How to find your signature basic jeans, according to a stylist

Your guide to finding your one true fit.

For many of us, jeans simultaneously represent pain and glory. Pain, because finding the right pair is harder than getting a table at brunch on a bleary-eyed Sunday morning, and glory, because once you do it’s like finding your soulmate.  

That’s because a good pair of jeans can carry you through life with ease and confidence, taking you from the aforementioned brunch to a work meeting and then out for dinner and drinks that night. They are reliable, sturdy, comfortable and can work with almost any outfit for any occasion. 

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So, how do you find your perfect pair of ride or die denim jeans? Nobody Denim’s recently released AU22 collection is a good place to start, with the brand offering a wide range of styles and sizes as part of the release. 

“There are just so many options out there!” exclaims stylist and creative director Carlos Mangubat, when I ask him why shopping for a pair of signature basic jeans can cause even the most confident and well-adjusted among us to break out in a sweat and go all 1997 by asking “Does my bum look big in this?”.

Carlos has noticed a denim transformation in the last few years that has seen brands and tastemakers move away from the slimline silhouettes of the 2010s. Instead, we’re moving towards what he describes as “a slouchier, more oversized and over-proportion style denim that feels a lot techier or club-kid than it did before”. 

But he advises against getting overwhelmed by all the choices and trends in your quest for your sartorial soulmate, and instead suggests zeroing in on the styles that are going to best complement your figure. 

“When you’re buying a signature pair of jeans, it’s all about focusing on finding something that you feel good in and [that] looks good on your body shape,” Carlos emphasises. That means considering not only cut, rise, length, wash and stretch, but also your own style.

Using himself as an example, Carlos explains, “I’m 5’5 so being shorter, all the denim I own is cropped.” He continues, “Same goes for wash. Personally, I lean towards darker shades of anything, so that’s what I opt for in my denim choices too.

“I don’t think there are any rules that are exclusive to denim, but all the classic fashion ones apply. For example, if you’re wider in the hips, maybe look to balance that out with a leg that is either bootleg or just generally wider at the bottom. If you’re taller, you’ll want to look for inseams 30″ or above”.

For those on the shorter side like Carlos, Nobody Denim’s AU22 collection includes eight petite styles designed specifically for anyone 5’4 and shorter. Among our favourite styles for those wanting to balance out a wider hip width is the Milla Jean, with its wide leg and ankle-grazing cut. 

The collection also includes super-flattering, ultra-highrise fits for our taller friends who want to accentuate their long legs. However, those recommendations are purely guides and according to Carlos, the best way to find that perfect pair is the same way you find the perfect partner: get out there and try a few on for size. 

“If you’re time-poor and you want to buy your denim online, that’s totally doable. But maybe think about getting a few different sizes so you can find the best fit,” explains the stylist. He points to brands like Nobody Denim because it not only has a wide range of styles and sizes and offers a 30-day return policy on its products, but has also created an online sizing guide that one can liken to a denim match-making service.

A godsend for the jean shopping averse among us, the size guide allows you to select the cut, rise, length, wash and stretch you are looking for. The website will use that information to make recommendations of the styles that match these selections and will even help you decide which size to go for.  

If you find yourself in a situation where you’re unsure about whether to size up or down, Carlos advises thinking about the type of denim you’re buying and what that means. “So, if you’re buying a thinner or stretchier denim that you plan to wear a lot then you might want to size down because that is going to stretch quickly, whereas a thicker denim will have less give and so that might mean you might go up a size,” he explains.

“It’s all about thinking about what you want to get out of a pair of jeans and what their long-term life will look like,” Carlos says, before assuring me that everyone’s one true fit exists. Now it’s our job to go out there and find them.

Explore Nobody Denim’s AU22 collection here.