Apparently JNCO Jeans Are Cool Again

Remember when chokers came back last year, and suddenly so many people were rocking the accessory that you questioned whether you’d somehow entered a time warp that landed you back in the ’90s? Well, prepare yourself, because this year’s ’90s nostalgic trend has arrived. The new article of clothing you’re about to see everywhere is…JNCO jeans. Confused? So are we.

In case you’ve managed to block them out, JNCOs are those shapeless, comically wide-leg jeans favored two decades ago by skaters and ravers and seen on teens in iconic ’90s films like Clueless and Can’t Hardly Wait. Shockingly, these babies have actually been poised for a triumphant return since 2015, when Women’s Wear Daily reported that a Chinese investor pledged an influx of cash to revive the storied denim brand. Alas, that was the latest we’d heard of JNCOs…until now. Here is a visual of the original jeans to refresh your memory:

The JNCOs of today, however, are different because they’re not actually JNCOs and they cost a whopping $755. The brand responsible for this wide-legged resurgence is none other than the ultra cool Balenciaga, who in the understatement of the year, has dubbed the style “Extra Wide Leg.”

The Cut points out that Balenciaga’s adoption of the universally unflattering style is in keeping with their designer Demna Gvasalia’s habit of making old school brands like Champion and Juicy Couture cool again via modern-day collaborations when he was at Vetements.

But if Balenciaga’s version too pricey, never fear. You can still purchase the original JNCOs for suburban ’90s teen-friendly price of $69.90, if you just happened to throw out your old pair with the advent of the new millennium. Here are the jeans as they appear on JNCOs site today:

So what have we learned from this JNCO revival? If even jeans this baggy can make a high-fashion comeback, it really must be true what they say: Fashion is but a never-ending cycle.

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