As much as I’d like to say I’ve always been uniquely me when it comes to clothes, I did in fact spend much of my early teen years in Hollister beach huts, begging my mother for those precious low-rise skinny jeans while she suffocated from the perfume stench. (Tell your children to shop vintage, ladies.) I wanted them, not just because it was the thing to do, but because I believed the misconception that not all jeans work for all women.

Your jean drawer should be diverse. Own a good pair of jeans in every shade, shape and mood. This includes low-rises, boot cuts, skinnies and the beloved, and yet oh-so-abused, mom jeans (otherwise known as the uncool jean of the 2000s). Mom jeans can be fun, sexy and even professional. If you save your mom jeans only for painting, or you have none at all, you never learned how to wear them properly. Find a good pair, and just trust me. I’ll even help you get started. Here are four fool proof ways to wear them, from work to the weekend and all the days in between.

photography —
Michelle Rodriguez
@michellemarie3