Éterne started in 2020 with a stylist who was tired of altering things. Chloé Bartoli, who had worked with Paris Jackson, Selena Gomez and Lewis Hamilton, says she started the label because as a stylist she could never find basics that were right. Everything needed tailoring or fell short on quality. She also had a stash of vintage she had gathered for shoots, and some of it turned into the label's core baby tees and tanks. I like that origin because it explains the clothes: they are made by someone who has dressed other people under a deadline.

That same eye shows up in the Éterne jeans. Her mother suggested the name, and Bartoli has described the idea as classics you can return to again and again. The denim edit is tight, five styles by Vogue's count, and the Saint comes in rigid Japanese cotton with a Made in USA label. Nothing here is trying to be a trend. It is the pair you stop thinking about after the second wear.

Start with the straight legs. The Chloé comes in light indigo, medium indigo and black, all mid-rise and slim, and the black is the one I would wear with a cashmere crew and loafers all fall. The Dallas in medium indigo is more relaxed, cut from Italian midweight denim, so it hangs rather than hugs. The Chevy drops to a low rise, which is the one to try with a short baby tee.

For a looser mood, the three Saints are boyfriend jeans: light indigo with distressing, a straight-leg medium indigo, and a high-waist ripped version. Rigid denim does not forgive a rushed fitting. Sit down in them, walk the room, and wash them as the brand says, separately in cold water before the first wear.

Éterne's denim range runs longer than most people expect, and the bootcut is where that shows. Vogue's tall-jeans guide singles out the Cash as the ideal bootcut: mid-rise, slim leg, a tiny bit of flare at the hem. It comes in light indigo, medium indigo and black, plus two Extra Long versions in medium and light indigo for anyone who has spent years cuffing the wrong inseam.

The low-rise bootcut in medium indigo is the Presley cut, a worn wash that wants a cropped knit and a belt. The Cash in light indigo has a faded, vintage feel, so I would put it with a black turtleneck and kitten heels. The black Cash is the dressier one. Pointed boots under a bootcut hem look sharp, though as Vogue notes there is not enough room to stuff a boot underneath, so choose heels or flats.

Two pieces round out the denim. The Emmett boyfriend short in light indigo has a raw hem and light distressing, a fine one for tights and loafers in October. The Ellis is a snap-front denim shirt in washed medium indigo with chest flap pockets, and it reads like a jacket over a white tee.

Fitting test: stand in your actual shoes, check that the hem skims the floor without dragging, and sit to see if the waist stays put.

What I would skip: the Extra Long length if you are under five foot eight, because you will be hemming it.

A vintage wash is mostly about fading, whiskering and a little looseness at the thigh, and you can see the range in these straight legs. Éterne's own straight jeans are rigid and clean, so this is the lived-in alternative. The Citizens of Humanity Faye in Hikari has mid-blue fading and whiskering, and the Blaine in Jonie is a softer, more lived-in blue, both with a button fly.

The Agolde Lana in Brink is a high-rise straight in soft faded blue, the one I would wear with a tucked white shirt. Moussy Vintage has two ends of the dial: the Idabel is washed-out light blue and the Leyden is a worn dark blue with a button closure and zip fly. Still Here's Everyday jean in Vintage Blue is the relaxed fit, and the AG Billie in Powder sits low on the hip with a pale finish.

Buying test: hold the jean up to a window. A good vintage wash fades unevenly, with lighter patches at the thigh and knee, rather than printing the same pale blue everywhere. Then check that the button fly lies flat when you sit.

Wear them with a heavy knit and ankle boots. The light washes also look good with a gray crewneck and white sneakers.

What I would skip: the palest washes if you want to wear them with a cream sweater, since the two blur together.

Low-rise bootcut and flare jeans are back, and the quickest check is how the waistband sits when you move. Éterne's own Chevy and Presley already point this way, and these are the options from other labels that follow the same low line. The rag & bone Kinsley in Sadie is a faded mid-blue bootcut, and the Flexi Kinsley full bootcut in coated brown is lightweight stretch with a glossy finish, a nice swap for black leather pants.

Two Agolde pairs split the mood: the Low Rise Boot in a mid-blue lived-in wash, and the Low Rise Bootcut in Interim with distressed hems. I would wear the Interim with a fitted baby tee and a cropped jacket. The DL1961 Milano Slim Boot in a deep airbrushed indigo is the dressier one with a slim, sleek thigh.

Good American has a clean dark indigo low bootcut and a relaxed flare in light blue with a raw hem. Victoria Beckham's low-waist flare in mid blue is cut from 100% cotton mid-weight denim, made in Italy, and has the longest line of the group.

Test: pull on the jeans, sit down, and raise your arms. If the back gaps or the hem catches under your heel, go a size or a length up.

What I would skip: flare hems with flat sneakers, because the hem covers the shoe and the shape disappears.

Boyfriend jeans are really a fit question: where the slack goes, and whether the leg looks intentional. Éterne's Saint taught me that rigid, relaxed denim can look neat, and here is how other labels handle it. The R13 Boyfriend is a faded gray pair with shredded holes, and the Articulated Knee Ex-Boyfriend in Brixton Black is washed black with bent knees that make walking easier.

Citizens of Humanity has two: the Winslow in Raine, a washed black with a covered button fly, and the Neve in Oasis, low-slung and relaxed in mid blue. The rag & bone Dre in Redwood is a slimmer take with a rolled hem, and the AG Ex-Boyfriend in Durham is a classic mid blue with fading. The Agolde Harper in Rinse is a mid-rise relaxed straight in dark rinse, the one for an office day with a blazer. Slvrlake's Dakota in Cloud Dancer is white, with a relaxed leg, and it looks best with a camel coat.

Fit test: a boyfriend jean should fit at the hip and be loose below it. If you can pinch more than two inches at the waist, size down. Roll the hem once or twice to show the ankle.

What I would skip: a boyfriend jean with an oversized sweater and a wide boot, because everything gets wide at once.

If I were buying one pair, I would pick by rise first. Mid-rise and I would go for the Chloé in medium indigo. Low-rise, the Chevy. If I wanted a longer line and a bit of flare, the Cash, since Vogue singled it out as an ideal bootcut and it comes in lengths up to Extra Long.

Then I would look at the wash in daylight, wash it the way the brand asks, separately in cold water, and leave it alone for a few wears. Rigid denim relaxes.

Bartoli started because she could never find basics that were right, and the jeans read as the same answer in denim. A pair you keep reaching for is the whole point. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Flare Jeans Are Back, Here's How To Wear Them Now and G-Star jeans.