MOTHER launched in 2010 out of Los Angeles with a habit of naming jeans like characters, and the Hustler became the one that stuck. At its base it is a high-rise with a fitted thigh that releases below the knee, which is a shape that flatters without relying on stretch to do the work. What turned it into a franchise was the willingness to keep modifying it, so Roller, Skimp, Fray and Patch Pocket are all Hustlers with a single variable changed. Wash names follow the same playful logic, from Homecoming to Bring the Cooler. It is an unusually legible system once you know how to read it.

Across mother hustler jeans, Roller means a rolled or turned hem, Skimp means a shorter leg, Fray means a raw unfinished edge and Sneak indicates a length cut to work with trainers. Those modifiers stack, so a Roller Skimp Fray is short, turned and raw all at once. Leg shape then varies across ankle, flare, bootcut and wide, all built on the same high rise. The Buckle Bunny variant adds a western register. Once the vocabulary makes sense the range stops looking sprawling and starts looking like a grid.

The base Hustler in a plain dark wash is the version that does the most work, and the modifiers are refinements rather than improvements. Fray hems look excellent for about a year and then look worn out, which is either the intention or a problem depending on your patience. Roller hems are the more durable way to get a similar effect. Flare and bootcut versions are having a moment and will read more dated than the straight ankle when it passes. If you take one thing away, it should be that the naming system is genuinely informative rather than decorative, so learning four words will save you a great deal of scrolling. Start with the plain ankle. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together MOTHER Fringe Jeans and Jeans for a Long Torso.