Fall 2006 Trendspotting: Skinny Jeans

Impassioned as we are by the pleasures of cloth, we find it difficult to get excited about expensive jeans. We have seen, and indeed even tried on, pairs that cost $300 or even $800, and we are hard-pressed to find a difference in fit or appearance that justifies the eightfold price disparity between them and a pair from American Eagle Outfitters or Club Monaco.
The most ridiculous items of all are the paint-splattered ones we saw last year from Dolce & Gabbana: We reckoned they were charging around $50 for each daub, and we could have done it much cheaper in our garage.
This fall’s scary trend is the sudden move from baggy to narrow. Say hello to the skinny jean, a virus we caught from women’s fashion: It’s not necessarily tight up top, but quite narrow around the calf and ankle. John Galliano’s were so pegged at the bottom they inevitably recalled the eighties, and all those guitarists we emulated from Blondie and the Cars.
In fact, we confess to adoring this new style exactly because of this nostalgia. We can’t wait to pair them with military boots and relive our ongoing adolescence.
Other designers who showed narrow jeans for this fall — Ralph Lauren, Givenchy, Paul Smith — didn’t go quite this narrow, which makes them much more wearable for most. But it’s a skinny guys’ game, and that is unfair. Also unfair is the ever-descending waistband. You can only wear the super-low-rise jeans if you are extremely pleased with your lower abdomen. We do not recommend this style for the over-35s.
Be aware, too, that some some gay men are not necessarily impressed with guys who are followers of the latest fashions (gasp!). We recently overheard a group of gay fashionistas saying they would be turned off by a guy who appeared to care too much about these things — and these are people in the business.
Also be aware that the jeans from lower-end retail chains are quick off the designer styles, and they are getting so fast and good at doing this that there is very little noticeable difference to the untrained eye. In other words, you really don’t need to spend more than $150.