I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for months, since my friend and fashion stylist, Lysa Pelletier-Gibbs, turned me on to the idea.

She gave me the courage to take a pair of scissors to almost every pair of jeans I have in an effort to update my look. Lysa is fearless when it comes to “making your wardrobe work for you.” She’s cut everything from jeans to shirt sleeves to necklines to get the look she’s going for.

The good news was, I had a lot of options. Like with shoes, I have trouble getting rid of my old jeans. I have far more than I ever wear and some are so ridiculously dated, they are better suited for Halloween costumes than anything I’d ever wear in public.

But huzzah, my hoarding ways paid off. Some of these jeans can be worn again with one minor adjustment. Cut the hems! There’s no escaping that frayed denim is in. While some varieties go too far for my taste in the way of distressing, I do love the look of frayed denim when it comes to the jean’s hem.

It’s so simple – no more cuffing, scrunching or pegging (lol, remember that from the 80s?). Now you can cut your jeans to the perfect length and achieve the frayed denim look to just the right degree.

The perfect length is important to me because jeans that are too long make me look sloppy. Those too short make my already short legs look even stumpier. Now, I can achieve my perfect length in just a few steps. I have done this with both skinny jeans and old boot leg jeans and have created some great new options. Check out all of the fun angles you can try…

The Frayed Denim Hem

Step 1

Start slow and take a sharp pair of scissors to your hem. Try them on. Not short enough? Cut a little more. Just be careful you don’t go too far or you’ll have yourself a nice pair of cut-off shorts. That’s definitely not what we are going for here.

Step 2

Once you are happy with the length, toss those bad boys in the wash. Only then will the fray appear giving you that trendy, undone look that is so hot right now. The more you wash the more frayed they’ll become. Too frayed? Just clean them up with your trusty scissors.

Step 3

Wear your newly styled jean with a fun pair of shoes and give yourself a pat on the back. Job well done! You’ve just earned yourself a new look and repurposed what was likely a perfectly good pair of jeans that just needed a little update.

This was my simplistic version of this hem hack, but check out this post from POPSUGAR for a bit more detail – How to Cut Your Jeans.

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