“Everything about this jean, to me, is perfect,” says stylist Ketevan Gvaramadze who dressed model Doutzen Kroes for this shoot in an pair of old, worn-in A.P.C.s that actually belong to her friend (and fellow stylist) Delphine Danhier’s mom. “Lately, I’m just obsessed with a light wash – like what I used to wear when I was a kid – with a straight leg and high waist. Like a man’s jean.”
We share Gvaramadze’s affection for the looser fit, pale-blue hue, and lovingly worn-in look of these tomboy jeans – their anti-skinny statement is a welcome change; the fit we suddenly – seriously! – want to wear. But how? According to Gvaramadze, it’s with something really simple on top, like a beat-up t-shirt or luxurious sweater, a belt, Dr. Martens-like boots, and tights. “I love that they’re ripped, and if you wear tights or long johns underneath you can wear them in the winter and it looks amazing,” she says. Here Gvaramadze shares her tips on how to get the look, and we suggest jeans with similar silhouettes that you can buy now – either already hole-y or waiting for you to break in.
“I love the idea of pairing a really beautiful sweater with a really messed up jean. The sweater is Anthony Vaccarello, super fancy, and it has an open back, like an exaggerated V-neck in the back. So sexy,” says Gvaramadze. “The look needed a belt because the jeans are missing the top button, and also because they are quite big. Without a belt they’d fall down around Doutzen’s hips instead of being on her waist – and fitting up at the waist is what makes them look right. The belt is my boyfriend Michael’s, [who took these photographs]. It’s vintage, braided, brown leather, and I just cinched it tight and tucked the end of the strap under the first loop to make it look clean.”
Left: “Jeans. T-shirt. Just super-casual and cool. I asked Doutzen to bring all of her own jewelry. She’s wearing her Cartier Tank watch and lots of simple little gold bangles and leather wrap bracelets – just things that she’s been collecting throughout the years. It’s so easy to make Doutzen look glamorous and lady and very adult. I wanted her to look like the age she is – young and in her late 20s.”
Right: “I was thinking about Thelma & Louise, specifically that scene at the end…Susan Sarandon and Gina Davis are wearing their jeans with graphic rock ‘n roll t-shirts. Simple and sexy. The t-shirt is my own. I cut the sleeve so that the armhole is really low, but it means you need to wear something underneath. If you don’t wear a bra or a bodysuit you can see everything! I put a little bandeau top on Doutzen. It’s like a bathing suit: flat, no padding, really chic.”
“Here you can really see that the rip is above the knee. And when you bend your legs it’s quite nice for it to be ripped there, actually. It’s nice when you’re walking not to have your knees popping out. I put sheer black nylons underneath. I love that you can put tights or long johns inside this jean. Then you can wear them in the wintertime and it looks super-cool. The leg is just straight, normal, and really worn at the bottom. Doutzen is wearing her own Junya Watanabe boots that look very much like Dr. Martens, and I love them because they lace up the front but they have a zipper up the side. I un-zipped the zipper and let the pant leg fall half in, half out. She would move around and the jean would fall inside and out of the boot, and I didn’t touch it or over-think it because I wanted it to look as natural as possible.”
