Through my discussions with clients I’ve noticed there is no consensus about wider leg pants. It seems that women either really like them and have begun buying them or don’t like them at all and have been staying with skinny leg pants. Despite being a Personal Image Consultant, I am somewhere in the middle.
The recent proliferation of wider leg pants means that people are most likely going to buy them. But even though many women are now aware of these pants, they often don’t know what to wear with them. In a recent closet audit, my client showed me three new pairs of pants in the wider leg variety and admitted that she didn’t know how to style them!
Wider Leg Pants Tips from Your Personal Image Consultant
When considering wider leg pants, keep these factors in mind.
Are they flattering to your shape? You have to be honest with yourself here. Wider-leg pants can be difficult to wear, and you might look off-balance if you are petite rather than tall.
If you can pull off this pants style, what type of top or jacket do you pair with it? With wider leg bottoms, a more fitted and sometimes shorter top is needed to balance the look. This is not hard to do, but we need to be intentional in what we select. I like shorter jackets, but they are not flattering to all of us, especially those with a little weight in the belly! It’s okay, I have accepted that about myself and you should too! On the other hand, wearing a longer jacket or tunic will slim out your wider leg pants every time. I have been wearing longer jackets for a while now because they slim over my thighs. Longer jackets can also make petite women look taller. I place myself in the petite category since I am 5’4″. Weight does not matter. If this is your height and below, you are petite!
Add height with a wedge heel and a monochromatic head-to-toe color. Tops can also include a longer vest that’s fitted at the waist as a matching set. I just surprised myself with this look of relatively wide-leg linen pants with a longer vest nipped in at the waist. The head-to-toe one color added height and I paired it with a lighter wedge sandal that had a slimming effect because it was an open-toe shoe. These are always slimming, ladies!
Here I am in my “vest suit” worn with a blouse.
Discover Your Style with a Personal Image Consultant
Need help navigating trends and how to wear them? Reach out to learn your best colors and shapes in a style appointment by emailing me at beth@bethdivinestyle.com.
Keep it sassy, Indy!
Beth Divine, MA, AICI-CIC, Personal Image Consultant
