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A lot of people think you can't wear flats with bootcut jeans. Au contraire. They just need to be almond toe or pointy toe. No round ballerina flats.

I've had this pair of James jeans since, get this, 1995. They were my first serious pair of jeans I paid serious money for - I think right at $100. I couldn't believe I was paying that, but I still wear them. So cost per wear over time has made them all but free. And I came by that fading honestly. They used to be a really dark indigo blue, so they were my dressy jeans, but now since they are faded a bit, I wear them more casually.

That whiskering that is faked by the manufacturers usually looks silly, especially when it is exaggerated. And see how the seams are not lining up on the sides of my legs? All the seams need to line up down the sides of your legs.

Look at the top. Lots of stuff going on , that looks silly. The whiskering (fake) and the bright stitching. Now look at the bottom pic. Clean. And I've had these jeans for 11 years, so the fading on the thighs is natural.

Pockets are too low. Once that V on your bottom pocket dips below the bottom cheek, you're creating a longer bum. And who wants that?

You can really see the difference in the size and placement of the rear pockets here. Upper image: bad. Bottom image: good.

Here's another picture to show you where you want the bottom of the pocket to hit, just above the bottom of the cheek, so you won't have droopy bottom syndrome.

Ill-fitting bootcut jeans that are too big in the hips and thighs are also epidemic. These fit as they should, fitted in the thighs, slightly flaring from the knee down.

The taller you are, the more of a flare you can do (but not all-out hippie flare); and the shorter you are, the more subtle the flare. These are our fab stylist Barbara Burn's jeans, and since she's so tall, the flare is pretty wide.

That center crease will create a longer, leaner leg. I promise you. Eradicate form your mind any images of cowboys with pressed Lee jeans. This is different. It's elegant. And flattering. And it's 2016, so get with the program and crease your jeans. (If you get the dry cleaner's to do it once, I've found that the crease will last through many washings.)