Once considered the only acceptable cut, skinny jeans faded from favor as Gen Z embraced looser fits. Now, fashion insiders say the tightly tailored silhouette is making a comeback – and millennials are having a meltdown.
In his 2006 book “Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon,” journalist and author James Sullivan made a simple but lasting observation: “If there’s one thing I learned from reporting that book, it’s that styles of jeans will always go out of style, and then come back in.” He continued, per the Guardian, “If young [people] are saying ‘we’re not wearing skinny jeans’ today, just wait five minutes and they will come back.”
He wasn’t wrong. Nearly two decades later, fashion experts are urging people to dig their skinny jeans out from the depths of their closets – where the once-essential denim has been hiding since they were canceled by Gen Z, who prefer the oversized look to skintight.
‘Love my baggy jeans’
“I am not a fan of them. At all. They were fun but now I just want my legs to breathe and have blood circulation,” writes one user in a Reddit thread called “How does Gen Z feel about skinny jeans?”
“I hate [skinnies], I don’t care if they are making a comeback, I won’t wear them. I love my baggy jeans,” writes a second Redditor.
Another added, “It’s been the millennial staple for a while now and was the most ‘in trend’ style for years…what would be more of a proof of a ‘comeback’ would be if you sold them to several Gen Zs.”
‘Skinny jeans are back’
But it only took a few high-profile outings to put skinny jeans back on the map. Thanks to style icons like Kylie Jenner, Billie Eilish, and Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr, the once-retired silhouette is suddenly front and center again.
“When Gen Z decided skinny jeans are back, but you never stopped wearing them,” Kerr captioned a February 2025 TikTok clip that was viewed 2.6 million times.
The video shows the Victoria’s Secret model wearing classic skinny jeans and heels, lying on her back and lifting her legs – highlighting her long-standing loyalty to the silhouette.
The skinny on the jeans
According to Vogue, “The New and Improved Skinny Jean Is Firmly Here for Fall,” but fashion experts are quick to clarify that the 2025 iteration is a far cry from the sausage-casing denim of before.
Today’s skinny jeans are more structured, cut from thicker, high-quality fabric that adds definition without strangling your calves.
They hug the leg, but they also breathe. There’s a bit of ease at the waist, subtle slack at the ankle, and a welcome departure from the ultra-tight silhouette that once ruled the early 2000s.
Plus, when it comes to the rise, there’s no dominant trend. High-rise, low-rise, mid-rise – they’re all on the table. It’s less about sticking to one shape, and more about how you balance the proportions.
Skinny and loose
This time around, the key is contrast.
Oversized shirts, chunky knits, relaxed blazers – these are your new best friends when pairing with skinnies.
“If you’re doing a skinny jean, whatever shoe you’re wearing changes the whole shape and silhouette of the outfit,” Lucinda Pickett, fashion PR expert and trend consultant told Mamamia. She suggests thinking less “bodycon from head to toe” and more “structured bottom, roomy top.”
“Millennials back in the day would wear skinny spray-on jeans with an ankle boot and then a tight top, and there was just no proportion or silhouette in that outfit, Pickett added.
Also, ditch the distressed styles: “Light distressing and fading [are] okay, but you really want to avoid the flashback to skin-tight jeans with big gaping holes in the knees. That look (still) belongs in fashion jail,” Pickett said.
‘Made me feel so insecure’
The reaction from millennials – who built an entire fashion era around skinny jeans – is a mix of nostalgia and anxiety.
“I’m a Zillennial born in 1996, and skinny jeans always made me feel so insecure, especially as a kid who was always curvier,” explained one woman in an article on millennials and skinny jeans.
A second shared, “I’m a millennial who, in her day, probably owned a dozen pairs of skinnies. But I have to say, not to be a bandwagon hater, even when I was wearing skinny jeans on the reg, I never really liked how they looked on my body.”
But Pickett suggests people play with proportions.
“All the millennials are screaming inside, ‘Is skinny back in?’” she said. “So if you are a millennial and thinking, ‘I don’t want to touch skinny,’ just try playing with different balances or proportions.
So, if you’re feeling brave (and balanced), go ahead and dust off those skinny jeans!
What are your thoughts on skinny jeans? Please let us know what you think and then share this story so we can hear from others!
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