Wide legs, skinny legs and boot legs

Because I needed to designate at least one outfit the get-dirty playgroup outfit, and because the jeans I've been wearing all summer (with legs rolled up as a shorts substitute), I've been shopping for jeans.

In the old days - i.e. when I was fitter and flatter of tummy - it was simply a matter of trying on a few pairs of bootcut jeans (recommended for shorties by just about anyone who gets paid to dress women) and finding the pair with the best fit around the hips and the biggest back pockets (because they make your bum look smaller) .

See, all I really want is to look leggy, slim and hip. It's not that much to ask, really.

But now high-waisted, skinny-leg jeans have mostly taken over as the look of the season and I've not been successful at resisting it.

There's a bit of an art to finding the right jeans style, as most females know (which is why advice is always handy - here and here, for instance). And most of the advice I've come across tells me to stay well away from those jeans which cling to your legs like wet seaweed, zip up all the way to your bellybutton and apparently only look good on Kate Moss.

So when I went into Jeans West yesterday and tried on every single style in store, I was astounded to discover that the ones which fit me best were these Silver Star Slim rock-chick pants.

And the added bonus? They were size 10 (which I think might be a 6 or an 8 in American sizing), whereas I'd had to settle for a 12 in all the others styles.