The 10 Very Best Mom Jeans

Sizes and lengths: 23–39 (plus-sizes 16–24 here) with 26-, 28-, and 30-inch inseams | Stretch: Stretchy | Rise: 10.85 inches | Cut: Slightly tapered straight-leg | Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $

The Wedgies from Levi’s are a great mom jean: The straight-leg silhouette is an ideal in-between, neither too narrow nor too wide. They are the jeans I have written about the most while working at the Strategist, and they have one of the widest range of sizes of any pair I’ve seen — available in sizes 23–39 and plus sizes 16–24, along with 26-, 28-, and 30-inch inseams to cover petites and talls. Factor in their affordable price, too, and they’re quite deserving of the “best overall” title. I found them to be somewhat stiff in the beginning, even with 1 percent elastane, but I was rewarded for my patience: The jeans have enough give to feel comfortable, while the weight of the denim has helped them shape to my body over time. The Wedgies’ fit has also endeared them to blogger Hailey Rizzo: “Where they elevate the ‘mom’ look is through the booty, whether you’re working with one or not,” she says (there’s no flat pancake butt here). Or, if you’d like an even slimmer style, Sara Zucker, director of social media at Korres, has a version of Wedgies called the Icon Fit: “If you’re going to dip your toe in the pool of frump, it’s the easiest way,” she says.

Sizes and lengths: 23–33 with plus sizes 14W–28W with 25- (petite), 28- (plus), 29- (standard), 31- (tall), and 35-inch (taller) inseams | Stretch: Stretchy | Rise: 12 inches | Cut: Tapered straight-leg | Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $$

Something I’ve heard again and again on the jeans beat: It’s hard to find a plus-size straight leg, as the plus-size jeanscape is (still) awash with skinny jeans. Madewell is an exception and tops our list of the best plus-size jeans because it offers most of its cuts in plus sizes, including the best-selling, Strategist-loved Perfect Vintage Jean. I learned about the jean from stylists Samantha Brown and Sahra Brandt, who has recommended the pair to at least 150 clients, calling them “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants pants” since they fit a wide range of body shapes and sizes. The plus-size version of the straight-leg jean accounts for differences between hip-to-waist ratios and is designed with a little more room through the hips and thighs. “These have a great blend of cotton and elastane: 99 percent cotton and one percent elastane,” says Brandt. “It’s the right amount of stretch so that the jeans aren’t stretching out. You don’t feel like you’re stuck into them, either.” In addition to plus sizes, the jeans also come in petite, tall, and taller fits — with inseams of 25, 31, and 35 inches, compared to the standard 29-inch inseam.

If you’re looking to spend less, you might go for Target’s in-house, plus-size label Ava & Viv, which content creator Sydney Scott introduced me to. It can be hit or miss stockwise, which is why I didn’t give it a best-in-class title. But it makes a mom jean with a “pretty shockingly great” fit with no waist gaping happening, Scott says.

Sizes and lengths: 00–15 (equivalent to 22- to 32-inch waists) with 30-, 32-, 34-, 36-, and 38-inch inseams | Stretch: Not stretchy | Rise: 11.75 inches | Cut: Slimmer straight-leg | Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $ 

Two discerning tall women — Strategist senior editor Simone Kitchens, who’s 5 foot 11, and 6-foot-2 artist Melly Wirtes — recommend these Wranglers, which come in 30-, 32-, 34-, 36-, and 38-inch inseams (meaning there are long-enough lengths for those who are tall and taller).

Wirtes likes that the jeans are old school for being snug, and says she feels “like ’90s Shania Twain” in them. Note that the waist sizes are odd numbered instead of even — Kitchens suggests rounding up (take a size 3 if you’re a 2, and so on).

For $55, the jeans are made from a heavier twill denim that Kitchens has described as “unaffected and unadorned,” like something “fresh out of A.P.C.” She likens them to deadstock Levi’s and offers the following advice: “After a few washes, they’ll ease into the comfortable, thrift-store-faded patina these jeans are known for. Or wash them a little less and prolong their A.P.C.-like stiffness.”  

Sizes: 23–37 with 26.5- (extra-short), 28.5- (short), 30.5- (regular), and 32.5-inch (long) inseams (extra-long inseam not listed) | Stretch: Stretchy | Rise: None listed | Cut: Classic straight-leg | Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $

Abercrombie’s ’90s Ultra-High-Rise jeans come in not one but two, petite-friendly lengths: “extra-short,” for those who are under five feet and “short,” for those between five-feet and five-feet-three. Though the extra-short length only goes up to size 30, the short length is available in the jeans’ full size range of 23 to 37. Content creator Amy Serrano and photographer Lizbeth Hernandez like how the jeans fit their curves and accentuate the backside. They also have some built-in stretch (1 percent elastane), so as not to feel as inflexible as the name might imply.

Sizes and lengths: 23–31 with a 29-inch inseam | Stretch: Not stretchy or stretchy options | Rise: 12 inches | Cut: Slightly cropped, fuller straight-leg |Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $$

Like the Ribcages, the Cynthias from Reformation have a high rise of 12 inches. Jeans from Reformation are made with leggier people in mind, usually coming in longer inseams, though Katie Schmidt, designer of Passion Lilie, points out that the Cynthias can give anyone the illusion of longer legs. There are stretch and non-stretch versions, but Schmidt likes the stretch and says they have that vintage mom-jean feel despite otherwise being made from Reformation’s rigid denim. Wirtes has gotten hers to “fit like a glove.” And Strategist managing editor Kelsie Schrader calls them truly comfortable — especially for not being tight in the thighs. 

Sizes and lengths: 23–34 with 30- and 32-inch inseams | Stretch: Not stretchy | Rise: 11.125 inches | Cut: Classic straight-leg |Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $

Levi’s 501s are the jeans that started it all, and vintage 501s will always be highly sought after. But this “original fit” version is close to the pair the brand invented in 1873, featuring a true straight leg and a buttoned fly. Gabrielle Arruda, a designer-slash-blogger (and Project Runway alum) is a recent convert. “They are the jeans you can actually wear all day,” she says, and points out that the darker washes seem to have a slightly tighter weave, so they don’t naturally stretch as much. These 501s are also a favorite of stylist Karla Welch and musicians Aly and AJ Michalka. Welch says only “wearing them, and wearing them, and wearing them, and wearing them” will give you the proper, perfect fit. But AJ Michalka adds that “Levi’s never fails — they just get jeans and always have.”

Sizes and lengths: 23–33 with 26.5-, 28.5-, and 30.5-inch inseams  | Stretch: Not stretchy | Rise: 11 inches | Cut: Tapered straight-leg | Wash: Light and medium washes | Price: $$

If you’re searching for something especially reminiscent of the jeans seen on ’90s sitcom moms, turn to the ’90s Cheeky from Everlane. “Strangers have stopped me on the street to ask me where I got my pair,” says former Strategist audience-development senior manager Mia Leimkuhler (who is a noted Everlane fan). According to Leimkuhler, the jeans are made from a “sturdier, more rigid denim” compared to the brand’s Original Cheeky Jean. I also favor the vintage-y, stonewashed quality of the ’90s version. But the Original is another acceptable mom jean. Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo — whose “ultimate denim dream” is to look like Geena Davis or Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise — describes the pair as comfortable and confidence-boosting.