What Was Life Before Cropped Jeans?

Ankle-length jeans are such the norm now that I can hardly remember life before them. I do have a few memories of floor-length pants from middle and high school, though I remember not liking my Abercrombie & Fitch bell-bottoms because the hems weren't messed up enough. (Letting the hem drag across the ground until it frayed (or even created a hole) was kind-of an unspoken symbol of cool).

Now, even though frayed hems are more popular than ever, our jeans are a lot shorter. Cropped pants are so much more fun to play around with and to style — with those few inches between the top of your ankle and the ground, the possibilities are endless. Fishnets, sparkly socks, ankle-strap heels, ankle-height booties, or just a little bare ankle can go a long way. Plus, as a petite woman, I find cropped lengths to be so much more flattering than a pool of extra fabric sitting at my feet.

Basically, I'm totally okay with not remembering the days before cropped jeans — because I have no plans on turning back. Click on to see a few looks that do ankle-length pants justice.