I hear so but I don't know. But it's too giggle-icous to keep to myself. My fashion spies tell me that teenagers are using plastic bags to help them slide in and out of their skinny jeans and tight pants.
The plastic goes around their lower limbs and then the legs of the garment are tugged and twisted this way and that until the garment crawls its way up over the thighs. To remove the torture device requires two people and the wearer lies prostrate on the floor while friends grab a leg and pu-u-u-l-l-l-l as hard as they can.
That is the latest report from the trenches. Despite my best efforts, guys have not got the message that the cigarette-leg look is unappealing and dangerous to the family jewels. But who listens to me? And girls–you should know better. You have curves which are not meant to sausaged like deformed hotdogs.
Few people have legs that resemble cigarettes, so this trend was doomed before it was revived. Yup, we oldies had the narrowed look down long before you young turks ripped your first inseam.
Tapered legs, gun-mouth, and ankle-fit are one thing, and having recently made the acquaintance of skinny pants, I can say they have their role to play. A long, sleek line can be achieved, and with a spiffy shirt or trapeze top, you can go places. But anything that is so tight your veins are screaming blue murder is quite another.
In the public interest, I dashed off an urgent email to my confidantes at Vogue and sought the latest dispatches from the design labs.
Guys and those who like guys–this one is for you, and it is inspired by Pharrell Williams, the rapper and musician who stars on The Voice. He made "cropped and shrunken" red carpet ready, appearing in well-tailored tuxedos but with bare knees or ankles, in a part runaway orphan, part billionaire boy genius look.
No one is advocating you start advertising your knobbly body parts (you have to be rich and famous first) but a tapered and mischievous boyish swagger is all the wow. Pharrell is a denim expert and his new creative adventure is the RAW label, which is denim from recycled ocean plastic.
As for the girls, you really need to pay attention. Yoga pants and leggings in public, other than on your way to and from the studio, will always be tacky and you will look as if all you have on your mind is a Downward Facing Dog, rather than completing that report your boss asked you for a week ago.
The "athleisure look'' has people eschewing real trousers for leggings and stuff that looks as if they are naked, just with clothes on. And now designers have come up with another hybrid between pants and leggings called Flex Tech Jeans.
Not jeggings and, not gack! the dread pajama jeans.
The Flex Tech is described by my Vogue informant as a bridge between the gym and the office, and the "ISKO Premium Denim technology'' is said to produce a gravity-defying lifting effect. I remain suspicious since ISKO are the same people who unleashed the term "jeggings'' on us and those of us with reliable Levi's still comfortably folded in the closet have never recovered from the trauma.
But ISKO are known as the stretchy-denim specialists who helped Guess develop our assets right where we wanted them. They previewed the new line to Vogue editors recently who have pronounced it ready to "break into the gym-to-office outfit consolidation game.'' I reserve my own stamp of approval until my trial pair arrives via FedEx.
I am much more interested in the other news from Kelly Connor, Vogue.com's resident denim expert. "The boot cut is back," she reported, triumphantly.
Aaah, bliss. The skinny look can kick butt but the good old boot-cut jeans are perfect for those of us who aren't so skinny and who prefer to be able to get dressed without having to corkscrew ourselves into a few inches of denim.
The boot-cut favourite still renders a sleek silhouette while taking care of our curves, and gently kicks out below the knee so you can get your foot through without a pair of forceps, and the kick also balances things out for a flattering, baby-got-back look.
Best thing about the boot cut? It goes with anything, from the everyday T-shirt to crisp designer Meiling linen, to the tailored jacket and perfect blouse for dress-down Fridays at the office–and then you just shake off the jacket for the after-work party. See you there.
�2 Got a fave never-go-out-of-style look? Tell all at wrenchelsa@hotmail.com