Shifting jeans style reflects fashion cycle

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Here is a novel idea: jeans with waistbands that actually fit on the waistline.
It's happening in the denim department. Manufacturers and retailers are easing away from the boot cut that has dominated the scene for so long and into the lean straight legs associated with the '80s, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Think tight "Flashdance" silhouettes. And put aside the low-riding, belly-button-baring, crack-revealing Britney-like specials. The change is reflected at such places as New York-based Bloomingdales, the Gap, Nordstrom, the popular Seven denim line and trendy boutiques.
Fashion observers credit, in part, last winter's popularity of the shearling boots Uggs, which required jeans to be tucked into the top. But mostly the shift is because it's time. Every fashionista has the flared-leg boot cuts by now. Fashion is cyclical, of course. And when the market is saturated, well, you know the rest.
And besides, the look is an excuse to buy new cool accessories such as colorful high heels and slouchy oversized belts.