This year jeans are high up on the fashion list too, with special attention given to style, fit and colour. It’s time to move on from blue denim and not black or grey denims, no its time to make a statement.

Starting off with this season most coveted denim colour is ‘rust’, as seen popularised by Levi’s Made and Crafted as well as Diesel. I find it has a very retro feel, sandblasted cowboys come to mind. I’d look at adding this to your wardrobe now as it’s the perfect transition colour from winter to spring, before the brighter bolder colours of summer come in.

Moving on from rust to earth tones and a soft start to spring with shades of grey, sand, even light blue can add a bit of easy colour to your wardrobe. One of my favourites is the chambray denims which have taken over jeans, a light chic blue which is a much better option to ‘bleached’ look jeans.

As you make it on to summer the colours start to get brighter and brighter, like a warm front moving in colours will dominate fashion. Men and women will enjoy brighter shades of denim as we head in to a 90’s acid remix somewhat. Bright blues, oranges, reds and greens with a distressed edge will keep it apart from some of the women’s trends and I feel have a more relaxed surfer/California look to them.

Finally what shape to opt for this season? Last year we saw the resurgence of flared and boot cut styles and this year we seem to be going back to more traditional cuts, with athletic fits and straight cut. Think you good old trusted pair of 501’s faded and worn, this is what’s in know so if they still fit you, you should be fine.

With heritage you can either go full on; tweed suit, checked men’s shirts, cap and gun dog or just go for key pieces; corduroy and chunky knits. This trend is all about the textures (the tweed, mohair and corduroy) and patterns (checks, gingham, Navarro and Fair Isle) as well as the colours (earthy tones such as browns, greens and deep reds). Inspiration can be taken from a wide range of country styles so you will probably find that this trend is actually quite versatile.

It’s easy to mix and match as well, a chunky jumper with dark denim jeans and a pair of work boots, corduroy trousers, a checked shirt and men’s jackets worn with a pair of smart brogues or you could go for check trousers, plain shirt and a casual duffel coat for a smart/casual look.

This trend is a great way to experiment with your style, you can go for a relaxed look, picking up on the tones and a couple of patterns or go full hog as lord of the manor its entirely up to you and what you’re comfortable with.

In the 1950’s blue denim Police jeans were the must have item championed by the stars such as James dean, Elvis and Steve McQueen once only favoured by manual labourers, denim jeans came to the masses and young kid wanting to dress like their idols followed suit. The rebellious nature of the younger generation left behind the stuffy suits of the 1940’s and took on their own more relaxed style, jeans, t-shirt and boots, more on the scruffy side than anything else probably to make a statement.

With the advent of Rock n Roll fashion took a main stage and these trends that were popular back then are featuring heavily this season, items to add to your collection include, blue denim jeans, vintage, faded retro tees, denim jackets and leather jackets and most importantly boots, either cowboy or biker, oh and don’t forget the attitude. The vintage American college look is also hugely popular this season so add some baseball jackets and college hoodies, like the ones showcased by Franklin and Marshall to your collection.

Straight leg, flared and even carrot cut are the styles of jeans and trousers you should be keeping an eye out for, the loser the fit the better, no longer do all your ‘goods’ need to be on show.

These different styles work into a lot of the main trends we are seeing this season such as military, preppy, androgyny and 50’s fashion. Scruffy, lose cut jeans in faded denim and khaki trousers will fit nicely into the military trend. Straight leg, higher waist trousers, with a straight crease in a wide range of colours will be what you need to work the preppy trend, remember geek chic here. Finally to work the 50’s fashion trend you need to go for smart suiting with tidy well cut trousers. Look for wool and tweed mix suits, these were all the range in the 50’s and made quite a comeback on the catwalks recently.

Men's trouser trends

I am happy to announce the 70’s fashion item: ‘The Flares’ are back in and are hotter than ever! Fashionistas believe the reason for this is because the skinny jean has become so common- they are an essential in almost everyone’s wardrobe. People are asking for an alternative.
Normally with fashion, we focus on it from a woman’s point of view. However, in this instance, it seems to be men that have taken more to this craze! A like most other fashion trends, the male version of this style is somewhat subtler than the women’s.

The style has proven to be highly successful and is expected to continue to grow. Many stores are stoking the trend, so I suggest you get out there and purchase some flared jeans before shops sell out!

Through time they’ve been bell-bottomed, boot-cut and straight-legged. They’ve been baggy and they’ve been tight, but jeans have never gone out of fashion.

We wear them for work and for play and their durable material lasts us for months and sometimes years. Most of us develop a favourite brand name and cut of jeans and tend to stick with that.
It comes with great disappointment when we discover our favourite jean style has been discontinued, or heaven forbid; the size we once wore no longer fits!

But the variety of jeans and number of jean designers are plentiful and finding a new pair should not be that difficult.

Several companies have been in business for more years than many of us have been alive; for example, Levi’s and Wrangler. With their extensive variety of styles in all sizes and lengths, there is a good fit available for every body type. These brands are durable and time-tested and offer prices for any budget.

There are also designer jeans from companies such as Calvin Klein which often offer lightweight jean materials with stylish cuts and trendy colour or new funky, trendy brands like Voi Jeans or Police Jeans.

So when it’s time to replace those old jeans, don’t despair. There are plenty of choices available and you will soon have a new favourite.

 British fashions tend to be more individual, and you would be hard pressed to find similar styles anywhere else, which is what makes British brands so unique.

This season Henleys are focusing a fair amount on their denim jeans collection, with new and exciting ranges, styles and cuts available that include some of this season’s hottest trends. Their new spring summer collection also focuses on edgy utility elements for guys and a relaxed sports-luxe look for the girls that seems to be very popular at the moment.

You will also find their favourite traditional pieces been reworked, such as their signature hoodies, t-shirts and polo shirts, with a great amount of attention to detail.

Henleys SS/11 collection

Over the resent years designers have been toying with styles, cuts and colours of men’s jeans, once over straight cut was really the only style you could get, however recently we have seen, boot cut, skinny jeans, twisted jeans and even drop crotch men’s jeans. This season the flared jean is making a welcome return, especially for those guys who can’t pull off the skinny jean, also keep an eye out for lightweight denim shirts and jackets, be brave and go for double denim, you never know you may just like it.

For spring/summer 2011 designers have been cleverly weaving denim into their collections and mixing them with the latest trends, from classic styles of women’s jeans with a modern twist to the reoccurrence of the flared jean with its roots firmly in the 1970’s trend. It’s not only jeans that are having a makeover plenty of denim jackets  and waistcoats have been seen all across the high street, as well as loos fitting denim shirts, playsuits, dresses and even denim accessories such as hats and bags.

For both sexes designers have added new dimensions to their denims, with different treatments, that give off different looks, like acid wash and worn stone wash effects as well as playing with different colours, with bright pastels and bold brights for women, to murky greys and blues for men. One thing for sure this season you can’t go wrong with a bit of denim.

However this time around a lot more focus will be on the style rather than the size of the flare, so you can forget any thought to the styling’s seen in the seventies and when this jeans style was revived in the nineties. Instead now flared jeans will be a lot more tailored and will be focusing on fit and this goes to the women’s style too which is also heading back a few decades, but looking better.

So it’s a good thing that many highstreet stores are bucking the designer clothing trend and offering more masculine styles such as the check shirt, or to give it its more manly name the lumber jack shirt, denim jackets and more comfortable fitting jean styles such as the flared jeans.

These styles also fit well into the retro trends that are skirting into men’s fashion this season like 70’s styles adding men’s jeans or chino’s with a faded t-shirt and a check shirt. Add a masculine style with worker boots for a masculine look and add the attitude to finish the look off!

Masculine styles