SKINNY JEANS ARE NOT DEAD... But We're Making Room ...

I truly believe that skinny jeans are here to stay. As MK and I discussed the other night, they're merely a TYPE of jean, not a trend. And the right pair (case in point, the grey Zara jeans I've been wearing for about three years now, 98% because I love them and 2% because of their Xtreme Vanity Sizing -- they're like 8 sizes smaller than I actually am. Win/win!) can truly slim you down if they're not obscenely tight -- though, I will admit, despite the fact that I am short and curvy, my legs -- while far from toothpicks -- are pretty proportional, and I don't have a ton of thigh-age, so that does help with being able to pull them off. And either I'm rolling, completely delusional or a combo of both, but I'm convinced they don't make me look shorter than my 5 feet + 2 inches. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

So, as much as I love skinny jeans, let's diversify, people. A girl does need SOME non-constricting jeans in her Ikea wardrobe. (Erps, that'd be me. Stoopid no-closets Brooklyn brownstones!)

Anyway, I'm more than willing to make room in my wardrobe and heart for some wider-legged jeans, though I draw the line at Kate Moss '70-style jeans so wide that if you sewed up the legs and cut them apart down the middle, there'd still be so much fabric that I'd look like a denim-clad Hassidic mermaid.

Sophisticated trouser-style jeans in a nice dark shade is where it's at.

Which is why I love these Flying Monkey jeans:

($51, Flying Monkey, Lulus)

These are a great winter-spring transitional jean, they look great with a wider heel, and hello, they're like $50 bucks!