If you want to wear bootcut jeans, the ‘toothpick rule’ hack is the way to do it right

You need big-zip energy for this.

The Y2K denim rivalries continue. Step aside, jorts, low-rise jeans, skinny jeans and flare jeans — the bootcut is back.

The denim style that mall rats of the early 2000s know all too well has made its return by way of stars like Sydney Sweeney and Cindy Crawford.

But if you want to wear bootcut jeans in the year 2025 and aren’t sure what rise works best for you, New York stylist Liz Teich told the Wall Street Journal there’s one simple hack everyone should follow: the toothpick rule.

The zipper should never be shorter “than a toothpick,” she declared.

The bootcut style, essentially the cousin to flares, is typically fitted at the waist and hips with a slight, subtle flare at the leg opening, perfect to pair with boots, as the name suggests.

“The right cut is slim with a bit of kick, rather than full-on flares or old-school bootcuts, which were more exaggerated,” Teich explained to the outlet.

But those with shorter torsos should probably opt for a mid-rise bootcut jean, while those with longer torsos would get the most out of a high-rise bootcut, she said.

Erin Hazelton, a Connecticut fashion journalist, added that her main advice when it comes to bootcut jeans is that after finding the right rise for your body type, focus on the back pocket placement.

Higher-placed pockets create an impression of a taller posture.

Though bootcut and flare jeans aren’t the same, the former “officially went mainstream” after Kendrick Lamar wore flares during his Super Bowl halftime show this February, Meredith Melling, co-founder of New York clothing brand La Ligne, told the Journal.

Within 48 hours of Lamar’s performance, searches for bootcut and flared jeans skyrocketed by 5,000%, the publication reported.