length.

These jeans are total winners in my eyes because I found it so hard to find a slim fit “mom style” kind of jean that worked for my body shape and also was the wash of denim that I liked. These Everlane ones fit the bill and I highly recommend. Just size down if you want a slimmer fit like me.

Oh, and these jeans are compliment magnets, so be prepared to get asked lots about where you got them. I get complimented on them every single time I wear them!

I hope this denim edit helped you! These are all the jeans I own - 7 in total! And I think that’s a good number for me, considering I wear denim most of the time. My top top recommendations are the Everlane Cheeky’s in the sky blue and the H&M embrace jeans if you’re looking for a skinny fit. Both are equally wonderful in different ways so it just depends on what you’re looking for!