Comparing Free People Jayde Flare Jeans comes down to two or three measurable differences rather than a general sense of quality. Anything over about 2 per cent elastane will bag at the knee by the afternoon. Check the leg opening, not the name; two brands can call the same measurement straight and wide. Rigid denim gives about half a size after a week. Stretch denim gives it back after a wash. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is rise, leg opening and stretch content. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: meshki.com.au's Laina Mid Rise Diamante Denim Jeans - Midnight Blue at $199, and nobodyschild.com's Navy Gingham Angel Kick Flare Jeans at $32. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. Anything over about 2 per cent elastane will bag at the knee by the afternoon. Check the leg opening, not the name; two brands can call the same measurement straight and wide. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Rise decides everything above the waist, so pick the top second. Hem to the shoe you actually wear with them. From the second group, ohpolly.com's Drawstring Straight-Leg Jeans in Light Wash ($22) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, jeans, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 jeans here from 16 brands, $22 to $465, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. ohpolly.com's Drawstring Straight-Leg Jeans in Light Wash at $22 is the low-risk way in, and aliceandolivia.com's HENRY PLEATED DENIM PANT - DARK RINSE at $465 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On free people jayde flare jeans specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: buy the one you can picture using this week, not the one you are saving for later.