(Blushing) So I have this friend. . .

I will start off with saying I am a "dude" so I may not be the best candidate to help your friend out but I will give-it-a-go.

 

Firstly I say a nice fitted pair of black jeans should be a staple in anyone's closet - women included. Black jeans can be dressed up and dressed down. I say a simple skinny style from J Brand. J Brand gives a great fit and doesn't have much distractions from distressing or logos. And this pair of denim can have so much possibilities when putting things together with it. This allows the boots to be over the denim as well as look good with heels.

 

For the second pair a nice pair of bootcut in a blue wash. If she has to dress more formal I always say to to go for a darker wash. It is much harder to dress up a light wash. I've seen some girls looking pretty damn good in some tall heals and some bootcut Hudson jeans.

 

For the third pair I say a skinny dark wash blue jean. Some great fits from J Brand as well as Rag and Bone such as the Drew Jeans. A dark wash skinny is another staple!

 

Good luck to her!

Eric
 

I would say a pair of flares, skinny jeans in black and a dark wash (or straight legs). Flares can be flattering on curvier figures, especially with heels. Skinnies are a must, or your friend may be more interested in trying a straighter leg pair if she doesn't want to go the skinny jean route, since they may be more flattering to pear shapes. I would also suggest checking out this post on jeans for shorter women: http://www.denimblog.com/2012/11/jeans-for-short-women/

I agree dark blue indigo and black are always great bases to start with for washes, I would also say a medium blue is another great option. Those three colours are absolute staples when it comes to jeans in my opinion! If you check the Wiki section you can find an article about which styles suit different body shapes as well, I hope that helps!
 

Do you know how much your friend weighs, or at least what her hip measurement is? That'll give us a good idea of what her size may be. (It doesn't sound like she'd fit the description for plus size, but if she does, she will need to look for very specific brands/cuts, since very few of Denimblog's brands cater to plus sized ladies)

 

I would be very, very careful about skinnies on her, unless she wants to wear them exclusively with chunky boots (and, like me, she may have issues getting boots over her calves if she is a true pear. If her calves are skinnier she is likely a Bell: http://www.denimblog.com/c/a/the-12-womens-body-types-and-jeans-that-will-flatter-each )

 

I would definitely recommend a pair of dark wash, wide leg jeans (to wear with the highest heels she can walk in, if she has short legs--maybe a moderate heel if she is a leggy Bell), some bootcuts and straight legs as well, but definitely not a boyfriend style or a super-skinny. Also, if she shares my big butt/short legs combination, higher rises will be her friend (shortens the torso and also covers the butt!) If her butt is on the flatter side she may get pancake-butt from a very high waist, so she'll want a slightly lower rise.

 

Hope this helps!

I was waiting for you to chime in Shopaholism, you always are so knowledgeable!

 

I would say that the main distinction between straight and skinny is that for straights, the ankle opening should be the same as the measurement at the knee, but for skinnies, the knee measurement will be bigger than the ankle opening. Now, I have 15" calves (meaning 7.5" aligned will hug/choke them) and most straights have ankle openings equal to or less than that, meaning that I can't even get most skinnies on, and if I did, I'd probably cause circulatory damage. So, for me, a straight leg will in most cases fit like a true skinny, and skinnies are just a bad idea.

 

I would also say that flares can be ok on petite girls as long as they aren't a super huge flare (like 7FAM's Chrissy or Superflare cuts), and they'll look better with heels on--if you hem too much off they will basically become a bootcut, which is fine if you are looking for a bootcut but it won't give the same dramatic effect.