Barrel jeans are polarizing—and these are no exception. Even though they have a relatively subtle cut, it’s still not for everyone’s taste or body type.
My best friend, who’s 6-foot-2, bought them on my recommendation. The length was fine, but since she has a lovely natural hourglass shape, the pair’s parenthetical shape gilded the lily. “They really accentuated my hips in a way I didn’t like,” she said. “It was like I was wearing clown pants.”
The High Rise Barrel Jeans come in 19 washes that rotate seasonally, and they may not all be created equal. I recently got a second pair in medium indigo. While the cut and fabric content are the same as the black wash, the fit is uncomfortably snug in the hips, and a tad awkward overall. I’m also not wild about the fading. (According to a brand rep for Gap, the two denims received different dye treatments; the black wash is more saturated.)
One last gripe: These jeans get wrinkly. Over the course of the day, pronounced, accordion-like creases develop. (The more I sit, the wrinklier they get.) It’s not the end of the world, but it definitely lends a more rumpled appearance.
As the saying goes: It’s not the journey, it’s the destination. In my case, the High Rise Barrel Jeans delivered both.
I’ve had the jeans for four months now, and I wear them all the time. I reach for them on lazy Sundays. I pair them with fancy tops for evenings out. I throw them on as I’m racing out the door to school drop-off; they’re versatile and easy.
I don’t have a crystal ball to predict whether barrel jeans will earn a permanent spot in the denim pantheon, or if they’re just a passing fad. (Even if they were to fall out of fashion tomorrow, my cost-per-wear for these jeans would still be ridiculously cheap.)
I can, however, confirm that these Gap jeans—between their reasonable price and approachable silhouette—are a terrific, low-risk starter pair for the barrel-curious. And to me, that has legs.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
