It depends on who you ask! Where I shop everything from skinny to wide are offered.

Any age can wear jeans…..within reason. I wouldn’t wear ripped, distress or deconstructed jeans.

I just bought my first pair of wide legged pants. Not sure how I will style them.

I bought a light girlfriend jean. It’s a bit loose in the leg.

Everything depends on your body type. Lots of tutorials on how to or jeans.

I'm short and a petite. Petite doesn't mean small, it is proportion. So e short women can wear regular length jeans or pants.

Can we help you shop?

1) Wear what looks good on you. Super-skinny is out, but if slim leg pants work better for your body type, wear them!

2) Sure!

I'm 70 and wear both straight leg jeans and semi-wide legged pants.

Skinny jeans are out. I saw a blue million of wide legged/puddle style jeans. It looked very slovenly. Ugh. Here's what looked to be a reasonable guide to jeans for late summer 2023.

https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/a32337/best-denim-jeans-style-trends/

Yes, old ladies wear jeans! Some don't look too good but I wear them all the time. Skinny jeans make me feel like I am suffocating!

Whatever you think looks nice on you and you are comfortable, that's what to wear. I wear leggings a lot, more jeans in the winter. Anyone, any age can wear jeans.

Anyone can wear jeans. Yes even old ladies. LOL I live in jeans. Have one pair of black slacks for funerals or dress up. That's it.

I like skinny jeans because I don't have to worry about the length so much. I love the curvy fit ones which are getting hard to find now. Second choice for me is boot cut. Straight leg pants unless they are well fitted (classic cut) and not too loose make my legs look stubby since I have a short inseam.

I just wish you could still get real denim in ladies jeans without having to pay hundreds of dollars for them.

I'm old enough to remember bell bottoms and really low-cut waists which I liked since I am short-waisted with long legs. I don't like skinny jeans at all. They feel confining. I like a regular fit and vintage jeans and I own a ton. But jeans aren't my go-to. I live in shorts and capris all summer and yoga pants all winter. The heck with what fashion says.

I do not like ”denim” with the elastic or spandex. It is to save on $$cotton$$. Blech.

That article said Skinny Jeans are DEAD. Oh my.

I can see the wider leg being fresh looking, but I wish they showed it on women who are not built like models.

I remember years ago we wore the wide leg but I was also like 50 lbs lighter, and wore heels or wedges with them. That ain't a happenin anymore.

First of all, I have to say that I am anything but a slave to fashion, and leggings do not interest me whatsoever. I worry that wide leg pants would flap together as I walk and make a noise. Plus, you have to consider your shoe choice in making it work, and I do not know what that would be. I like slim straight leg pants. JCrew has nice ones, both in chino and denim fabrics. I was recently HORRIFIED to read that low rise is coming back.

Thanks, all! Glad to hear the skinny ones are OUT. I tried on my first pair of those today and had to sit down and take my socks off to get out of them.

I will keep one pair of Gloria Vanderbilt Amandas that always fit. These are 4-Short, a little snug, but they will stretch -- 70% cotton.

I have some more jeans coming from Talbot's. Not skinnies.

I really don't like wide leg pants. I'm long torso/short legs. I didn't get my DM's great legs; got HER mother's instead.

Jeans and cargoes are my go-to for work. Definitely anybody can wear jeans nowadays. There's no 'rule', except what you make for yourself, IMO.

I found 100% cotton jeans at Old Navy. I bought a pair of what they call 'balloon' jeans, which is a wide leg that tapers at the bottom - sort of like the pegged pants that used to be popular back in the 80s. I wear them with the hem rolled too.

They're regular heavy denim, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that since they're loose, they're fairly cool and comfortable in the heat. I'd die if I wore regular fitted or skinny jeans right now. We have heat advisories every day.

I'm 63.

In pants, denim or otherwise, I want a tapered leg that won't clean up the restroom floor or be under my feet when I try to get up from the toilet. AMEN!!

I wouldn’t think there’s a specific age at which someone shouldn’t wear jeans. But I do think that at certain points, there are things that just won’t look flattering on you. That’s not just about age but also factors such as body type. I find two things helpful:

The first is to look at people, out and about or in media, who you think are similar to you in general appearance, and focus on the differences between those who you feel present well and those who don’t. If someone looks particularly bad, note why. I might be sweaty and dirty from yard work and feel perfectly comfortable going out to shop for dinner, but what’s my reaction when I’m at the store and see someone similarly gross?

The second can be jarring. Instead of looking in the mirror, look at pictures of yourself. Or set up your phone to record video of yourself going about your day. Get over the horrors of what you can’t fix at the moment, and focus on whether you’re groomed and dressed in a way in which you’d like to be seen.

I dont even own a pair of jeans. I find them to be supremly uncomfortable.

I sew all of my own pants and I do have a couple of pairs sewn from denim.

Carolb mentioned the balloon shape. That is a flattering shape of leg. It give comfort with being roomy at the top and tapering in a bit for style. And, it also gives the knee some room to flex.

The pattern that I have been using as my base pants pattern for the last decade and more is one that is balloon shaped. Mine also had nice big pockets that are on the front leg and they are invaluable.

I recently bought another pattern that I hope will become my go to pattern now. It offers a straight leg version and a taperd leg version. It has big pockets that are styled just a bit differently from my old ones, but still big and roomy. One thing that is a featrure of this pattern is that it featrues a high waist with a broad elastic. I made up a pair in just some simple cotton to see about the fit and they fit so nicely and feel sooooo good. The pattern is called the "Free Range Slacks" and it is from the company called Sew Liberated. I just made a pair in denim,

The skin tight pants that women have been squeezing themselves in to all these years just make no darned sense. They leave no space between your skin and the fabric. The result is that they are hot in the summer because it is like wearing a second skin, and in the winter it is like having that second skin totally exposed to the cold.

One thing that I have noticed is that the younger ones are again wearing pants that come up to the waist and are loose in the legs. They look so much more attractive and so more comfortable.

Those darned tight stretch pants have been popular and I have seen a lot of things that should never have been seen. Just awful, in my opinion.

I draw the line at pants when I have to struggle to put shoes on and off.

I only wear jeans if I'm working construction. I wear athletic pants by Nike or tights. Like this one, with zippered pockets I like these mid calf length cardigan sweaters for Fall with cute ankle boots(flats would work too) & leggings.

I think the 1960s was the best decade for women's pants. There are so many other options than jeans, and personally I do not even own a pair of jeans - because I find them uncomfortable (stiff) and unflattering, except on a tiny percentage of people. I've always like Capri pants - never much of a fan of bell bottoms - in the 1970s I would wear jeans with stovepipe legs, but I had to make them myself.

Pants are not that hard to make, providing you are adept at making flies, and they will fit the way you want if you make them yourself. Or you can alter them if they do not.

I mostly wear shorts all year, but I do have some slacks for more formal occasions. In the 1970s when I lived in San Francisco, I did buy Lady Wranglers because they fit me perfectly (except for length) and the fabric was softer than other brands. I sewed extensions to the legs to add length.

You don't even have to be able to make flies. Lots of women's pants have mock flies, which are simpler to make. I've always preferred front zippers to side or back ones, tho.

And I think lots of the pants styles popular in the 1960s are still in use today, some just have different names. I don't see the terms pedal pushers or clamdiggers being used, but I see the same styles.

And wide legged trousers were originally the only style for ladies besides knickers and jodhpurs, I believe...

I'm reminded of this scene from the Tracy/Hepburn film Pat & Mike:

ETA - start @ 2:20 - the 'start at' feature won't work, for some reason.

Those wide leg pants nearly killed Baby Sue. My mother got her foot caught in the cuff of hers while carrying me down the long portion of the stairs in our house and dropped me. I skidded through the open door to the powder room at the foot of the stairs and stopped with my headinches from the base of the toilet. DM didn't fare as well and went to a Halloween party that weekend as a bum, displaying her black eye.

Chisue, I can remember catching a high heel in the hem of a wide leg pant coming down stairs in a furniture store one day. I nearly cartwheeled down that staircase - a little exercise I probably wouldn't even survive today let alone be mostly embarrassed by the event, not injured.

I'm glad you were OK ;)

My skinny pants are not going anywhere any time soon. I'm not trading them in for flares and bell bottoms - been there and have certainly done that. I've been down the road of wide legged, even to wearing palazzo pants. I'm not sure there is really enough of petite me to carry that much fabric. I still have some wider legged rather expensive dress pants, none of which Ive worn in more than 10 years.

My dressier 'good' pants now are straight legs that seem to work with my shoes, short boots. I don't follow trends explicitly at this point and don't have plans to rework my closet.

I remember my old bell bottoms had a flare of maybe a foot. I never fell wearing them but they certainly were exaggerated. However, as I said, I love the low-waisted look but now opt for mostly straight-legged pants. I cannot wait for fall when I can wear my yoga pants which are way more comfortable than shorts.

My history of fashion book was published in 1977, and so that is as far as it goes, and that is a few years after I became a professional fashion designer. I switched careers in the mid 1980s and did not follow women's fashion much after that, although I continued to make women's clothes for a few years after. I did really like 1980s fashion but not much after that. I should probably get a new fashion history book. I've read a lot of old ones.

Whitehead's new novel, Crook Manifesto, has a gangster who thinks that women's flared leg pants would be good for hiding an ankle holster!

Or to hide your flask of hootch. Just saying...

That looks like a good book, Lars - I enjoy social history very much.

My formal fashion design education happened in the late 70s, into the 80s, and I've always been interested in it. I also took a course in the history of costume.

Sizing: I have four pair of Gloria Vanderbilt 'Amanda' jeans. The ancient ones that I keep for grubby jobs are size 6, and now require a belt to keep them up. I have another not *as* elderly pair, size 6, and a two-year-old pair, size 8. This week I bought a size 4. They all fit.

I know an XS top will fit, but with pants, other than needing 'short', who knows? Is this supposed to 'flatter' women by putting smaller size tags on the same pants, or is the quality control so out of whack?

Always check the manufacturer's size chart, is my advice. Measurements for women's apparel are not standardized, and are whatever the manufacturer decides.

Is this supposed to 'flatter' women by putting smaller size tags on the same pants, or is the quality control so out of whack?

I think it's both. When we were young, there was no such thing as size 0; the industry definitely embraced vanity sizing as bodies got larger. I've read that what used to be a 12 is now a size 6. But there's also no consistency to the sizing, so as carolb says, you always need to check the size charts.

I can't check size charts from ten years ago, but these are all the same brand. The label size is shrinking, but then, so am I. If I get to size 0, will I be invisible?

These are the ones I buy, No Nonsense Capri Pants. I'm so short, they come down to my ankles like regular jeans. They don't fit me quite this tight.

Thanks everyone. I have two different styles coming from Talbot's. Not skinny.

I used to practically live in Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans and would buy several pair when Costco had them on sale in Aug. After several abdominal surgeries, jeans are sadly no longer comfortable. I like the soft jersey knit ones from 32 Degrees and some stretchy Liz Claibourne slacks from JC Penney now, I used so sew a LOT of my clothes decades ago when it still made sense to so and became quite good at making slacks that fit nicely. As Lars said, they're really not that hard once you figure out what works for you. i used to love higher waisted fitted slacks with from pleats and cuffs. Very 1950's........and very chic, I thought. I loved Kate Hepburn's style.

Im all about comfort i have narrow hips snd a small butt so like a stretchy skinny jean but will go with whatever works

“I used to practically live in Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans…”

I have a few of the GV straight leg classic and especially like I can order them in Tall. They fit great although I’ve never worn jeans with heels.🤨