How To Cuff Your Jeans (And The ONLY Reason You Ever Need Straight Jeans)

Tina, here.

Cuff or roll? There's a big debate going on about this, do you cuff or roll your jeans, and if you do, how do you cuff jeans? How do you roll jeans? And what kind of shoes look best with cuffed or rolled jeans? Huge margin for error here, dolls. Which can result in kankles, elephant ankles, or donut rolls.

Let's discuss.

Do you Cuff or Roll Jeans?

It depends on the jeans. There are 3 types of jeans you can cuff or roll.

Cropped (shorter)
Skinny Ankle (longer)
Straight (often theses are "boyfriend jeans")

**Insiders received 48 hour early access to this post and have been shopping already! They also received our brand new, full-length video, The Right Way To Cuff and Roll Your Jeans. Step inside the Vault and try it out for free today!**

These are the guidelines for cropped jeans:

Everyone is wearing cropped jeans. Or turning their longer pair of jeans into cropped jeans by cuffing them, which is what I did. These are the guidelines:

I prefer cuffs to rolls on shorter jeans that are going to hit above my ankle bone once cuffed.
<br />

Cropped jeans are gonna hover just above your ankle bone, and not be quite as tapered as skinny ankle jeans. When a shorter pair of pants is tapered, guess what it is? AN EVIL CAPRI. When it's not tapered, it's called cropped. An evil capri turns you into a weeble-wobble with kankles. Cropped jeans are cool and modern. They aren't as skinny as skinny jeans, or as full as boyfriend jeans. And you can't go by the name of the jeans either; you have to look at them and self-determine what cut they actually are.

I like the one-cuff cropped jean. Just one medium-size cuff.

I do not like 2 small cuffs. Look above. Same length but the leg on the right looks much more modern, less "my pants are too long, so I just cuffed them."

What shoes do you wear with cuffed/cropped jeans? Oh the confusion deepens. So, with cuffed/cropped jeans I do not like a lot of straps. Cuffs + straps = too much. So a narrow ankle strap, or no strap is best.

Skinny Ankle Jeans Guidelines

Skinny ankle jeans that are longer are great for a little roll. Not just any roll! It's got to be a messy, unstudied, sort of a roll and a half. I know, it's like the "nude lip" that actually takes 3 different lip applications to achieve. But trust me, it's important to get this right.

No donut rolls. Or knee sock rolls like we used to do in second grade.

This is why you roll longer ankle jeans: because when they puddle around your ankles, it's AWFUL. It gives you elephant ankles (like elephant knees). It's like a saggy bottom. It's also dumpy, frumpy, and did I say awful?

<br />

Insiders, you have access to our brand new, full-length video showing you how to roll and cuff your jeans the right way. And which shoes to wear. Because you don't want to be wearing overly-strappy pumps with the wrong jeans. Trust me.

What about straight jeans?

Straight jeans are the trickiest to get right. They are the most unflattering pair of pants you can put on your body. SO I am mystified why they have gained in popularity. I think it has to do with street style bloggers who grew tired of the ubiquitous skinny jeans and boho flared jeans and they wanted to relive their '80's childhoods.

<br />

Side by side of do's and don'ts. The left column is DON'T (the straight jeans) and the right column is DO, JIC.

Can you see how the straight jeans are hideously unflattering compared to either a bootcut, upper, or a skinny ankle, lower? To achieve an hourglass figure, if you want to, avoid manly straight jeans and opt for bootcut jeans that balance your hips and shoulders or skinny jeans that give you some curves.

IF you must wear straight jeans (and no, the straight jeans you bought and intended to wear as is won't work because they're not cool), cuff them. They work to cuff because they are the same width all the way down, with no tapering or flaring. Here are some good examples.

You visual learners out there, be sure to watch the video. Lucky Insiders get the whoooole video, showing you all 3 styles of jeans, how to cuff or roll, and which shoes to wear with which jeans. It's a lot to keep straight, so a visual can be sooo helpful.