Mom or Boyfriend Jeans: Should I Buy These for 2027?

By Ella Blake – Senior Fashion Stylist & Founder | Tellar – Always honest, unbiased & unsponsored post

Short answer: yes to both — but only if you buy the 2027 version, not the 2016 one. Mom jeans and boyfriend jeans have survived every denim cycle of the last decade for the simple reason that they're comfortable and they're not skinny. What's changed is the shape of them. The pale, tapered, heavily-ripped versions that defined the mid-2010s are the ones that will date you. The cleaner, straighter, longer versions coming through now will carry you well past next year.

So it's less "should I buy these" and more "which one, and in what cut". Let me take you through it properly.

What's actually happening to denim going into 2027

The big story is that the exaggerated stuff is cooling. Barrel and balloon legs had a genuinely long run, but the mood has shifted towards straighter, more considered lines — cigarette and stovepipe cuts, longer hems, and a slow creep back to a slightly lower rise after years of everything sitting under the ribcage.

What that means for our two contenders:

Mom jeans are being pulled straighter. The classic mom jean tapers in at the ankle — that taper is the bit that reads dated now. The updated cut keeps the high waist and the roomy hip but runs straight down.
Boyfriend jeans are being pulled cleaner. Less distressing, fewer knee rips, a longer leg, and a proper rigid denim rather than a soft stretchy one.
Both are moving away from that washed-out, chalky pale blue and towards mid-indigo, true black and ecru.

Neither of these silhouettes is going anywhere. They're just growing up a bit.

My own denim confessions

I'll be honest with you, because I've made both mistakes.

The fail: around 2016 I bought a pair of very pale, very tapered mom jeans that I adored in the changing-room mirror. Loved them. Wore them constantly. Then someone sent me a photo from a lunch that summer and I genuinely didn't recognise my own legs — the taper had turned my whole lower half into a triangle, and the pale wash sat right where I least wanted volume. They went to the charity shop the following week and I've been suspicious of a tapered ankle ever since.

The win: a pair of rigid mid-blue boyfriend jeans I bought a size too big on purpose and had a tailor take in at the waist for about fifteen pounds. That single alteration is the best styling money I've ever spent. Boyfriend jeans are cut generously through the hip and waist by design, so most of us end up either swimming in the waistband or sizing down and losing the whole relaxed line through the leg. Buy for the leg, tailor the waist. Every time.

Mom jeans: who they actually suit

Best on longer torsos and anyone who wants the waist defined — that high rise does a lot of quiet work.
Buy rigid, not stretchy. Stretch mom jeans bag out at the knee by lunchtime and lose their shape entirely.
Go straight, not tapered. If the hem is narrower than the knee, put them back.
Watch the rise. Anything sitting above the natural waist starts to shorten the body rather than lengthen it.
Best shoes: a loafer, a trainer with some presence, or a low block boot. Nothing delicate — the volume needs an anchor.

Boyfriend jeans: who they actually suit

Best on shorter torsos and anyone who finds a high waist uncomfortable — the lower, easier rise is far kinder.
Skip the heavy distressing. A soft fade or a raw hem reads current; shredded knees read 2013.
Length matters more than anything. Modern boyfriend jeans want to sit long — grazing the top of the shoe, not cuffed twice above the ankle.
Keep the top half fitted. A fine-knit, a tucked vest, a slim shirt. Volume on volume needs real confidence and usually a very good coat.
Best shoes: a flat mule, a ballet flat with a slightly squared toe, or a chunky trainer.

So which should you buy?

If you can only justify one pair, my honest steer: buy the updated boyfriend jean. It's the more versatile of the two right now because the straighter, longer, cleaner cut is exactly where denim is heading, and it dresses up far more easily than a mom jean does. Mom jeans are the better buy if you specifically want a defined waist, or if a high rise is simply what feels good on you — in which case buy the straight-leg version and don't let anyone sell you a taper.

And a word on the sizing, because this is where most of the disappointment happens. Relaxed denim is where brand sizing goes completely off-piste — a boyfriend jean is deliberately cut roomy, so brands take wildly different views on what a UK 12 means. Rigid denim also runs small before it's worn in, which catches people out constantly. Always buy to your waist measurement first and check the specific brand's chart rather than assuming your usual number.

Never Second-Guess a Size Again

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Where to shop, by budget

Denim is one of the few categories where the high street genuinely competes, so don't feel you have to spend big. All fresh picks — none of these are repeated from my recent posts.

High street & accessible

Levi's — the 501 and the Ribcage are the reference points for a reason; rigid, honest denim that wears in beautifully.
Gap — quietly excellent again on relaxed and loose-fit denim, and generous with inseam options.
Weekday — the best-value rigid denim on the high street, and consistently ahead on silhouette.
Arket — clean, unfussy cuts in proper heavyweight cotton if you hate a distressed finish.
Marks & Spencer — much stronger on denim than people expect, and the fit range is the widest here.
Uniqlo — reliable straight and wide cuts, sensible washes, and priced to experiment with.
River Island — the quickest to translate a new denim shape at a price that doesn't hurt.
New Look — good on the relaxed mom-jean silhouette specifically, with a broad size range.

Premium

Agolde — the brand driving the current straighter, cleaner direction; worth the outlay if denim is your uniform.
Frame — beautifully finished, flattering rises, and the closest thing to a foolproof relaxed jean.
Citizens of Humanity — exceptional fabric quality and the best-cut boyfriend styles at this level.

Luxury

Khaite — the fashion-editor pick, and the one setting the proportions everyone else follows.
Chloé — for a softer, more romantic take on relaxed denim.

Independent & left-field

E.L.V. Denim — a London label making one-off jeans from reclaimed vintage denim; genuinely brilliant, and the most sustainable buy on this list.
Damson Madder — small British brand with a real point of view on cut and colour; their denim is far better made than the price suggests.

The bottom line

Buy either — just buy them straighter, longer and in a better wash than you would have five years ago. And if you're between sizes, size up and spend a little on a tailor. A well-fitted pair of relaxed jeans will outlast every trend forecast, including mine.