Denim. Denim. Denim.

I can already sense what you are thinking: “Aly, I hate wearing jeans. They are so not comfy, and they are singlehandedly the worst thing to shop for.” Well, I am here to tell you that I love wearing jeans and that I wear them all the time. My friends are constantly complaining about how much they hate wearing jeans and they always tell me that they only wear them when necessary. I on the other hand wear jeans ALL. THE. TIME. If you know what style, and brand of jeans to wear, you will find yourself being more inclined to wear jeans. For a long time, jeans were the only type of pants that I would wear. This would have been in middle school before I started wearing leggings regularly and my only other option in the winter was to wear sweatpants. And yeah you can do that from time to time, but you don’t want to be the girl wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt every day.

I love denim everything. I wish that I could have an endless amount of jeans, and jean jackets. Those are my two favorite forms of denim. And this fall/winter that we are experiencing is the perfect time to break out all the denim that you have. I have been patiently waiting to wear my jean jacket for some time now. I’m sure not all of you are as excited as I am to ditch the jean shorts for actual jeans, but hopefully I can give you some advise on how to style them. Since it appears that we went straight from summer to winter here in the Midwest, I assume that many of you probably passed up your capris for your full-length jeans and I am right there with you. However, I did not ditch the new trend of jeans which is the frayed bottoms. I have three pairs of jeans with frayed bottoms and I absolutely love them. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it adds a sort of edginess to your outfit. Now, I’m not a particularly edgy person, but this helps. It is perfect to pair with a classic t-shirt or just something basic that you want to spice up.

Look at all those options <3 You know how some people are obsessed with shoes? That's how I am with jeans.

Now in terms of regular jeans, there are so many options to choose from. I like to have a pair of each style so that depending on the look that I am going for I have many different options to choose from. Personally, I prefer to buy jeggings over jeans because I find them more comfortable as do most people, I think. Not only are they more comfortable, but they are stretchy too, so it doesn’t feel like your legs are being suffocated and constrained by tight fabric. My favorite place to buy jeggings from would have to be American Eagle. I know what you’re probably saying, “Aly I don’t have the funds for American Eagle jeans/jeggings.” However, if you buy jeans/jeggings from AE I promise that you will be able to wear those for many years. I believe that I have had my AE jeggings for about 4 years now and they still look brand new. If you can’t afford AE that’s perfectly fine. My suggestion for you would be to go to Old Navy. Their regular priced jeans aren’t too bad to begin with, but if you buy their jeans when they are on sale you could be getting them for around $15-20. I love Old Navy, but sometimes I feel like their jeans don’t fit me as well as I would like, but it’s a hit or miss. Even though I say this I have 2-3 pairs of jeans from Old Navy, and they are the number one place that I go to buy jean shorts because I think that they have the most coverage for the styles that I like.

Okay, it’s story time. So, I am a in my sophomore year of college right. I don’t know about the rest of you, but personally I find laundry to be a hassle. Keeping this in mind, lets take it back. As I said earlier, jeans are my go to pants in the winter. My mom used to always tell me that I needed to stop putting my jeans in the wash after one use. I used to always think that this was gross because I hated the idea of my clothes not being washed after I had worn them. Flash-forward to now, and I completely understand what my mom was talking about. My jeans rarely get dirty, and no one can tell that I have gotten more than one wear between washes, so I wear my jeans 2-3 times before washing them. Not only will this save you time and money from having to do less loads of laundry, but it will also help to you’re your jeans new and not make them so worn down from the wash. Sometimes I wash them more often, but that’s because I’m somewhat of a clean freak about my clothes and hygiene in general. I’m one of those people who washes their hair everyday. I know, I know, that’s awful for my hair, but anyway maybe that gives you a sense of how much of a hygiene freak I am. Moral of the story, save yourself some time and wear your jeans more than once before washing them.

So, we have talked about frayed bottoms, and some styles of jeans, but what about jeans with holes and tears. For the longest time I never owned a pair of jeans with rips in them, probably because I new my dad would make fun of them. Once I started wearing jeans with rips, once again like the frayed bottom jeans, I felt more edgy. I can’t explain what it is, but it just makes a casual look so much better. One of my favorite looks of all time is black wash jeans with rips in them paired with a sweatshirt, jean jacket, and high-top converse. I wore this exact look to a concert that I went to this past May because it was 40 degrees out and I fell in love with the look. Rips in your jeans are perfect for wearing to school, parties, and concerts. Personally, I usually only wear them in the fall because it gets too cold in the Midwest for me to wear rips in my jeans, but I see people year-round wearing ripped jeans so whatever floats your boat.

Okay, so we have talked a lot about jeans, but what about the other forms of denim. One of the greatest fashion trends of the fall is the jean jacket. It is a perfect jacket to match with almost any outfit. Whether you wear it to dress up an outfit or just as an outer layer. I think that my favorite combination to wear a jean jacket with is black ripped jeans and either a sweatshirt or a graphic t-shirt. A jean jacket is the perfect outer layer for fall weather. What’s even better is that you can even wear it with jeans. I personally prefer to wear my jean jackets with different wash of jeans. I don’t think that the same wash for both looks good on me, but some people can rock that look. I have jean jacket from Hollister that I received many years ago as a gift, and I love wearing it but it is kind of small so I can’t layer it with as much. The other one that I have, pictured to the right, I got this year from H&M for $12 which is a steal! If you want to learn more about the look pictured, I will be posting a get ready with me video later this week about how I decided on this outfit so stay on the lookout for that. Anyway, back to the steal that I got on that jean jacket. Sometimes I find the best deals at H&M and this was one of those amazing finds. It is the perfect size to layer with and I like the oversize look of it too. The oversize look is very in right now and I appreciate it because I think it makes everything more comfortable. I bet that I sound like a broken record because I feel like I talk about how important comfort is to me in everything that I post in this blog. Oh well, I’m just trying to help you guys live your most comfortable lives.

For the warmer months of the fall another fashionable choice is a denim romper. I have one that I absolutely love that I got from Old Navy. I have had it for a couple of years. I remember wearing it to my best friend’s high school graduation party. The one that I have is a long sleeve top with shorts combo. This is nice because I can wear it for both summer and fall. It’s also easy to dress up or dress down. I could dress it up by wearing it with a cardigan, cute wedges, and some accessories. On the other hand I could also dress it down by wearing it with Vans or Converse. Rompers aren’t the only option either, there are also denim jumpsuits. I know that I have seen them at Old Navy, American Eagle, and I’m sure a lot of other stores sell them as well. Just like rompers, jumpsuits can be dressed up or dressed down. Denim tends to make an outfit look more casual if it’s a lighter wash, but a darker wash makes an outfit look more professional/dressy.

Denim shirts are also a fall favorite. It seems like I get all my denim clothes from Old Navy, and my denim shirt is no exception to that trend. The shirt that I have is on the longer side and usually I pair it with a pair of black leggings. Depending on the day I pair it with booties, combat boots, or Vans. It’s a very comfy outfit that once again is kind of dressy but is perfect for a fall day.

The final denim piece that I am going to be discussing is the denim skirt. I have a love-hate relationship with the denim skirt because I love how it looks, but I find it very uncomfortable to wear. Not that the fabric is uncomfortable, but the skirt rides up when I walk, and I am constantly having to readjust it. This may just be the skirt that I have, but this is one of the reasons that I do not personally wear denim skirts a lot. Another reason may be that I am not a huge skirt person in general. I think that it’s nice to have a denim skirt on hand. It seems to be a pretty common look for college girls to wear to football games or parties so if either of those activities interest you, I might recommend investing in a denim skirt. The one that I have is from Old Navy. If I were you, I would shop around and see what fits you best and what is the most comfortable to wear. Definitely walk around in it to see how much it will ride up on you or how much readjusting you have to do. Remember comfort is key and the last thing you want to be worrying about is your skirt riding up.

I hope that you guys learned something about denim and how many denim options there are to add to your wardrobe. Jeans are not the only denim option people. Even if you don’t love denim it’s always a good idea to at least have some good pairs of jeans that you can wear for special occasions or just every day. I highly recommend finding all things denim at American Eagle or Old Navy. Remember, it’s okay to spend a little more upfront on jeans because they will last you a long time and you will for sure get your use out of them if you find yourself wearing jeans a lot.