What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans…+ Katie Holmes Inspired

We get asked this a lot – what to wear with wide leg jeans? Wide leg jeans encompass so many styles these days – 90s, boyfriend, dad, mom, bootcut, and on and on… We say ignore the name and find the fit that works best for your body! For the purpose of this article, we are talking about wide leg jeans in general and you’ll see many different specific styles here.

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
Our One Basic Rule

We don’t follow a ton of rules when it comes to fashion, but…

When it comes to styling wide or loose fit jeans, we always do this – either fully or partially tuck your top!

This is so important because otherwise there will be no shape to your outfit, and it’ll read “frumpy”. This is a look that 20-somethings can pull off, but not us 40+ crowd. Basically you want to highlight the waist. Even when your top is also looser, tucking it in will make your waist look smaller and everything will appear more hourglass and curvy.

You can accentuate it even further with a belt!

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
Katie Holmes Inspired!

One of our favorite readers recently sent us this picture of Katie Holmes, asking us to find her a similar pair of jeans.

Well, we love a good challenge, and we both adore Katie Holmes style, so we went on the hunt, and in the process found several great options.

Katie Holmes has become the queen of chic street style, and we couldn’t love her more. She wears mostly classic basics but keeps it slightly edgy and therefore never boring. That is basically the motto we live by.

Our Current Favorite Wide Leg Jeans

Katie is wearing a very clean wash that is slightly bootcut. We love this style in a full length cut.

Tammy just bought these new MOTHER Tunnel Vision, and they are so good that Rachel also has them on order.

Top (sized up to M) | Jeans (TTS) | Bag | Shoes | Sunglasses

Rachel has (and loves) the Anine Bing Bryn and they are on huge sale right now…50% off! Sizes are selling out quickly. They are longer and might require a slight hem, but they are really good and super similar to the MOTHER Tunnel Vision, above, at a much lower price point. We always size up 1 in our Anine Bing jeans.

Article: Anine Bing Bootcut Jeans Make Me Swoon

These are our top picks for full length options!

We also love a good cropped version.

And finally, our favorite affordable picks!

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
A Pretty Tucked Blouse

When talking about what to wear with wide leg jeans, we have to start with our favorite – a feminine tucked-in blouse. Because wide leg jeans have so much volume, we want to emphasize the waist. By tucking in our top, we create the hourglass shape, regardless of our body type.

I must start with my newest favorite find. I’ve been looking for a cute polka dot top for a while. I found this gem in Nordstrom and it’s so new it’s not even available online yet! No fear, as soon as it is available, we will post again with a link to purchase. It’s so good and it definitely fits the Katie Holmes vibe!

Top (sized up to M) | Jeans (TTS) | Bag | Shoes | Sunglasses

I’m truly smitten with this top. It’s what I would deem perfection, honestly. It’s a soft rayon fabric that fits like a dream (I sized up to medium). I have a feeling it will sell out quickly.

Top (sized up to M) | Jeans (TTS) | Bag | Shoes | Sunglasses

I sized up to M in this top, especially because of the arms and it fits perfectly. Here are our other top picks for pretty polka dot tops.

*See Rachel’s budget-friendly option to a polka dot blouse that is strikingly similar to the one Katie is wearing – here.

The following looks just as good with sneakers or heels. That’s the brilliance of a slightly cropped wide leg jean!

Articles: Left (Are Mother Jeans Worth It?) | Right (Outfits With Snakeskin Shoes)

Here you can see even though we are wearing a  pretty bold bootcut jean plus a loose blouse, they are balanced enough by the tuck, which highlights our waist.

Articles: Left (Holiday Edit) | Right (Fall Blouse Round-up)

Rachel is wearing a more straight cut denim in this example, but again she tucks the top to highlight her waist…and it’s further accentuated by the slight crop and the bootie.

Article: Fall Blouse Round-up

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
A Pullover Sweater

Tammy did an easy half tuck here, and it gives the illusion of a more fitted look. It doesn’t matter that the back is left loose, because the waist is nicely highlighted here. It is even better because there is such contrast between the black sweater and the white jeans.

Article: What To Wear With White Jeans in Winter

Stripes are always a good choice! We kind of have a love affair going with stripes at the moment, ha!

Articles: Left (Pattern Mixing Tips) | Right (Stripes and Leopard and Loafers)

Again we see that just a partial tuck helps to define the waist. And yes, this works for any season!

Article: La Ligne Sweaters and Stripes

My 18 year old daughter occasionally comes on the blog with me, and she usually pairs her wide leg or loose fit jeans with a crop top that’s fitted. At 49 years old, I’ve hung up my crop tops, but another way to show a little skin is with a tucked off the shoulder top!

Article: These Levi’s Are So Cool My 18 Year Old Wanted Them

In this example, Rachel used a belt to further define her waist. This look also works well without a belt, but in this case, the belt really just adds that something extra, especially when it coordinates with her sunglasses and shoes.

Article: Free People Sweater

In this example, even a baggy sweater can look chic thanks to a partial front tuck. When it comes to bulkier sweaters, we often just do a small tuck in the front, and that’s enough to highlight the waist.

Article: An Ivory Bag Is The Perfect Antidote to A Dark Winter

Add a little sexiness to a turtleneck by showing a bit of skin. This is one of our favorite sweaters of all time!

Article: Top 5 Sophisticated Yet Sexy Sweaters

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
With a Tshirt and/or Jacket

We love using a belt with a tshirt to give a little extra oomph that a tshirt might not offer on its own. Here Rachel coordinated her belt, shoes, and bag, for a seamless look which also looks super chic.

Article: Anine Bing Bootcut Jeans Make Me Swoon

We do love our graphic tees and they are the perfect compliment to any sort of loose denim – white, blue, ripped or plain – we love all the pairings!

Articles: Left (9 Ways To Style A Graphic Tee) | Right (My Favorite RE/DONE Tee)

By pairing blazers or a leather jacket with a tshirt, you can create a stylish yet effortless look that is also extremely feminine.

Articles: Left (Our Favorite Flare Jeans) | Right (Veronica Beard Scuba Blazer Review)

Mix it up with a more structured blazer or a pretty fleece jacket in the cooler months. We love it all the ways.

Articles: Left (Veronica Beard Scuba Blazer Review) | Right (What To Wear With White Jeans In Winter)

We can’t get enough of this black on black look when pairing a leather jacket with wide leg denim. The contrast is so good – a mix between feminine and strong.  We love it! Adding the pretty feather bag and silver heels gives that perfect juxtaposition we can’t get enough of.

Article: Silver Accessories Complete An Outfit

Just like Katie Holmes, we both love our loafers. We especially love pairing them with a pair of cropped jeans and a blazer – the perfect mix of casual and business. It never feels too serious or stuffy!

Article: Your Wardrobe Needs Black Loafers

What to Wear With Wide Leg Jeans
A Silk Camisole or Tank

We love our camisoles and tanks, and they tend to work best with loose and wide leg denim.

Article: What To Wear On Valentine’s Day

We are both pretty obsesed with Zadig & Voltaire’s Christy silk camisoles. They just add that special femininity, especially paired with a loose fit denim. It’s pretty much a foolproof formula when it comes to getting dressed!

Articles: Left (My One Perfect Camisole) | Right (A Casual 70s Vibe)

Wear something under your blazer that you don’t mind showing off, when you remove the jacket. This is why we usually prefer silk camisoles to basic tanks, for dressing up — so easy when you need to remove a layer!

Article: Outfits With Snakeskin Shoes

And don’t forget that it’s starting to warm up! Sometimes a camisole can feel a little revealing, but pair it with a wide leg or loose denim and you are ready for date night!

Article: Lee Flare Jeans

Sometimes we just want to keep it cool and casual for a picnic or summer concert. This is when we typically pair our wider leg jeans with a cute tank. Our favorite is the Anine Bing Ava tank which fits the bill perfectly!

Article: My Favorite LNA Tank

Tammy’s newest find from Reformation – the Alyssa Patch Pocket Jeans, and they are good! They are also affordable at only $128. See the article Reformation Sizing Review + Favorite Pieces for more details.

Article: Reformation Sizing Review

And finally, let’s not forget our favorite – white jeans in the summer. We both love wearing white denim when it’s hot and there’s no better pairing than a bright or bold camisole or tank.

We’re getting more excited for summer by the minute!

Article: Styling White Jeans

So what do you think…did we nail the Katie Holmes style challenge? Let us know if you have any challenges you’d like us to attempt!

And that’s our round-up of what to wear with wide leg jeans. Have we missed any of your favorite styles? Let us know…we always want to hear from you guys!

x Tammy

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