The 5 Best Agolde Jeans, As Tested by a Fashion Editor

In fashion, reputation is everything. So, when a brand is preceded by an array of celebrity endorsements from the industry’s most prolific tastemakers, it’s going to pique my interest. Agolde is a California-based denim brand that has practically become the, well, gold standard for high-quality jeans. Despite its commitments to sustainable practices and contemporary silhouettes, the label has garnered mainstream attention instead for the starry clientele that endorses its designs.

It’s true, you’ll find Agolde jeans immortalised on the album cover of Taylor Swift’s 2023 re-recording 1989 (Taylor’s Version), cemented in Hailey Bieber’s sensually oversized off-duty wardrobe and even stamped into pop culture iconography after Rihanna made the jeans a crucial part of her maternity wardrobe whilst pregnant with her firstborn. (Remember the trousers she wore with that Loewe rugby jumper and Louis Vuitton purse? They were Agolde.)

Originally founded in the ‘90s, Agolde relaunched onto the market in the late 2010s during a time when street style and ‘normcore’ had never been more prominent. As a result, Agolde’s commitment to create jeans that not only looked exceptional on, but also felt exceptional when wearing, struck a chord with those who held cultural cachet through what they wore.

(Image credit: Backgrid UK)

Remember, this was a time when wearing a simple leather jacket with a pair of chunky black ankle boots, a choker and a top knot was considered the acme of style. So, a brand promising to deliver jeans that were good for the planet, were incredibly polished and were size inclusive, was bound to accumulate a cult following.

And that it has, with actors like Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence waxing lyrical in interviews about their love for the brand’s jeans, to supermodels including Emily Ratajkowski and Kaia Gerber organically supporting through their paparazzi-captured outfits. But like anything coming out of tinseltown, it’s easy to get spellbound by these alluring appraisals. As a fashion writer who has made a career out of shopping, I’ve found that name and prestige alone can’t make something a success; it has to come down to the product it delivers. And while it’s safe to say these A-list adherents are indicative of a well-made and worthy pair of jeans, sometimes it comes down to taking matters into your own hands and reviewing the brand yourself.

But after testing the jeans myself over a series of weeks, I can easily see why these public figures are so enamoured with the brand. After all, these are people with access to the upper echelons of the industry and intimate with luxury brands I can only dream about owning. In the case of Agolde, however, these are jeans that certainly warrant the investment, as I quickly discovered. Without further ado, scroll on below for my honest review of the brand every It girl is wearing and a breakdown of the best Agolde jeans.

The 5 Best Agolde Jeans, As Tested by a Fashion Editor

1. Agolde Harper Straight Jean

Style Notes: As someone who counts Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy as the ultimate jeans muse, it should come as no surprise to see me gravitate towards a classic cigarette-style straight-leg pair. The Harper is a relaxed style that still boasts enough stiffness to feel polished and premium through the leg. (Because there is nothing worse than ruching through the knee or too much gathering around the ankle.) Despite being a little long for my tastes, and specifically, my stature, I didn’t find them disproportionate around the hip. As a true mid-rise, I wish they sat slightly higher around my waist than they do, but I didn’t find them to cause any unflattering bulging. What I loved most, however, was just how comfortable they felt. A true second-skin finish, the material was incredibly soft and breathable, which is perfect for a city dweller like myself who is always on the move about town. If you’re looking to invest in a pair of luxury jeans, this is the style I’d recommend.

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2. Agolde 90’s Pinch Waist High Rise Straight Long

Style Notes: The ‘90s Pinch Jeans are one of Agolde’s best-selling styles. Inspired by the decade in which the brand was founded, the shape takes cues from the cuts that were prominent at the time. Think: Bum-tight, taut around the ankle, cropped at the leg and as straight as a razor. After being recommended this pair by my chic colleague and Who What Wear UK’s resident jean expert, Shopping Editor Florrie Alexander, I knew that they were bound to meet the hype. Whilst they weren’t as comfortable as the Harper, they did feel really lived-in, almost like I found them in a curated archival boutique. Off the bat, I do have to say that this style will really only work for those who enjoy their jeans fitted quite close to the body. As the name suggests, the style is characterised by a signature “pinched” effect at the waist. The effect is quite sculptural and sleek, but for those who don’t enjoy the hem of their jeans prodding into their tummy, I will say that this won’t be the size for you. I did find myself wishing for a size up, which ultimately is a risk you have to take when shopping online. However, the way they lifted my bum and smoothed my legs is something I can’t fault.

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3. Agolde Low Rise Loose in Pure

Style Notes: Now, I’m not typically a wide-leg jeans or low-rise jeans person, but there’s just something about this style that was so hard to put down. For days when I wanted to slip into something more casual yet still considered, this is the pair I found myself returning to. Perfect for a pint on Saturday afternoon or a more ritzy evening dinner at one of London’s hottest small plates restaurants, this pair suited it all in spades. What I loved most was how languid they were, and yet never slouchy. On the contrary, they were hardly rigid to the touch, but still comprised that buttery feeling that Agolde has come to be known for. What let them down was the fact that the fabric lacked very little stretch, which felt hard to break in at first because the firmer material had me walking around like Bambi taking his first steps. Once the jeans gave out to my measurements, I did find myself not wanting to take them off, which is the ultimate testament one could give a pair of jeans.

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4. Agolde Arc Jean

Style Notes: Despite the styling on Agolde’s website hinting this style leans towards a more ‘00s attitude, from the moment I put them on, I found myself channelling a different era entirely. If you can’t tell from my perfect white t-shirt (Leset) or basket bag (M&S), these curved and cropped jeans reminded me of the late fashion starlet, Jane Birkin and the ease and hedonism of the ‘60s. The perfect wash of blue, this shade reminded me of a spring morning in Paris or a summer’s evening in Saint Tropez; bright, golden and optimistic. Of the latter, petite women will rejoice in the fact that these trousers are actually cropped, meaning you’ll save a trip to the tailor or the inevitable bugbear of constantly folding and cuffing your hem. The slight roundness through the leg also offers a nice silhouette that offsets fitting tops and balances out boxy jackets, like leather bombers. (Though you’d never catch the Hermés muse in one of those, she’s more of a blazer girl.) The truncated leg length did take some time getting used to, as it’s rare to find the base of my leg exposed when wearing jeans. Nevertheless, I overcame this by leaning into the styling tropes displayed on Michael Ryder’s debut runway as creative director for Celine in the brand’s Spring 2026 runway by teaming them with heeled boots, an oversized coat and a silk scarf that I wrapped around my neck.

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5. Agolde Luna High Rise Pieced Taper

Style Notes: Despite never owning a pair of barrel-leg jeans in my life, I was finally made a convert thanks to the Luna style. Slightly bulbous around the mid-part of the leg, I found the shape more of a cowboy-esque horseshoe shape than a true barrel-leg. But semantics aside, I really did enjoy the way this pair gave my body some dimension. With quite a dramatic and sweeping curve, I did find that they looked quite cartoonish online, but really softened when padded out by my thigh. This is the exact sort of thing any well-edited wardrobe would feature as it really does the legwork in elevating basics like black turtlenecks and leather loafers. Once wearing them, I found myself wanting to emulate Audrey Hepburn by tying my hair into a high ponytail and finishing with a ribbon to sweep everything back off my face and letting the silhouette shine.

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What to Look Out for When Buying Agolde Jeans?

After reviewing what felt like Agolde’s entire catalogue, I noticed a few crucial points to consider when shopping the brand. The main point, which is always the chief concern when buying jeans, is sizing. As someone with a very standard size UK 10 frame, I always find myself opting for a 27-inch waist when wearing denim. Typically, these dimensions will always fit. However, in some specific Agolde cuts, I found them to barely go over my bum.

For instance, the slim-line Cocktail jeans, which are a skinny style designed for occasions where you want to look more considered or dressed up, could hardly move an inch over my waist and didn’t even do up, despite me taking my regular size. The style I was most looking forward to wearing, the quasi-Lynchian blue velvet straight-leg style, didn’t have any leeway, meaning it was a battle even to slip into them, let alone wear them out and about. Given the fact that Agolde doesn’t have any brick-and-mortar stores in the UK, with the only retail presence in London’s iconic Selfridges department store, this is a challenge for those who fluctuate between sizes or are armed with the knowledge that they’ll have to size up in certain styles.

How We Tested

These Agolde jeans were rigorously tested by Who What Wear UK’s SEO writer, Ava Gilchrist, to determine which styles were the best the brand had to offer. After trailing thousands of jeans over the course of her career, she already knew the qualities that made up an incredible pair: comfort, stiffness, softness, quality, comfort and price point. With these factors in mind, she wore a series of Agolde jeans over the course of a few weeks to rank and review them in a variety of different settings, including the office, a cocktail bar, brunch, movie theatre and pub dinner. Weighing them against one another, she determined the best jeans based on silhouette, cut and quality. (Albeit, for the price point, all the jeans are certifiably quality!)

Why Trust Us

At Who What Wear UK, fashion is our speciality. Our editors have years of industry experience, from reporting on seasonal fashion trends seen at international fashion weeks to working with some of the most recognisable names in fashion. Every item we recommend is carefully selected based on current trends, quality and real-world wearability.

We regularly try on pieces ourselves—everything from best-selling jeans to designer shoes—and speak to external experts and fashion insiders, staying closely connected to what our readers are searching for. Our advice is grounded in expertise, and each and every buy we feature has to meet our exceptional taste standards—so you can feel confident in every recommendation.