Those who’ve never quite felt comfortable in the figure-revealing skinny jean can take heart: the wide-leg has gained some serious real estate in stores.

At 303 West Cordova Street in Gastown, the denim store Dutil is packed with jeans of every size and colour. Creative director Todd Evanger stands at the ready with a handful of wide-leg jeans he’s pulled from the shop’s artfully draped and stacked collection.

What does Evanger say about the trend in wide-leg denim? “It’s been growing. I’d say over the last three or four years.” Currently about 20 to 25 per cent of the store’s inventory is of the wide-leg variety.

Some of Evanger’s picks for wide-leg styles are by local designers Small Town and Fidelity Denim. Small Town’s Nova jean in midnight (about $240) is a high-waisted double-yoke affair. He also points to the wide cuffs and button detailing on a pair of Fidelity Denim jeans called Tantra in a dark rinse (about $200), made from soft Japanese denim—a good wide-leg specimen.

“Something that’s going to be really big this year is the ’70s washed-out pale wide-legs,” he predicts, holding up a pair from J Brand as an example. “So feminine, so simple. It’s really wearable and chic.”

How do you know when you’ve got a proper wide leg? “A wide-leg floats away from your body from the hip down,” Evanger says. To illustrate, Dutil employee Claire throws on a pair of dark Hudson jeans, which fit snugly around her hips and fall away from her petite frame in a flattering swath of cloth.

“It’s such a Vancouver feel,” Evanger says, suggesting that wide-leg jeans are destined to become a wardrobe staple. After skinny jeans have reigned the runways, it’s natural for the trend to swing the other way.

You need only open any fashion magazine to find evidence that the wide-leg jean is in, way in, says Christina Yeung, designer for Dish Jeans.

Some jeans go as wide as 24 inches on the bottom, she says, like Hudson’s Deluxe. “Obviously if you’re five-foot-10 and 115 pounds, you could pull this look off,” Yeung says. But for the average customer, you can still get a similar look with a narrower cuff. The roomy Deseray (about $100), with a 21-inch cuff, is one of Dish’s hottest sellers.

Many flares, too, come under the wide-leg category, Yeung says. “For the longest time, they were the F word.” Now they’re finding new appeal, she says, because “they balance out your hips and they make your legs look long.” Plus, “You can get a lot of looks out of wide legs.” Dress it up with a tailored fit, or go for the boyfriend look with a lighter wash and shorter hem paired with Converse sneakers.

The length of the leg is also important, Yeung says. The Marilou is another popular Dish jean, slightly narrower than the Deseray. “These look great if you have a heel on,” she says, with the hem dangling just off the ground.

In contrast to Evanger’s lighter look, Yeung says this season darker and cleaner washes are dominating on the racks.

With wider legs, the silhouette is also shifting. Slimmer-fitting tops are coming in to match. “It’s definitely a welcome change,” she says.

Wide-leg Hudson jeans, a favourite of both Evanger and Yeung, also get the nod from Yoel Farzan, owner of Fab Clothing (two locations, on 4th Avenue and 41st Avenue). He says wide-leg styles have only made it to his store in the last three months. Although they may be popular on the catwalks, the new designs are just hitting the shelves.

He took out a pair of Hudson’s Angel button-front jeans in an indigo wash. “We do really well with the style here,” he says. “It fits a lot of body types.”

The wide-leg was popular in other fabrics like twill and wools before it hit the denim market, but now it’s starting to make inroads in the jean jungle.

On a pair of Paige stretch wide-leg jeans (about $220), he pointed out the trouser pockets, a nice touch. “They make it more elegant,” Farzan says. “Not just another jean.”

Farzan says the popularity of wide-leg jeans will continue to build. “I give it at least two more years.”

In fashion time, isn’t that almost an eternity?