8 best women’s high-waisted jeans, from skinny to mom styles

Nudie Jeans is relatively new to the scene, but it’s already got a strong following and is making a name for itself in sustainability circles. If you click on the sustainability tab on the brand’s website, there’s over 20 pages of options from sustainability reports and strategy to living wages and repair kits. There isn’t a hint of greenwashing here – in fact the very opposite. Every sustainable aspect of the brand is there for you to see, in detail, and it’s reassuring as well as refreshing. The brand is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified, meaning it limits the use of toxic chemicals, ensures its products contain at least 95 per cent organic fibres, and uses mills that enforce strict social and environmental standards.

Nudie offers five styles of jeans – “hightop Tilde”, “straight Sally”, “breezy Britt”, “lofty Lo”, and “clean Eileen”. Hightop is the tightest fit while our favourite, clean Eileen, is the loosest, with a wide leg – in our view, an underrated style. This pair sits on the more subtle side of the wide-leg spectrum, making them more versatile when it comes to the range of outfits they can work with, and they both look incredible and feels amazing on. In the interest of transparency, Nudie also tells you exactly how much water and CO2 was used to make your pair, and for that we commend the brand.

If you’ve been on many jeans quests and haven’t checked out Weekday yet, we are here to push you in the right direction. Weekday is the high street mecca of jeans – all styles, all colours and up to a 34in waist.

Not only are these jeans affordable, but they’re high quality and are made responsibly from organic cotton and recycled materials. With designs inspired by street style, the brand’s models will always keep you on the right side of cool, but don’t let that intimidate you. There’s a lot of classic styles that fit so right you’ll wonder how you’ve gone so long without them, and you just might find something slightly out of your comfort zone along the way.

Case in point: its lash mom jeans. They have the hip and bum hug of a straight jean, but the tapered legs flatter and elongate the legs. We have found some mom jeans in the past to be unflattering in the tummy area, but this Weekday pair is the solution we’ve been looking for. The extra-high waist means you’re not cut-off, and instead the torso is elongated and smooth. The denim is incredibly sturdy for a £40 pair, they’re loose in all the right places but without being shapeless, and they’re available in 11 different colours to boot.

Gap always has been, and still very much is, a great place for basics and essentials. Its jeans offering is vast, with a variety of styles in several washes as well as catering to petite and tall leg lengths. But most importantly, the brand’s size range extends to 26, making it one of the few high street brands that truly caters to plus-size bodies. It also has a clever little meter on its jean’s product pages that gauges their fit, based on customer reviews. We tried multiple pairs and found Gap to be fairly true to size, but comfortably so.

This particular pair earned its spot on our list for fitting in all the right places. A straight style is pretty uncomplicated: all you really need from it is to fit the waist and bum, and anything below that point should hang nicely with no ballooning or tapering in odd places. We did find the fit on the comfortable side, but if you’re one of those connoisseurs who likes a long haul process and buys jeans slightly smaller so they stretch over time and hug you perfectly, these might not be for you. But if you want a reasonably priced pair that doesn’t dig in and fit on the first try, then these are a winner. The button-up fly is one of our favourite features, as it contours to your tummy better than a zip. There’s stretch to the denim, but it feels thick and durable, almost like vintage jeans, which we loved.

In terms of sustainability, this pair is made with 6 per cent recycled cotton, and is part of Gap’s Washwell programme where the brand uses 20 per cent less water compared to conventional wash methods.

Not all sizes of these jeans are available at the moment, but we hope to see a restock soon.

Slim leg jeans can easily be confused with skinny jeans, but there’s a difference. If we were to put jeans on a scale of tightest to loosest, skinny would be on the far left, and the slim leg would follow. Slim leg jeans have slightly larger leg openings and they shouldn’t cling around the ankles, giving a smarter look than the skinny jean.

Jigsaw is great for smart, elegant pieces and its jeans are no different. The brand’s washes are rich and their lines are clean, and they’re all 98-100 per cent cotton. The hayne slim leg are a great pair that are smart enough for a variety of occasions. Available in off white, granite, light blue, indigo, vintage mid blue and black, there’s a colour for everyone. The £90 price tag puts them at the upper end of the jeans bracket, but they are a pair worth investing in.

We tried the black style and were very impressed by the quality. For slim fits, the denim is always thinner than other styles, which can lead to the fabric feeling cheap and losing its shape, but the denim of the hayne feels thick, strong and durable, while contouring perfectly to your shape. The fit is incredibly flattering, with a high waistline that sits comfortably above the hips, and enough added stretch to make sitting down a breeze. This is a cracking pair that can be dressed up or down, so you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.

Lee is a household name when it comes to all things denim. Established in 1889, the brand originally produced dungarees and jackets, but now it’s known for its jeans worldwide. With such a strong denim history, it only seems right that our favourite pair of jeans from their collection is a vintage style. The Carol is essentially a straight-leg jean, but with a retro twist. They’re available in cream, black and a variety of blue washes, but we particularly loved them in Vintage Jamie, a mid-blue that nods to the brand’s Texan roots.

Like all great vintage cuts, they hug the hips and bum in true Thelma and Louise style. They’re loose from thigh to ankle, but this particular pair is slightly more cropped at the ankle than most – another throwback feature that means they’ll look great with a pair of Western-style boots. They are a heavy denim, which ensures durability, but fear not, as there is also stretch.

This pair is made from 100 per cent organic cotton, which is actually just one of many ways in which the brand has committed to being more sustainable, in addition to its zero waste distribution centres and “indigood” denim programme that eliminates water from the dying process. And what would a vintage-style pair of jeans be without that classic yellow stitching?

Back in February 2021, TikTokers went on a rampage against our beloved skinny jeans, saying they have had their day and are not flattering. There were 274,000 videos tagged “no skinny jeans”, yet the style continues to be one of the most popular. We believe there will always be a place in our wardrobe for a pair of skinny jeans.

This pair delivers on all of those fronts, which explains why it’s one of M&S’s bestsellers. Available in petite, regular and long, M&S gives you everything you need to find the best fit for you. They fit true to size, but what makes them so special is the “sculpt and lift” bi-stretch fabric which pulls you in, while clever stitching lifts your bum for a sculpted silhouette. The waistband is tailored so there’s no gaping at the back and they’re made with sustainably sourced cotton.

Girlfriend jeans are worth familiarising yourself with, as they may end up being your favourite cut. They’re like a cross between the mom jean and boyfriend jean. In terms of waist, some describe them as mid-rise, but we would say they sit at the low end of high-waisted – lower than a mom jean and higher than a boyfriend. They’re also not as cropped on the leg as a mom jean, giving a fuller, looser and more comfortable fit on the leg.

This Boden pair provide a relaxed fit with stretch, and are available up to a size 22 in petite, regular and long. The fabric and fit feel expensive, but we do recommend sizing down.

Finding a pair of jeans to fit your tummy, waist, bum and thighs at the same time can seem like an impossible task. If they fit one area, they’re almost definitely not going to fit another. But many of us do have curves, and do want to wear jeans, so it’s a massive relief to know Everlane has made this pair.

With an increased hip-to-waist ratio, this pair caresses curves rather than cutting them off. We did find they ran a bit small, so definitely size up, but otherwise we adored them. The button-up fly and minimal stretch really holds you in, and they’re also sustainable, with commitments to eliminate all virgin plastic from their supply chain, move all their cotton to certified organic by 2023, and to make denim that doesn’t dirty the planet.