Image stylist and market editor Melissa Magsaysay soothes your sartorial woes in the weekly Your Stylist post.

In this installment of Your Stylist, we address another trend in denim besides the '70s-style flare. Cropped, 1950s-length pants, à la gamine Audrey Hepburn, are as big a trend as bell bottoms this season, and they're chic and feminine.

Brands such as Current Elliott, MiH Jeans, J Brand and James Jeans are making obviously cropped-length pants that look great with a demure ballet flat or a low kitten heel.

Current Elliott is making a style called the Pony Boy crop that is unmistakably above the ankle. The length looks so great with a nautical striped top, slouchy T-shirt or even a short-sleeved girlie blouse.

J Brand is making a style called the Gigi with a kicky flare at the bottom that feels fun and quirky.

MiH Jeans has the Paris jean, which looks fresh in white, especially with a soft-colored blouse and a cute pair of flats; they'd look great on vacation with a colorful top and pair of flat sandals in brown or metallic leather.

Because this length of pant can cut off the silhouette, play with proportions. Someone who is 6 feet tall can get away with showing a good amount of ankle. A shorter woman needs to think about extending the fabric -- without losing the cropped style. And remember not to wear this kind of pant like a legging even though it’s slim and tailored. Tops and jackets should hit at the top of the hip, not cover the hips and behind. You might even want to try pairing cropped pants with a body suit or tucking in your top to really play up the super-feminine and polished appeal. 

So this spring, if the '70s aren’t a decade you feel like repeating, and flared legs aren’t your bag, think about a more form-fitting, tailored look and try on a pair of cropped, above-the-ankle-length pants for that confident and pixie-like feel reminiscent of Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Jackie O.

Send your style queries to melissa.magsaysay@latimes.com.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos, from top: Audrey Hepburn from "Star Style," by Patty Fox. Credit: Angel City Press. Twiggy crop jean, $136 at American Rag from James Jeans. Pony Boy cropped jean from Current Elliott, $208 at Stacey Todd, Studio City.  "Gigi" cropped jean from J Brand $163 at Bloomingdales. "Billie" cropped jean, $150 at Boca from James Jeans. "Paris" cropped jeans, $187 at www.mih-jeans.com, from MiH Jeans.

Resident Image stylist and market editor Melissa Magsaysay soothes your sartorial woes in the weekly Your Stylist blog column.

In this installment of Your Stylist, we address the '70s trend for spring. Now granted, the decade is showing up in all forms, from Marc Jacobs' trippy “Taxi Driver” baby dolls to Derek Lam’s minimal styling with crisp white shirts and neutral-colored platform sandals.

But this being Los Angeles, where denim is part of a daily uniform, plenty of people are bound to put down their skinnies (for a season anyway) and pull on a pair of flare-leg jeans that hint at the bell bottoms of the '70s, but not quite so severe.

Flare leg (and a few bell-bottom styles) will be out in abundance once spring merchandise starts landing in stores, and although the trend may be enticing, remember not to pile on macrame and a big floppy hat with these jeans, or the whole look will be too costume-y.

For a more subtle approach to the flare leg, the Roxley Flare ($179) and the Bentley Wide Leg ($211) from Paige have a wide leg that also looks sleek and clean like a trouser jean. Getting flare leg jeans in a lighter, sun-faded wash (which is also a huge trend in spring denim) will stay true to the 1970s appeal, as well as look more casual. A deeper, darker wash (like the Roxley shown in Pure wash) will lend itself to a tux jacket, tailored blazer or dressier blouse for evening or an important meeting.

For a fun, weekend jean that’s still got some flare, a lighter shade looks best. Try the Drama jean in the Forever Blue wash from Mother ($220) or the Sugar Hi Rise from Rich & Skinny ($206) for that sun-bleached wash that just screams for a leisurely bike ride along the beach. Both these styles have a high rise that come up all the way to the waist, creating that long shapely silhouette to the body. Although they are authentic in style, they could possibly be a bit uncomfortable at the midsection to anyone who is used to a lower rise.

The most extreme styles out there fall into the bell-bottom category. The Farrah jean from Decades Denim ($130) is a soft and comfy style, with an even wash that works day or night, with flats or a platform sandal. If you want a slightly exaggerated bell, 7 for all Mankind’s bell bottom ($178) and the Angie jean from Citizens of Humanity ($228) have that true, triangular-shaped leg opening that juts out from a fitted thigh and knee area for a more dramatic take on the '70s denim trend.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos, from top: Derek Lam's spring-summer 2011 runway. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter.

Left, Paige Bentley jeans, $211, and Roxley Flare, $179, at Paige, Robertson Boulevard. Credit: Paige.

Left, Rich & Skinny Hi Rise jeans, $206, at Nordstrom. Credit: Rich & Skinny. Mother Drama jeans, $220, at Curve. Credit: Mother.

From left, 7 for All Mankind Bell Bottom jeans, $178, at 7 for All Mankind, Robertson Boulevard. Credit: 7 for All Mankind. Decades Denim Farrah jeans, $130, at decadesdenim.com. Credit: Decades Denim. Citizens of Humanity Angie jeans, $228, at Curve. Credit: Citizens of Humanity.

Buyers of the 2012 Ford Focus will receive two pairs of blue jeans in the deal. The jeans just won't be wearable. They'll be recycled and shredded into the car's carpet backing and sound-absorption materials, saving 4 pounds of virgin cotton with each vehicle.

"The good news is these jeans didn't end up in a landfill, nor did we use the water, fertilizer and land to grow [new] cotton," said Carrie Majeske, product sustainability manager for Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Mich.

While the denim is post-industrial, rather than post-consumer, waste, i.e. it was never sold in stores or worn, it is being repurposed rather than scrapped. Specific denim manufacturers were not disclosed.

Already, Ford incorporates recycled soda bottles and milk jugs into plastics used in its cars, as well as post-consumer recycled carpeting that is turned into automotive parts.

"We’re looking to use things that would otherwise be wasted," Majeske said. "One of our key goals is to use more recycled or renewable materials without compromising performance or durability."

If production numbers for last year's Focus are any indication, Ford will be saving more than 3.4 million pounds of denim from the landfill next year alone.

Perhaps the automaker will come up with a solution for even more fashion castoffs. If only jeggings could be recycled into stereo speakers.

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: Ford Motor Co.

We all have a pair or two of past-season jeans lurking in our closets. And Madison Melrose has come up with a great reason to purge them from our wardrobes this holiday season.

The L.A. boutique is teaming up with local denim brands Genetic, Decades and Sinclair for a "Holiday Denim Drive" event on Dec. 9.

Here's the deal: Bring a pair of lightly worn jeans to the party -- which will feature drinks and a DJ -- and get 30% off a purchase from any of the participating denim brands.

Madison will be donating every pair of jeans, along with a portion of the evening's proceeds, to the Downtown Women's Center, whose mission is to provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community for homeless women.

The event, which will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Madison Melrose (8115 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles), is open to the public, but guests are asked to RSVP to madison@d2publicity.com or (310) 234-8888.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: "Jen" jeans by Decades Denim. Credit: Decades Denim.

Just when we were thinking the cachet of premium denim was close to nil, Mother, a new ultra-covetable denim collection, comes along.

The brainchild of two veterans of high-end denim — Tim Kaeding, former creative director/designer for 7 for All Mankind, and Lela Tillem, former president of sales and marketing at Citizens for Humanity — the line is launching in stores this spring. And really, we can hardly wait. 

Mother's first collection features over a dozen highly nuanced styles, from flares, bellbottoms and wide leggings to leggings and skinnies.

But Mother's magic is in its washes, fabric and fits. The denim is soft, but with a bit of stretch for a sumptuous fit — the kind of fit that made Jane Birkin's and Bridget Bardot's jeans so sexy. And the washes are atypical, ranging from richly pigmented black and white denim to super-saturated blues. The collection also includes twills in soft, buttery colors.

"We are taking our expertise in fit and finish and adding a key third element that involves developing new denims that feel like cashmere," said Kaeding, who added that the mission of the brand is to "break the barriers of what people have come to expect of average mainstream denim companies. Aside from the obvious luxurious nature of the denims, we really went after a more saturated wash palette."

The first collection was inspired by "everything from '60s cinema to Max's Kansas City," said Kaeding. The first delivery of the collection to stores is planned for Jan. 30.

Prices for denim and twill bottoms will range from a reasonable $100 to a wallet-busting $242. But Kaeding is circumspect about the higher costs, noting that folks will still pay steep prices for jeans as long as "people are still willing to pay for compliments."

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: "The Drama," one of the styles in Mother's spring 2011 collection. Credit: Mother.

 
Premium denim has long been synonymous with Los Angeles. From downtown being the epicenter of manufacturing, washing and innovation in denim, to jeans of all kinds being the unofficial uniform of the city's denizens for decades. 

So it's no surprise that one of the biggest names in denim, Vernon-based 7 for All Mankind, is   celebrating 10 years of making premium denim with a coffee table book, a special anniversary collection of jeans and a string of parties this week.

On Tuesday night, the brand hosted a party at a private residence in Beverly Hills that was more Mac store-meets-spacecraft than your typical mansion. The space was kitted out with concepts representing the "Seven Senses" theme of the event and the coffee table book. Guests could wander through the circular space into rooms that held interactive installations based on "Seven Senses": sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste and the added "style" and "intuition."

Style was captured in a display of the Anniversary collection (several reissues of the brand's best-selling and most popular styles), and intuition was a touch screen that lighted up and projected onto a large, wall-mounted screen. However, the most interesting senses were "smell," which was represented in a room covered in photographs of L.A (which also appear in the book) that were scratch-and-sniff (most of them smelled like suntan lotion to me, but the concept and execution was impressive nonetheless,) and "taste," which was a wall of colorful tequila concoctions sitting in mounted Plexiglas containers. Guests could walk right up to and dispense the drink of their choice into a glass. Between the scratch-and-sniff photos and tequila wall, one couldn't help but think of Willy Wonka, but with alcohol and art rather than candy.

The party, plus all the ancillary items being released around the company's 10-year anniversary are part of a denim-centered celebration that hasn't been seen in L.A for several years, since the burst of the "premium denim" bubble.

"In the contemporary market, 10 years is like dog years," said Susan Kellogg, president of the contemporary brand's coalition for VF, 7 for All Mankind's parent company. "So we're really, really proud that we're as vibrant today as when we started."

The denim company continued its L.A celebration with a private dinner for celebrities and taste-makers Thursday evening, and will take its anniversary party on the road, holding in-store events in several of its 125 free-standing stores worldwide.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Top and bottom photos: The 7 for All Mankind "Seven Senses" party celebrating the brand's 10-year anniversary. Credit: John Shearer / WireImage

Middle photo: Nikki Reed and Justin Long attend the 7 for All Mankind party. Credit: John Shearer / WireImage

Resident Image stylist and market editor Melissa Magsaysay soothes your sartorial woes in the weekly Your Stylist blog column

Hello Melissa-I enjoyed your article on skinny jeans. I am a shapely woman (kind of like Beyonce) and wanted to know if skinny jeans would be appropriate for me to wear and if not, what kind of jeans should I wear? Thanks, LB, San Jose

 
Finding the perfect pair of jeans (or at least something that fits well) seems to be the most popular topic among the fashion tip-seeking public who write in with questions each week. I know the process can be really daunting and often frustrating, especially jeans should be no-brainer, everyday comfort clothes,
but they often turn out to be just the opposite.

I personally can't think of a time when Beyonce's jeans haven't been body hugging, second skin, skinny jeans. The uber-star wears skinny jeans so well, accentuating her amazing curves and toned thighs. The look of skinny jeans is specific to that young and edgy appeal that she has. So, besides whether or not the style and fit actually look good on your body, know that the vibe you're giving off is much more trendy that timeless. As far as skinny jeans go, I like the "Dynasty" from CJ by Cookie Johnson($154), which are made with a women's curves in mind and faux front pockets so there's no added bulk throughout the upper thigh. Also, notice that Beyonce always wears her skinny jeans with high heels. This is imperative for elongating the leg and carrying out that sexy, pop-star look.

A style that Beyonce doesn't often wear but generally looks great on a woman with shapely hips and strong curves is the boot cut. the slight flare at the end of the leg balances out the curves at the hip and backside. The vibe here is also a bit more conservative and classic. Boot cut jeans make more sense for the office, especially when paired with a blazer and great accessories. These can also be worn with heels, just make sure they're hemmed to the heel height. You may need to have two pairs, one for heels and one for flats.

Take a look at Levi’s Curve ID line of jeans that is divided into 3 levels of curves -- slight, demi and bold. The bold, boot cut style ($69.50) would be a definite option for you, or depending on your exact body type, maybe even the demi.

The Kimmie jeans from 7 For All Mankind($178) are also great for a curvy figure because of the contoured waist band that prevents gapping in the back of the waist due to a fuller back side. A contour waistband will not only avoid making that extra inch of space in the back, but it’s also so much more comfortable on the midsection than a regular waistband that can pinch and dig into skin. This boot cut style will also help balance out your hip area with the rest of your leg for a more flattering finish.

Since jeans seem to be such a hot topic on "Your Stylist," I'd love to know what your favorite style is and why it flatters your figure. The information would also help other readers who are searching for their perfect pair of pants.

Send your style queries to melissa.magsaysay@latimes.com

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: Top: Beyonce in her trademark skinny jeans/Demis Maryannakis, Sipa

Right: "Dynasty" skinny jeans by CJ Cookie Johnson/CJ Cookie Johnson

Middle left: "Kimmie" boot cut jeans with contoured waistband by 7 For All Mankind/7 For All Mankind

Right: Levi's Curve ID, bold curve boot cut jeans/Levi's

When is a derriere not a derriere? When a jeans company describes it in ads with a term that can't be used in a family newspaper (or website)....and with no bleeping! That's the latest trend in denim advertising, and companies such as Levi's say they are just using the same language their customer would use. Just one more sign of Armageddon. [Wall Street Journal] (Subscription required.) 

L'Oreal Paris is launching an anti-aging line called Youth Code that is said to include the first mass market skin care products that stimulate genes to reverse the effects of aging. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Celebrity deal of the day: Kate Walsh, aka Dr. Addison Montgomery on "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice," is entering the beauty business, with a new fragrance called Boyfriend. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Speaking of celebrity fragrances, Katy Perry is tricked out in a pink and blue Latex catsuit, playing with a giant ball of pink yarn, in her ads for her new fragrance, Purr. [WWD]  And Beyonce is following up her Heat fragrance with Heat Rush, a daytime scent to be released in February. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

We love food; we love fashion. And Barneys New York is bringing both together in holiday window displays that will be inspired by famous chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, Ina Garten, Anne Burrell and Paula Deen. [StyleList]

Actress/singer Selena Gomez is auctioning off the Catherine Dean gown she wore in her "A Day without Rain" video to benefit UNICEF. [People] The dress is available through Nov. 10 on the online auction site Charitybuzz.

Can it be true? Reports from across the pond are that the recession is forcing men to abandon being metrosexuals to become moisturizer-less, hair-gel-eschewing machosexuals. [StyleList]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Kate Walsh. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

My experience with skinny jeans is quite the opposite from what the name suggests. They do not make me feel skinny or sexy or at all comfortable, but rather like I’ve been stuffed into pants that amplify any extra flesh on the thighs or rolls on the stomach. They are (along with platform flip-flops and micro mini shorts) fashion evil and the fact that the style has stayed around so long is at once a mystery and misery.

Last week I slipped (ok, yanked) on a pair of jeans called Hello! Skinny Jeans and my thoughts on wearing the sucked-in silhouette changed altogether. These pants actually make you look skinny rather than like a sausage about to burst through its casing. They’re made with a high content of nylon/elastane which sucks everything in and holds it there. The inseams are drawn forward on the leg to make it appear smaller from the front. And my favorite part is that the thighs are what the website refers to as being “scooped out”, pushing that fleshy area apart and slimming the entire thigh. The washes are all pretty dark and even to keep the slimming effect and the leg opening actually has a tiny boot cut to balance out the wider hip and thigh area.

While the name has “mom jeans” written all over it, the actual pants are a revelation to anyone who’s ever yearned for their comfy sweats or boyfriend jeans halfway through a day of being stuck in some skinny jeans.

Hello! Skinny Jeans are available at Kitson and Fred Segal.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Hello! Skinny Jeans Barely Bootcut jeans

Not that most people need a reason to make it to happy hour after a long day of work, but L.A.-based denim company 7 For All Mankind gave guests who flocked to their party at Soho House on Wednesday night some incentive to come and kick back a few drinks.

The highlight (well, besides those champagne and whiskey cocktails) was the brand’s new collection of trouser jeans for fall. Eight different styles of flare leg jeans were on display, ranging from a conservative pleated trouser with a cuffed hem to a slim five-pocket trouser that’s more fitted than the traditional.

A trouser bar was in place and where the crowd, which included Ashlee Simpson and Hayden Pannetiere as well as a bevy of reality stars such as Roxy Olin and Stephanie Pratt, could line up and grab their size and favorite style. Most ladies seemed to be reaching for the “Ginger” trouser, a high-waist style with the collection’s widest leg opening.

Judging by the crowded event and the excitement over all the wide-leg styles, trouser jeans could be eclipsing skinnies as the must have denim -- for now, anyway.

The trouser collection ranges from $170 to $190 and are in stores now.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos: 7 For All Mankind’s Trouser Happy Hour at Soho House West Hollywood/Charley Gallay for Wire Image

Emma Watson, just off filming the last "Harry Potter" movie and with her cute new haircut, has been invited to show her fashion collaboration with British fair-trade concern People Tree during Prince Charles' A Garden Party to Make a Difference, a 12-day eco-festival coming up in Britain in September. [People] 

Levi's Workwear by Billy Reid, a limited-edition capsule collection, debuts in September too. [WWD] (Subscription required.)  

More to look forward to in September: In London, a new musical, "Shoes," is about, well, our complex relationships with footwear. Featuring characters such as a washed-up Cinderella and unrepentant Imelda Marcos, the show was written by Richard Thomas (most noted for "Jerry Springer: the Opera") after scores of interviews with shoe lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. It's scheduled to run Sept. 3-11 at Sadler's Wells. [Telegraph]

And if you're going to be in New York on Sept. 7, you might want to check out the city's biggest public fashion show ever, taking place that night at Lincoln Center (a fund-raiser for the NYC AIDS fund and part of the run-up to Fashion's Night Out on Sept. 10). Tickets go on sale Thursday at Lincoln Center or online. [The Cut]

Men, yes, you can find jeans with the look and feel of premium denim for less than $100. For instance, check out Van's ($45), DKNY ($60) and Lucky Brand ($79.50). [WWD]  

Kanye West is trying to clean up his image, and one part of the strategy is dress: He and his posse will be seen from now on in sharply tailored, designer suits, he says. It's said that clothes make the man -- but let's hope his behavior becomes as impeccable as his garb. [Huffington Post]  

It's a new look for Scarlett Johansson in her new ad campaign for Dolce & Gabbana cosmetics: leather lace-up shorts, dark lips, eyes and nails. Quite the vamp! [Huffington Post]

"America's Next Top Model" will have some new designer judges when it goes to Milan in the coming season: Diane von Furstenberg, Zac Posen and Robeto Cavalli among them. [StyleList]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Kanye West won't be sporting casual denim like this in public anymore, he says. Credit: Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

For the last 18 months, the folks at Levi Strauss & Co. studied women around the world, conducting thousands of interviews and looking at 60,000 body scans of women in 13 countries.

The company says the result -- besides confirmation that for women, jeans shopping ranks right up there with buying bras and bathing suits -- is a new global denim program that, by taking their curves into account, will provide nearly any woman a five-pocket pair of jeans that feels custom fit to her shape.

Called Curve ID, the line officially launches on Sept. 2 and consists of three fits: a slight curve (for the woman who finds that regular jeans "fit in the hips and thighs but are too tight in the waist"), a demi curve (if your jeans "usually fit in the waist but don't flatter the figure") and a bold curve (if jeans "fit in the hips and thighs, but gap in the back").

"The fits that we're launching with account for 80% of the women's body shapes in the world," boasted Levi's president Robert Hanson in a phone interview last week.

"And when we launch the fourth one -- our most extreme curve -- at the end of this year or early next year, then we'll have 96% of women covered." 

You Nguyen, senior vice president of women's merchandising and design for the Levi's brand, explained that the fits are based on the differences between a woman's hip and seat measurements -- formulated from the body scans and information Levi's gathered over the last year and a half.

He declined to be any more specific than that, noting only that Levi store employees have been specially trained on what measurements to take, and that a digital fitting room to assist online shoppers was scheduled to go live at the Levi's website next week.

"That’s like our [recipe for] secret sauce that we don't share," Nguyen said. "The exact ratio is proprietary information." But Nguyen did offer up a few famous figures that might be appropriate for each fit.

"Now these are just my opinions since I don't actually have any of their measurements," he cautioned. "But off the top of my head, I'd say the bold curve would be someone like Beyonce or Jennifer Lopez, a demi curve would be someone like Charlize Theron, and the slight curve would be Lucy Liu."

Hanson emphasized that Curve ID was not a plus-size program. "This is about shape, not size. Look at the photo [above] for example. All three of those women are wearing a size 27 [-inch waist], but each one is a different shape."