When it comes to jeans, it’s hard to reinvent the wheel. There are flares and skinnies, high-rise or low, but denim trends tend to oscillate back to what’s been done before. So when something fresh does finally hit the market, we take notice.
Levi’s, the brand that takes credit for inventing denim altogether, has created the “cinch jean,” a loose, baggy style with one genius feature: snap tabs at the sides of the waist that allow them to be adjusted tighter.
These jeans have been going viral on TikTok for this small yet pragmatic design detail. In theory, this should make it a little easier to guarantee a snug fit, eliminating the annoying waist gap.
Another way of looking at it, as Mikayla Villati points out on TikTok, is that you’re getting two jeans for the price of one: Unsnapped, they are a low-rise style; snapped, they have a high waist.
Levi’s Cinch Baggy Women’s Jeans:
As someone who owns dozens of jeans of my own, I wanted to see how they lived up to the hype. I’m partial to loose-fitting vintage Levi’s, but to get the perfect relaxed fit through the leg, I often have to size up and get them tailored at the waist. I was intrigued by the idea of a pair that I could adjust myself.
Unfolding these lightly whiskered true blues from the package, I initially noticed that they’re made from a very lightweight nonstretch denim: soft to the touch, and not stiff or rigid. I’m five-nine and wear a size 27, and I found them to be loose throughout the legs, but not too long.
I styled them with sneakers and flats and didn’t step on the hems or feel like the fit was so big that they were cumbersome or, even worse, JNCO-coded.
As for the waist snaps, I liked the concept, and the jeans sat snugly at my belly button, but I didn’t find there to be a huge difference between the two settings. It’s not as if I could wear them low-slung one day and high up the next; the difference is more nuanced.
In practice, the cinch would be most useful when it comes to styling. They can be pulled tight if you’re tucking in a billowy, loose top, or if you’re going for something cropped that’s a bit more relaxed and easygoing, you can let the jeans out for a more comfortable fit.
Bottom line: It’s tough to convince me to add a new pair of jeans into my rotation, but I’m already thinking up occasions when I can put the side snaps to use. Besides being functional, there’s something fun about clothes that you can DIY to your liking. And as for belts, I’m excited to put them away for a bit.
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