Of course now that we are back we must bid adieu to one of last years trademark trends.
Goodbye skinny denim! We hardly knew ye!
The time has come to usher in a new (new-old anyway) silohuette and while some of us are ecstatic about this development there are others who are clutching their drainpipe jeans in horror at the very prospect of wide leg pants. Its not hard to understand why - for every vision of Kate Hepburn in perfect high waisted trousers there is another equally prevalent image of shapeless baggy pants with legs so big they look like skirts. Wide legs pants can look chic just as easily as they can look bad so its important to know just how to wear this trend.
The Late Great Katherine Hepburn and the pants she made famous
Fit
The most important thing with wide legs (and with everything else for that matter) is fit. You want your pants to fit perfectly. Never too wide and never too tight. The perfect wide legs will be roomy throughout the entire leg.
Wide Legs on the Runway at Givenchy, Proenza & Phillip Lim
Note how the pants are full throughout the entire leg - if a pair of pants nips in at the thigh too much or is tight in general just wont look right. Form fitted is not the look were going for with these. Granted no one wants the very baggy "these pants are two sizes too big" look either so pay attention to how the pants skim over your body.
Length
Different strokes for different folks. I am an advocate of having just a little extra length on your wide leg pants incase you wish to wear heels. However no one wants to drown in excess fabric. If you are shorter your pants need to be hemmed accordingly, if you are taller they need to be extended accordingly. With wide leg pants slight differences in pant length are very apparent so its good to be conscious of these subtle differences.
Wide legs themselves are coming in different lengths as well now - there are of course wide leg capris and even shorts but the same rules apply. Make sure to try them on before buying. Too short on a wide leg can look like you've unintentionally worn high waters.
Proportions
I say this about everything but proportion is so important. Wide leg pants require the same amount of attention paid to proportion as skinny jeans do. If you're going for a wide leg its best to pair it with a smaller top. A flowing tunic top can look good as well but make sure its belted or cinched at the waist. Pairing a large top with large bottoms can be too much. Since the pants are already baggy its good to structure them with a fitted top or jacket.
Waist
High waists. Oh high waists. I'll be the first to admit they look cool. There is something very 1970s retro about a pair of pants with wide legs and a high waist there is no denying the popularity of this trend but buyer beware the trend is not particularly flattering. Be sure not to go too high - anything that cuts you off right under the boob are is almost guaranteed to look bad. And stick to darker colors - high waisted pants are already tricky and a dark color just makes things automatically flattering.
Accessorizing
Heels. Heels. Heels. I don't now how many times I have to say it but heels. If you are shorter (or even if you're not) heels will elongate your frame and make your wide leg pants look better. Try a great pair or platforms (more on those later this week) and I guarantee you wont regret it.
Since the waist is the focus of your outfit you'll want to invest in a good belt - something more interesting than the usual basic black.
So how do you feel about the resurgence of the wide leg? Will you be wearing this trend or is it something you'll skip? I'm quite excited for wide legs to be honest - even the high waist variety. There is something a little ladylike about the whole trend that appeals to me - I've already gotten a couple pairs now I just need this weather to cool down so I can wear them.
13 comments:
I love the look of them a la Hepburn, but who needs all that fabric bunching in the crotch?
I bought a grey pair from Jaeger last November and have found that I adapted to fully to body-con that I just don't like the volume on the legs. However, as I start seeing them on the street I'll likely think that they are indeed a good idea and give them another try...*sigh* such is the life of the fashion victim LOL
Crotches have gotten really low lately, its a weird trend. Maybe that needs to be another entry or something. Why do crotches seem to start up around the knee area this season.
What I've found being of the "vertically challenged" persuasion, is that the drapier the fabric, the better. Otherwise we short stacks can get swamped by wide legs.
(((Love))) I just bought two pairs of wide-legged trousers, incidentally. I am more channelling a seventies vibe with mine, wearing them with a white shirt and a fitted knitted tank top and scarf, or sparkly boob tube for dancing round my handbag.
I think the low crotch is just a solution to camel-toe. For some reason wide-legged trousers seem to suffer for this more than an ordinary trouser. Someone has probably already done a Phd in the crotch-to-trouser-width conundrum.
I think wide-leg trousers are a complete disaster if you aren't a size 8.
sigh...
Ooh I never thought about it as a camel toe solution Olivia but that makes sense. Oh camel toe, how dreadful.
Fix I'm going to respectfully disagree. I feel like I hear that about every other trend in existence. Wide legs seem really flattering to me for all shapes and sizes.
I'm willing to give the wide legs a shot. I have a pretty curvy body. I'm also really tall (5'9!!!!) and a good body type for high waisted pants, so we'll see if these are flattering. Skinny jeans made my legs look like sausae casings, though. Any suggestions of what brands and where to look for them? Keeping in mind I'm really poor.
I love wide legs! Hell, I love my skinnies too. Pants in general are a-ok with me.
I wore mine this past winter with tucked in shirts, chunky heels or closed in pointies for a more businessy vibe, but I would have loved to have done it more casual or trendy. Perhaps next winter.
I'm thinking I still will get a brown pair for next year, as I already have a black which I've worn to death. Yay pants!
skittles H&M makes a great pair of high waisted wide legs. I just bought them this week they were like $40 something maximum and they're quite nice. I know Gap makes a good pair as well for like $60 or so.
i just got a pair in the mail the other day.....a grey. though i thought the grey would be darker, verging upon charcoal.
alas i can not return them bc my expensive pooch has chewed off the tags.
ugh.....
i will make do with a fitted black blazer, and white tops. thats about all i have that will go with them currently.
I still love skinny jeans. But I have been talking about trousers (especially trouser jeans) coming back. This is exciting that there might be an actual return to class.
I really haven't seen them work well on most women. I actually prefer skinny jeans to wide leg jeans - on those that can wear them. For me and most women, though, I love bootcut jeans.
Hmmmm... any reason I wonder why all the models I've ever seen with wide-leg pants on have their hands in their pockets?
My thighs have never been good for any sort of narrow pants - the wide pants can hide a multitude of sins, but if they are too wide, you can look bigger.
I love high waists - I have a tiny waist and like to show it off. The hip hugger pants never worked for me, since they are impossible to fit correctly on a pear shape with a tiny waist.
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