The Only Four Pairs of Jeans You Need

Denim is the only category where trend cycles genuinely do not matter, provided you own the right four pairs. Everything else in your rotation is a mood; these are infrastructure.

One: a rigid straight-leg in mid indigo, hemmed to graze the top of the foot. Two: a relaxed dark wash that can take a heel and pass in a restaurant. Three: something wide and slightly too long, for flat shoes and long days. Four: a soft, faded pair you will never photograph and never throw away.

Buy rigid cotton where you can. Stretch denim is comfortable on day one and shapeless by month six; 100 per cent cotton is uncomfortable on day one and moulded to you by month three.

Care is the whole game. Wash cold, wash rarely, hang dry, and have the hem redone by a tailor who keeps the original edge. A well-kept pair of jeans is the single most expensive-looking thing most people own.