Should I Wear High-Rise or Low-Rise Jeans?

What is the correct rise for jeans: low, mid or high? They all seem to be trendy, so how can you tell which is the right one for you? — Genie, Charlotte, N.C.

The riddle of the jeans rise — the distance from the seam of the crotch to the waistband — and which one is best for you, is like the fashion equivalent of the riddle of the Sphinx. Once upon a time, not so many decades ago, there were clear moments when one kind of rise was considered the answer. These days, as you point out, everything goes.

There are high-rise jeans that rise to the natural waist and low-rise jeans that sit beneath the points of the hip bones. Mid-rise that fall somewhere between the two, and natural rises that hover very close to the belly button and are often, but not always, considered high rise.

This last runway season there were extreme bumster jeans at Diesel, pants that fell so low on the body that they exposed the crack of the bottom and had to be held on with an internal strap, lest something scandalous occur. A mere week later, high rises showed up at Chloé, where they are the personal signature of the designer Chemena Kamali.

On the one hand, this is good. It means you are free to follow your bliss when it comes to jeans. On the other hand, it’s confusing. How is someone who just wants some great denim supposed to choose?

I asked Benjamin Talley Smith, known inside the fashion industry as the jeans whisperer, and the man behind the denim at Khaite, Ulla Johnson, Reformation, La Ligne and Walmart, how he suggests people think about their jeans.

First, he said, consider what makes you feel comfortable, not just physically but psychologically. High rises “tend to hold you in more, accentuate your waist and are better for more curvy figures,” he said. They make the legs look very long and are often best with a tucked-in shirt, so they read as more formal. They tend to work better at, say, work, even when they are in faded denim. But they can also feel constricting when you sit down or bend over.

Mid-rise, Mr. Talley Smith said, “is the most versatile fit for all body types and the easiest to style. It works for body types from petite to curvy.” They are essentially the Switzerland of jeans. Safely neutral.

As for low-rise, it’s definitely back — but also improved. Today’s low-rise is not, Mr. Talley Smith said, “the low and tight rise of the aughts.” You know, the ones that call to mind malls and Britney Spears and seem inexplicably appealing to anyone who didn’t live through that era but require a heavy dose of irony for the rest of us.

Instead, the modern low-rise jeans are, Mr. Talley Smith said, characterized by “a more relaxed manner and worn low on the hips to give the appearance of low,” “appearance” being the operative word. These low-rise jeans are more considered than the old low-rises and don’t emphasize a spare tire as much as old versions sometimes did. They are also flattering to anyone with a short torso since they alter the visual balance.

“This is a new way to wear low-rise that is more accessible and easier to wear at any age,” Mr. Talley Smith said.

When deciding which rise is your rise, he went on, it is also important to take fabrication into consideration. “If you like to wear rigid jeans, the new low-rise baggy is the most comfortable and flattering option,” he said. “If you are a fan of stretch denim, the high rise is a better fit.”

Then it’s just a matter of personal taste — and waist.

Your Style Questions, Answered

Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.