It’s 2009. You’re sat in the student union, listening to Razorlight or some other indie landfill band, constantly re-adjusting the crotch on your circulation-busting black jeans. Suddenly a man bursts through a wormhole from the future – 2019 to be precise. He calls himself an Instagram influencer, whatever the hell that is. He’s got some dad jeans on, mid-wash, the ones Jerry Seinfeld would wear with those dorky shoes. Apparently this is all the rage in 2019, but you laugh him out of the room.

It’s true though, Mr. 2009. Ten years and a rise in unpretentious fashion has made a style icon out of your old man and Jeremy Corbyn. Those dorky kicks are now chunky trainers, and every fashion hound has themselves a pair, while mid-wash jeans are the relaxed glue that holds normcore fashion together.

You don’t have to wear them like you’re in a nineties sitcom either. The worn-down look works well for dusty western-inspired style, another odd-but-somehow-works trend, while the relaxed appearance suits low-key streetwear looks.

By the way, when we say mid-wash we are referring to denim that has undergone a longer washing process to remove more of the indigo dye colour. The extra washing also means that these jeans are softer to touch than raw denim. Wear them slim for a defined silhouette that suits smart-casual, or wide-legged for the more casual.

Here are five looks that prove just how versatile mid-wash jeans can be.

90s Seinfeld

75 million people watched the finale of Seinfeld in 1998. And we can tell you there weren’t many of those millions thinking, “My word I need to cop some of Jerry’s style right there”. But the nineties fashion resurgence has made a belated style icon out of the comedian.

The humble straight-leg works best for this look. Don’t pick up a pair that’s too long either, we’re channelling Seinfeld here not Clarkson, and too much length will swallow up the chunky trainers below. Pair with a simple sweatshirt or a white tee to avoid it looking like your heading off to a nineties club night.