I've Taken Stock, and These Are the Only 6 Jeans You Need

I know six pairs of jeans might sound like a lot, but… Is it? I'd bet most of us have even more than six pairs of jeans in our closets, but sadly, I imagine a lot of them are just taking up space. Raise your hand if you feel me here.

Jeans, as I see them, are like the people in our lives: We can't expect one pair to be everything to us, but we also don't need hundreds to feel fulfilled. Because there's no better time than January to take stock of what we have and identify the styles that will serve us best for the year ahead, here are six fits I stand by firmly. Find the version of each that works for you. Maybe your everything jeans more stovepipe than straight and your personality jeans more boho than bling. Chances are, you have one or more of these styles in your closet already. Here's what's worth keeping and where to get what's missing from my top six for 2026.

The Six Essential Jeans

1. Everything Jeans

Close your eyes and imagine the archetype of five-pocket jeans. This is it—a higher rise, a straight-straight leg or slimmer silhouette, and a wash that's completely classic. It could be white or the truest blue. The everything jeans go with… everything!

2. Beach Jeans

This, of course, is a seasonal style—the pair we wear in the summertime with sandals and layers of sunscreen. It may have an unfinished hem (something I save only for my beach jeans) or skin-baring holes in the knees. The fit is less important than the feeling here. Think chill, loose, and breezy.

3. Night Jeans

These are jeans that we can wear all day and then to dinner with friends and partners and work buds. They're black, which makes them innately dressier than an indigo wash, but not too fancy for everyday errand running. Good night jeans, in my opinion, have some stretch for comfort and dance-floor readiness. (Hey, it could happen!)

4. "Big Personality" Jeans

This is a jeans style with some personal flair—a patch or embellishment, studs or embroidery. It's not a pair we put on every day, but it is one we wear often enough that our friends recognize it as a style signature. The most important thing about personality jeans is that they express a strong sense of individuality. Find yours and commit to them.

5. Vintage Jeans

This one is optional. Vintage isn't for everyone, I know, but if you wear anything used (secondhand or otherwise), good vintage jeans are a must. Remember, not all vintage equals a Levi's 501. Levi's 517 (flared) and 509 (straight) styles are excellent, time-tested silhouettes—as is Wrangler's classic Cowboy Cut.

6. Weekend Jeans

I have two criteria for these jeans: They have to be comfortable, and they have to be easy to wash. (Not all jeans are!) The weekends are busy, lazy, messy things, and I'm always happiest in weekend jeans that accommodate long stretches of sitting and reading and all the running around and playgrounding I need to do. Wear, wash, get through the week, and repeat.