The first magazine I ever bought with my own money was Lucky Magazine's first-ever issue in late Novemeber of 2000. My family was spending Thanksgiving at The Sagamore in Glens Falls, NY, and the gift shop had a few of the first copies. My mom agreed I could buy it because it was purely about fashion, style, and shopping, to her relief, since I was just bordering on the start of the voracious pre-teen years.  I poured over that magazine backwards and forwards, reading every last piece of copy, even on the advertisement pages. [RIP, Lucky!] The biggest denim trend at the time was low-rise flares ala every pop music star, and ever since then flares have been a staple of my jean wardrobe. 

Flares are just perfectly retro and Americana all at once, and they look all-the-more sophisticated paired with feminine pink stripes and ladylike cat-eye shades. My shape post-baby is what I like to think of as an exaggerated version of my former self, so I find high-rise cuts like these flatter my wider hips. I could not resist the utilitarian button fly and frayed bottoms, which add a little edge to an otherwise basic pair of jeans. 

I scored these at The Gap on CRAZY sale a few weeks ago, since clearance was an additional 50% off, these were under $5. I'm not sure how that was possible, but I'll chalk it up as a Fashion Miracle. 

I wore them with a simple light pink striped long sleeve tee, my favorite leather jacket, pointy-toe wedges, and chain-strap bag. How do you wear flares?

NEED SOME FLARES IN YOUR LIFE? SHOP THE WHOLE LOOK HERE: