When makeup artist Lisa Storey purchased these Earnest Sewn wide-leg denim trousers in New York more than a decade ago, they were dark and stiff, “not so casual,” she said. But years of wearing them to work on locations around the world shooting covers and ad campaigns for some of fashion’s biggest names (Harper’s BazaarElle, and AG among them) softened Lisa’s Earnest Sewns considerably. Want to know the best way to break in a pair of rigid blue jeans? Work your butt off in them, like Lisa has. They’ll be gorgeous in no time.

Born in Surrey, England, Lisa now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and five-year-old son. The day I went to visit her there, she was wearing her Earnest Sewns with a fine, striped shirt and boots by Isabel Marant – her staples. The minute we started shooting, she turned on. “See, I learned how to move from the models,” said Lisa, who delivered her moves with a wink to the women she’s worked with – Cindy Crawford, Joan Smalls, Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington Whitely, Alexa Chung, Guinevere Van Seenus, Angela Lindvall, and Claudia Schiffer… Her celebrity clients include Kate Bosworth, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Winona Ryder, too. “I like doing makeup that lets the girl come through,” she explained. Do you like Lisa’s own look here? I really do. Especially since, unlike her jeans, all of us can get it. Scroll down for some of Lisa’s beauty recs (like Jouer’s crème shadow crayon in Baroque, for a hint of mystery around the eyes). But first, here’s her story…

What do you love most about your Earnest Sewn jeans?

That I can put them on and forget them – they are comfortable, practical and, I think, stylish and chic. I can wear them in the heat and in a chilled studio. Definite go-to.

What do they remind you of? Name the first thing that comes to your mind.

70s chic. Not hippy, though. More of a glam cut. The waistband hits my ribs!

If they could give us one word of advice – about style, or maybe something you’ve learned while wearing them – what would it be?

Words of advice: It’s important to feel so comfortable in your jeans that you can work all day and then still go out at night in the same pair.

Lisa Storey
Lisa StoreyLET’S DANCE Makeup artist Lisa Storey at home in Los Angeles in her favorite Earnest Sewn trouser jeans.

What do your jeans know about you that no one else knows?

How big my bum got after I had my baby.

If you could go anywhere in the world in your jeans tomorrow, where would it be?

India (I can do lotus position in them). Or Ibiza (they are good for dancing too).

What do your jeans and you have in common?

Adaptability.

What’s the best possible thing you could be doing in them right now?

I’d love to be jumping on a trampoline.

What’s the best possible ending you could imagine for them?

There is none to imagine. I think they will evolve.

Fill in the blank: In my jeans, I feel ready to _________.

Work and play.

Lisa Storey