After Bringing Back The Dress Over Jeans Trend, Katie Holmes Is All In On Another Controversial Denim Style

Katie Holmes wears a navy blue and red jacket, dark blue denim jeans, black shoes and a white bag outside Patou during the Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024/2025 as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 27, 2024 in Paris, France.
(Image credit: Photo by Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images)

Katie Holmes has been a fashion trendsetter since she hit the Hollywood scene with Dawson’s Creek. She’s had a number of iconic celebrity fashion moments over the years, many of which are coming back as 90’s and Y2K inspired looks are becoming cool again. Holmes put a mini dress over jeans and caused quite the stir a while back, as it was something that hadn’t been popular since the early 2000s. Yet, she totally rocked it. Now she’s embracing another controversial denim look, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. 

Barrel jeans have been the denim of the moment for a hot minute, and Katie Holmes was seen out in them. The jean style is different from the more popular mom-jean, which has a high, hip hugging waist that is baggy or straight leg the rest of the way down. Barrel jeans take baggy to a whole new level, as the leg part of the jean extends wide beyond the thigh and comes to a taper near the ankle. The trend caught on with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and it quickly became common to see these odd shaped pants on teenagers around the internet, and now on the actress, per InStyle. 

If you're into the look, lots of major brands are carrying the denim now. 

Image
$98 at Free People

Free People Good Luck Mid-Rise Barrel Jeans, $98

The jeans range from a large horseshoe shape to something a little more subtle. The revolt against skinny jeans is very real, and fashion has been going in a completely different direction for a while now. While many millennials and Gen-Xers are holding on to their skinny jeans with dear life, the Batman Begins actress is embracing the more youthful style.

She’s giving the baggy denim a real shot, and has never really been afraid to experiment with her fashion. These pants are hard to pull off, but I think she totally rocks it. She has a teenage daughter in Suri Cruise, so maybe she’s giving her mom fashion advice and keeping her hip. 

Katie Holmes isn’t the only one who has been experimenting with denim fashion as of recently. Sports Illustrated’s Paulina Porizkova has posted pictures of herself rocking sweatpants that look exactly like jeans to remain cozy while also fashionable around the house, and Jenna Ortega embraced the denim maxi skirt trend during Paris Fashion Week. Even if the style of jeans is constantly changing, actual denim never seems to go out of style and always is a chic casual fit. 

Who knows how long barrel jeans will stick around? This might be one of those microtrends that we will look back on in 10 years and wonder “what was thinking?” Or, the denim style could be here to stay, and this is just the beginning of the hottest streetwear look. Whatever the fate of barrel jeans is, I love that Holmes is making it work. She remains cool and youthful even as trends change, and always knows how to keep people talking. 

When Katie Holmes isn’t experimenting with the latest trends, you can see her latest film, Rare Objects, which she also directed. The film is streaming for Hulu subscribers. You can also see her on the upcoming Season 2 of Poker Face, which will be available with a Peacock subscription.

TOPICS
Caroline Young
Writer

Writer, podcaster, CinemaBlend contributor, film and television nerd, enthusiastic person. Hoping to bring undying passion for storytelling to CinemaBlend.