19 Ways to Style Straight-Leg Jeans After 50

Mid-blue jeans stop at the ankle bone, just above the flat.

A boatneck runs straight across the collarbones, which draws the eye up to your face. Red flats, worn where white sneakers usually go, are the only bright color in the outfit.

Wear it to the Saturday market, and if red feels loud, choose the same flat in burgundy.

Everything here is gray except the shoes. Charcoal ankle jeans and a heather-gray crewneck give the leopard loafers a quiet background on a November walk into town. The print is the only pattern, so it looks deliberate.

Give the sweater a front tuck, which means tucking only the front few inches into the waistband and letting the back hang loose. It marks your waist without putting the whole waistband on show.

If leopard shoes feel like a stretch, start with a leopard-print belt and keep the rest gray.

Bleached-blue denim suits a July beach town, where dark jeans feel heavy in the heat. These are rolled twice, about an inch each time, so the hem lands just above the ankle.

A navy linen shirt worn open like a jacket over a white tank makes two long lines down the front. Tan leather slides leave the foot bare, which suits the shorter hem.

Keep each roll narrow, because one thick cuff looks heavy and stops the leg short.

Choose a turtleneck thin enough to lie flat under the coat.

Black jeans, a fine black turtleneck and black suede ankle boots make one dark line from chin to floor. The camel coat, worn open, puts a stripe of warm color on each side.

On a January museum day, the coat goes to the coat check and the black underneath still looks finished. Jeans long enough to cover the boot top are in style right now.

If your black jeans are ankle length, wear black socks or tights so the gap stays dark.

Standing on a soccer sideline at 9 on an October morning? An olive quilted vest over a gray crewneck sweatshirt keeps your middle warm and your arms free. Mid-blue jeans run full length, with one soft fold where the hem meets the shoe.

The sweatshirt should end at the hip bone, the same place as the vest, so there's one clean line across. Navy suede sneakers with tan rubber soles look neater than running shoes.

Keep the running shoes for exercise and wear the suede pair to the game.

The pale blue shirt and the dark-rinse jeans are far apart in color, so the denim on denim looks planned. Chambray is a light cotton that looks like faded denim but is thinner and softer.

A tan leather belt breaks up the blue at your waist. Full-length jeans just touch the top of brown leather loafers for a spring road trip.

Skip a shirt that matches your jeans, since one blue from collar to hem looks like a uniform.

The camel sleeves are knotted low on the chest.

The jeans are ecru, the warm off-white of unbleached cotton, so they look softer than bright white. A camel sweater over a pale blue oxford shirt keeps the colors warm near your face for a cool April walk through a botanical garden.

Ecru is the one change from your usual blue, and it makes the outfit look new. Brown suede ankle boots sit under the full-length hem.

Wash ecru jeans only with whites, because a single dark sock can tint them.

The collar is brown corduroy and the body is tan cotton canvas, made for farm chores. It's roomy enough to go over a red plaid flannel shirt on a cold October morning in the orchard.

Faded mid-blue jeans run full length over brown leather lace-up boots, and the hem sits on the laces without dragging in the mud. Barn jackets are in fashion again, so this reads as current even if yours is decades old.

Check the men's racks at thrift stores for a worn canvas one, and try a size smaller than usual.

Espadrilles have rope soles made of jute, and a wedge won't sink into a June lawn the way a thin heel does. White ankle-length jeans and a loose cobalt linen top make it a garden-party outfit.

Cobalt on top, in place of the usual navy stripe, keeps white jeans from looking nautical. White denim is worth buying in a heavier weight, because thin fabric lets the pocket linings show through.

Slide a hand inside the leg in the store; if you can see your fingers, put that pair back.

The navy peacoat is short enough to leave most of the cognac leather boot in view. A forest-green crewneck adds warmth for a December walk beneath the holiday lights.

Tall boots used to mean skinny jeans, but a medium-dark slim straight leg tucks in smoothly when the ankle opening is narrow.

Pull a thin sock over each jean hem before the boot goes on, so the denim lies flat.

For an outdoor concert on a September evening, a chocolate-brown leather jacket over a plain white tee looks warmer against light-wash jeans than black does.

Ankle-length jeans show a strip of skin above black leather sneakers. That gap keeps a heavy jacket from weighing the outfit down.

Look for a jacket that ends at the hip bone; a longer one cuts the leg at mid-thigh.

The polo is tucked all the way in, with a thin brown belt.

A knit polo is made of fine sweater knit instead of the bumpy cotton of a golf shirt, so it looks dressy enough for a May workday. It takes the place of the blouse you'd usually wear to work.

Cream slingback kitten heels finish it under mid-blue ankle jeans. A slingback has a strap behind the heel instead of a closed back, and a kitten heel is about an inch and a half high.

Tuck it fully only if your jeans sit at the waist; otherwise use the front tuck from #18.

Satin catches the light, so one shiny piece is enough to make jeans party clothes. Here it's an emerald blouse, loose through the body and tucked in at the front, over full-length black jeans.

The front tuck shows your waist, and the loose body skims your hips without clinging. Black block-heel pumps are steadier than thin heels on a hardwood floor.

Small gold earrings finish it for a December party at a friend's house.

Buy the satin blouse with room in the body, since tight satin pulls across the buttons.

Bands of red, cream and green circle the neck and shoulders.

The sweater is short and a little boxy, the way many are cut now. Ending at the hip bone, it keeps the jeans in view at a December tree farm.

Rolled once, the mid-blue jeans stop above brown duck boots, which have rubber bottoms and leather uppers.

Pick wool if you can; acrylic pills sooner.

Western boots are back, and a straight leg fits over a slim boot shaft without a bootcut's flare. Faded light-blue jeans, a white blouse embroidered at the neckline and tan boots suit a late-August evening by a pasture fence.

Wear one western piece at a time, and leave the hat and fringe at home.

Want the newest look on this list? Light-blue jeans end a couple of inches above the ankle, which shows the narrowest part of the leg. The raw hem is a cut edge left unsewn, so it frays a little with each wash.

Black Mary Jane flats, the round-toed shoe with a strap across the top of the foot, go with thin white ankle socks. A pale yellow short-sleeved sweater on top is right for a spring afternoon at an art gallery.

Leave the socks off if they feel like a costume; bare ankles with the same flats still work.

Try the Mary Janes first with jeans you already own, rolled once to the same height.

Dark-wash denim hides a coffee spill better than light, so it's the wash to travel in. A long oatmeal cardigan that ends at mid-thigh goes over a black long-sleeve tee and works as a light coat on a breezy ferry deck.

Black slip-on sneakers have no laces to tie, and the ankle-length hem stays clear of wet decks and station floors. A long cardigan instead of a fleece jacket keeps the outfit looking polished in photos.

Let the cardigan double as your blanket on a cold plane or train, and pack one less layer.

The trench is open, with its belt knotted at the back.

A tan trench coat that ends just above the knee sits over full-length mid-blue jeans, and the straight leg carries the coat's line down to the shoe. A navy crewneck goes underneath for an April city day of showers.

White leather sneakers take the place of pumps and are easier to walk in on a wet day.

A trench that ends at or above the knee leaves plenty of straight leg showing below it.

The hem just grazes the top of the foot, with no fold. Dark indigo jeans, a fine cream crewneck, a navy wool blazer and black suede pointed flats go from a weekday lunch to dinner out.

Dark denim reads dressier than mid-blue. Choose a blazer with some room in the shoulders, long enough to cover the seat. The pointed toe carries the leg past the hem.

Ask the tailor for an original hem, which means the leg is shortened and the factory edge is sewn back on.

Take the flats along and say, "I want the hem to just graze the top of my foot."