What to do when fashion trends seem designed solely for the wearing enjoyment of models and starving celebrities?

When skinny pants and jeans appeared on runways across the globe this spring, those of us with hips and athletic figures let out a collective, "Oh dear. HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO WEAR THAT??" For the last few years, we've been spoiled with generous wide leg pants, boot cut jeans and comfy lululemon yoga pants, but now we are told we should squeeze ourselves into itty bitty, cut-the-circulation-off-at-the-ankles skinny jeans. Makes you want to run a few extra laps at the gym, doesn't it?

Might we propose that rather than starving your fashion conscious-selves into skeletal proportions or bemoaning the return of unflattering eighties styles, we all take a deep breath and try to think of this as an opportunity to expand our fashion horizons.

If you are concerned about looking hippy, here are a few tricks to wear the skinny jean without looking like an, erm, stuffed sausage:

1. Choose a pair with a straight leg shape and let only the most trusted seamstress do the hemming. Nothing says, 'clueless!' like skinny pants that are hemmed too short.

2. Choose darker denim with strategically placed pockets. If they are too high or too low, it will only make your butt look bigger.

3. Pair with long or slouchy boots, flats or heels. If you wear them with runners your feet will look enormous.

4. Wear with loose or long layered tops. In general, you should only wear one tight thing at a time to give your look a sense of balance.

5. Wear with confidence! As Sophia Loren once said, "Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful."

P.S Here are a few online retailers that sell designer denim for cheap: www.couturecandy.com www.eluxury.com www.revolveclothing.com

photo credit: couturecandy.com