Good jeans
I bought the Hailey Bieber Jeans & ranking the celebrity collab denim in my closet.
A good pair of jeans is hard to come by. Sydney Sweeney learned that the hard way.
Jeans are personal. Individual. No pair fits the two people the same. This statement rings so true for women around the world that they even wrote a movie about the potential of a single pair of pants fitting an entire friend group:
It used to be all about designer denim. Gloria Vanderbilt, Donna Karan New York (now DKNY), Calvin Klein, etc.
Then, it became about affordable denim. Think Old Navy, GAP.
In the mid-2010s, it was all about vintage denim. Entered the Tumblr-era obsession with finding the perfect 501s and overpaying about $100 for them. I scoured Connecticut for something that would look like a girl in a Brandy Melville ad (obviously, to no avail).
Now, we’re in a time of celebrity collaboration denim.
If you don’t have a jean, you may as well consider yourself more of a loser than the people who don’t get invited to the MET Gala or that creepy Michael Rubin White Party. Companies like American Eagle, Lucky Brand, and Frame have figured out that the Gen-Z customer is down for some denim designed by one of their favorite it-girls.
I’m a sucker for a collaboration. I blame my mother, because I have memories of going to Target to pick up the Liberty London and Missoni collections the day they came out. I try to get early access to as much as I can on GAP, and if I really want something, I’ll find a way to get it, whether it’s on eBay or StockX.
To speak of my mother again, in case you didn’t know, she is a certified girl boss. I’ve been around her ideating, negotiating, and executing special collections designed with Bella Hadid, Danielle Bernstein, Taylor Hill, Julian Edelman, and the Foster Sisters for the last decade. I’ve seen what it takes to make something that sells, particularly, a great pair of jeans.
When I saw that Hailey Rhode Baldwin Bieber, basically the current president of the it-girl community, had scored a GAP collaboration (or should I say, GAP scored her), I thought 2 things: 1. I thought she had a contract with DKNY;
And 2. I need those jeans.
In addition to the Hailey 1996 Extra Loose Baggy Low Rise that I acquired last week (via sending my sister to the GAP store), I will also be showcasing what I think about two other pairs that have been generously given to me: the Brooks Nader x Hudson Jeans, and the Addison Rae x Lucky Brand Ultra Low Rise Flare.
For reference, I’m 5’5” (I think that I’ve grown to 5’6” but I need to consult my doctor), and typically fall between a 26/27 depending on the brand.
Let’s start out with Brooks.
These jeans are a 25 which I have not been since probably high school. They’re also supposed to be a baggy boyfriend jean, which does not translate outside of Brooks Nader’s body type, one unattainable to most gals such as me. The denim is crazy soft, I wear these on days where I want to be cozy and comfortable, and this light wash is very pretty as well.
Rating: 👖👖👖
Now, onto Addison. I have both a light and a dark wash.
These are a 27 and they don’t button. They are ultra, ultra low rise, so maybe it has something to do with my hipbones. I covered my rear in the light pair for modesty. I think these would be amazing on a girl who is perhaps newly-seventeen or perhaps a contestant in an Alix Earle Lookalike Contest. The fabric is very rigid and there is little-to-no room for stretch.
Ra(e)ting: Addison I love you, I just need a 28 or a 29. 👖
Last. The main event. The Hailey Extra Baggy Jean from Hailey Bieber and GAP.
I got these in a 27 and the wash called light indigo. I could’ve definitely gone with a 26, but I’d rather be able to have these for the foreseeable future and not be afraid that I won’t fit into them. The zipper being elongated shows just how big they are on me, which is the only negative I have. They do fall perfectly below my belly button, and extend beyond my foot which is the fit I’m into at the moment. The fabric is somewhere between Brooks and Addison, rigid, but not without a slight stretch and live-in wearability that GAP is famous for.
Rating: 👖👖👖👖👖
I have to say, these gals know how to make some jeans. Some celebrities in the future that I would love to see make their own pair this year are Tate McRae, Devon Lee Carlson (she kind of did for Reformation, but let’s get serious), and dare I say…Ciara Miller. When I’m right about this, you know where to find me.
Here are some of my favorite non-collab jeans that I swear by:
when you first posted asking if you should get them to review for coffee order, i was terrified i may soon be living in a reality where there wasn't a coffee order on the hailey bieber x gap jeans. despite this being a tumultuous time, my agony soon passed as i knew there was no world in which you wouldn't. thank you godlivia hawkins, thank you.
26 or 7