Skinny Jeans Are Back and Younger Stars Aren’t on Board

Those skintight pants you thought were long gone are finding a way back onto store shelves, and the trend has Hollywood divided.

The slim-fit trouser has technically been around since the ’50s, with its popularity waxing and waning throughout the decades. During the mid-aughts, the figure-hugging design reached its peak, but then the late 2010s hit — and eventually the COVID-19 pandemic — and the fashion world gravitated toward looser, comfortable and feel-good silhouettes. Baggy frames were the move, and the idea of ever going back to the suck-you-in silhouette seemed unlikely. But as trends go — much to the dismay of many Gen Zers and millennials who had canceled the “outdated” fad, in favor of oversize-anything — the Fall/ Winter 2024 runways brought an interesting twist.

Miu Miu and Alexander McQueen were two luxury fashion brands whose catwalks revisited the divisive denim. (The former accessorized with larger-than-life fuzzy coats and preppy loafers, while the latter styled its floor-length numbers with bold tops and unexpected criss-cross detailing.) Gen X celebrities seemed to follow suit when it came to their off-duty dressing: Sofía Vergara and Céline Dion were recently seen rocking skintight blues.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member Lisa Barlow, meanwhile, is also on board. “I love skinny jeans,” she exclusively tells Us. “And for my body type, a really low-waisted skinny jean is the jam!”

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But how do younger celebrities like Chloe Fineman, Hanako Greensmith, and Lainey Wilson feel about the comeback? Well, no matter how many tight pants may have dominated their wardrobes at one point in time, they’re not having it!

“I’m a cold-blooded millennial, and I have a big nay on that nay,” Fineman tells Us. The Saturday Night Live star explains that she once owned skinny jeans from Forever 21 that would “fully rip open” while she was sitting. “No one needs to go through that again. They are just so uncomfortable.”

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Chicago Fire star Greensmith, 27, is somewhat confused by the resurgence of skinnies. “Where would you wanna wear [them]? I will keep not wearing skinny jeans in my personal life,” she tells Us. Wilson, 32, feels the same, noting that although she probably won’t be trading her bell-bottoms for skinnies, she understands people who want to wear them. “I’m all about what makes you feel good,” she tells Us. Preach!

Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff is less open-minded. “Don’t do it. It’s a terrible idea,” she quips. If you must, she suggests pairing them with ballet flats or thigh-high boots with a sweater for the colder weather. But as for the Real Housewives of New York City newcomer herself? She’s still loving the wide-leg style and has zero plans to don skinny jeans anytime soon.