Back, what, about 7-8 years ago when paper, denim, & cloth was all super-premium and helping create the concept of high-end denim it was all about how flared legs were the ideal jeans shape. I remember analysis on SF (maybe pre the split into swd) about how that was the idea shape and everything.
I think skinny and even slim is just part of the cycle, and because it is less comfortable, probably it's going to be more short-lived. It's funny how on men it followed skinny/slim on women. Sometimes I think guys see some fashion on women, like how the women look in it, but over time forget somehow just what part they are really liking and somehow end up wearing the clothes. Seems to me that skinny/slim actually is not well-suited to men because it seems almost always to accentuate the hips which isn't traditionally something you'd think of as a male attribute.