Modly Chic

Modly Chic: A fashion blog for the average girl who cares about looking good without spending a lot of money and without looking cheap. And while it can be fun to look at what someone else is wearing, this blog is all about providing helpful tips so everyone can be Modly Chic and Fashion Forward.

Have a style question? Want to share an outfit?

E-mail: katy_rose1@yahoo.com

Twitter: katy_rose1

About the Author: Katy Rose is a full-time freelance writer and editor. While a large part of her work centers around business reporting she has secretly been in love with the fashion industry for years. When she is not writing, Katy Rose is working as a local fashion consultant for teens and blogging about style.

Her fashion-related work has appeared on SparkleShelf, Helium, The SuperMelon and RelateMag. For several year she served on the board of New York City's Fashion Forum and is now an advisor to the group from a distance.

Unless otherwise stated, all the items on this blog worn or talked about have been purchased by me. Any products I have been given to review or write about will be identified in the body of the post.

Can Jeans be Dressy?

I read a blog post earlier this week that basically said women who wear jeans are just taking the easy way out. Jeans aren’t fashionable. They are meant to be worn on the farm, while mucking stalls. Um… Seriously?  (sorry for the life of me I can’t find the post anymore. Should have bookmarked it.)

The post got me thinking about the use of jeans and as much as I hate to admit it the blog writer might have been closer to accurate than initial reaction would suggest. Jeans can be a cop-out for women (men too, actually). Why? Because they are easy to throw on and usually are more comfortable than 90% of the other stuff in our closets. And when we are really feeling the comfort over fashion mood it’s easy to throw on a t-shirt, sweatshirt or non-descript sweater with those jeans. That look is why jeans aren’t fashionable.

With that said, I think jeans can be fashionable. In fact they can grace some of the best social events on our calendar if the look is done right. How do we dress them up?

Here’s what I think:

  • Throw out your old jeans. If you’re still in possession of jeans from the 80s it’s time to update the look. Don’t think too much about it. Just throw them out and buy a new pair today.
  • Make sure the jeans fit really well. You don’t want to be tugging the waistline up or pulling the legs down after sitting. They shouldn’t create the dreaded muffin-top, even if you can zip yourself into the smaller size.
  • Try to pair jeans with a structured top. Whether this is a blouse with ruffles or a tailored jacket make sure the top is feminine and alludes to curves. No box figures here.
  • Wear heels. Jeans are seen as informal because people rock them in their gym-shoes. Take out your heels (even if they are a little kitten-heel) and rock them. Sidenote: if your jeans are too short to be worn with heels never fear, you can roll the hems a little. By showing a little ankle you’re making the heels work and am presenting a fashion-forward look.
  • Add accessories. A strategically places scarf, a bold necklace, great earrings, a chunky belt – it doesn’t matter what you use, just make sure to complete the look with accents.
  • Give them flair. Jeans today aren’t just your basic blue denim. Most pairs have intricate pocket stitching, studs, jewels and worn spots. You can either create this look yourself or purchase jeans that are already accented.
  • Go for color. Jeans now come in so many colors beyond your cowboy-blue. Gray. Black. White. Purple. Not sure about wearing colored jeans, go for a basic color like Gray and see what you can do with it.