MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It is Friday, and we tend to dress down on Fridays here in the NPR newsroom. So I will disclose that I am at work today wearing jeans, which I mention because it is directly relevant to our next story. As we were scouring the fashion columns to see what trends the fashion gods may have in store for us in 2019, we came across a flurry of reports that this year is going to be all about boot cut. Well, Sarah Spellings writes about fashion for The Cut at New York magazine. And she is here to give us the lowdown - or the low-rise as the case may be. Hey, Sarah.
SARAH SPELLINGS: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So there are actually a couple of denim developments that I want to get to with you. But start with word that these skinny jeans I am sitting here wearing are about to become a fashion faux pas - if they are not already - because this year is going to be all about boot cut.
SPELLINGS: I don't think they're going to be a fashion faux pas. But I think if you wanted to be on the real cutting edge, you might want to swap for a lower rise...
KELLY: OK, persuade me (laughter).
SPELLINGS: ...Kind of bootcut-y (ph) jean.
KELLY: And they last were seen in high fashion when?
SPELLINGS: In kind of 2000 to 2005. But low-rise jeans have been around since 1993 when Alexander McQueen first showed a pair of jeans that had a three-inch rise.
KELLY: Three-inch rise, which not to get too detailed a picture in people's minds, but basically you're showing off quite a lot of real estate of your rear-end in a three-inch rise jean.
SPELLINGS: Yes, you are.
KELLY: Why? I mean, does anyone actually look good in super low-rise jeans?
SPELLINGS: I think super low-rise jeans are a different story. But low-rise are pretty versatile across the board. I'm not a huge fan of low-rise jeans. But when I was working on a piece I did about low-rise jeans, I spoke to one designer who shows them a lot. And he says that he just doesn't buy it that people are comfortable wearing high-waisted jeans and having a non-stretch piece of fabric across their midsection, which is a pretty compelling point to me because often I'm sitting in my high-waisted, wide-leg, cropped pants that are really stylish right now and thinking, man, these are not comfortable at all.
KELLY: These are killing me.
(LAUGHTER)
SPELLINGS: But a lot designers right now want to go for something that feels new and fresh and will get attention. And one of the ways to do that is to bring back things that have fallen out of fashion. That will get a reaction. And as we've seen, it's a pretty good way. People hate it when people do stuff to jeans is what I've realized.
KELLY: Right, because you get sentimentally attached to your jeans, and you don't want them to grow out of style once you finally get a pair that you love.
SPELLINGS: Yeah. And the real lesson is to never throw out a pair of jeans that you love and to just keep them. You know, my mom still has a pair of 501 Levi's...
KELLY: As do I.
SPELLINGS: ...Back from the '80s.
KELLY: I'm right there with your mom, right.
SPELLINGS: And they're so stylish now. Like I want a pair of 501s.
KELLY: Any trends that we should hope just never, never to see reemerge in denim - acid wash, for example. That's not coming back, is it?
SPELLINGS: Oh, I think the acid wash might be making a comeback.
KELLY: Oh, no.
SPELLINGS: I saw a pair of jeans recently that were acid wash and then tie-dyed over them, which were pretty interesting. But last spring, we were seeing jeans that were clear, jeans that had detachable pant legs, that were held up by a kind of garter-looking things, jeans that had zippers going all the way up the legs rendering them useless. You know, there's a lot of ugly jeans trends that have come around in the past year that I think I would like to not see again.
KELLY: Jeans aside, what's the biggest trend for 2019 - or the craziest trend for 2019?
SPELLINGS: I think we're going to see a lot of tie-dye, which is a pretty normal trend but it's one that I like because it's for men and women, and it's something you can do at home.
KELLY: This is beyond T-shirts? What else would be tie-dyed?
SPELLINGS: Yeah, you can tie-dye pants. You can tie-dye jeans. At Eckhaus Latta, they showed a tie-dye that looked kind of like a cow print, which was very cool. It's a fun trend. I think it's really going to be something very colorful that we're going to be seeing a lot.
KELLY: That's Sarah Spellings. She writes about fashion for The Cut at New York magazine, getting us ready there for all the trends in 2019. Thanks, Sarah.
SPELLINGS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF DJANGO REINHARDT'S "BRAZIL")