The Only Denim Trends You Should Spend Money on This Summer

Seeing as summer is pretty much in full swing at this point, it’s time to get serious about what you’re going to wear and, of course, buy. As such, you may have noticed a plethora of guides on the subject right here on Who What Wear, covering everything from swimwear to vacation style to the must-know prints to highly specific seasonal colors and more. And unless you plan on sticking with the basics (think plain jean jackets, skinny jeans, or classic cutoffs), there’s much to know about the season’s must-have denim trends as well.

So what’s worth buying in the denim world right now? If you ask me, the below five categories stand out from the pack—by a landslide. From on-the-rise trends our editors have a hunch about to established ones we know will be sticking around a while longer, just keep scrolling to see and shop them all.

Loose-Fit Jeans

One of those rare instances in which a trend is actually comfortable, so we're not asking questions here.

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Denim Bermuda Shorts

I recently got into long denim shorts myself and have become pretty obsessed. My favorite way to style them is with strappy sandals and a blazer.

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Pleated Jeans

Our editor Anna is a big fan of this on-the-rise trend, which tells me it has some staying power.

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Tie-Dye Denim

Tie-dye's presence on the F/W 19 runways suggests that the trend is not going away any time soon—meaning it's not too late to invest.

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Cargo-Style Jeans

All you need to know here is that the Attico girls are backing cargo jeans, so we're backing cargo jeans.

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Up next? The $35 mules that will go with all the trends you just saw

Editor-at-Large

Since starting as an intern back in 2013, Nicole Akhtarzad Eshaghpour has held several roles here at Who What Wear, and she is currently Editor-at-Large. It was a less expected route, seeing as she was graduating from business school at USC when this all began, but it has turned out to be the best one for her. Fast-forward to 2024, and she's moved to NYC from her hometown of Beverly Hills and spends her workdays a little differently from when she was an intern starting out. Currently, she focuses on a weekly mélange of shopping content. As far as her personal style goes, she's largely drawn to classic pieces and neutral basics but will always make an exception for something colorful, printed, or bejeweled as long as it's deemed worthy enough. After all, the only thing she loves more than a good party is dressing up for one. On weekdays, she can usually be found at home eating something delicious for dinner and trying to force her husband to watch Summer House.