Who wears the trousers nowadays? Everybody, that’s who. Let me let you know a narrative. Not too long ago I went to the John Lewis showroom, the place the inventive crew had been displaying their new assortment to trend journalists. Not a dressy do, only a informal 9am espresso. However then again, it’s by no means going to be utterly not a dressy do when the editors from magazines and newspaper type desks all know they will be in the identical place. It’s the kind of factor for which you positively take into consideration what you’re going to put on, but in addition don’t need to seem like you may have spent ages getting actually dressed up.
Anyway, I glanced across the room at what folks had been carrying, and it dawned on me that each single one of many 10 or 12 girls current was carrying trousers. Not a costume, not a skirt, not denims, however trousers. Plenty of totally different sorts of trousers: wide-legged trousers and pleated trousers, cargo pants and carpenter-pocketed ones. Principally in black/navy/gray, however there have been additionally a few white pairs, two with pinstripes and two in purple. All totally different, however all of them positively trousers.
The realisation tickled me, partly as a result of John Lewis was very a lot the non secular house of the floral midi costume. Through the reign of the floral midi – roughly 2017-2022, if I had been to try to carbon date it – a calf-length, low-key spriggy printed skirt or costume was what all these exact same girls would have been carrying at a non-formal work occasion for which they wished to look good in a smart-casual form of approach. So for all the species to have taken up carrying trousers is a second of trend evolution.
That is completely not about carrying “enjoyable” trousers. Please don’t be alarmed: I’m not advocating for zebra stripes or sequins. That is about rediscovering the straightforward magnificence of regular trousers. It’s not about carrying thrilling trousers, however it’s about carrying trousers as if trousers had been an thrilling factor to put on. I feel what this comes right down to is carrying them with intentionality. So, as a substitute of treating them because the boring backside half that you just put on with a elaborate high half, you concentrate on them as the principle occasion of your outfit. That may imply carrying a belt along with your trousers, and if that’s the case pondering fastidiously about which one. It additionally means taking a minute to verify within the mirror whether or not the silhouette would profit from a crease down the entrance, and to get the ironing board out if that’s the case. It is advisable select a shoe that the hem touches with out an excessive amount of bunching, or put on your greatest socks if a cropped trouser size flashes a little bit of ankle.
Do you may have your trousers of the season already? These flat-fronted, flimsy ones we used to put on with a white Stan Smith a couple of years in the past received’t do, I’m afraid. We’re aiming for Katharine Hepburn with a martini right here, not satchel-carrying schoolboy. They have to be waist-high, not low-rise – in all probability with belt loops, as a result of belt loops are very fundamental character power on a pair of trousers, however not important if the waist suits you properly. They need to be free on the thigh and knee, and both tapering a little to the ankle or straight all the way in which down. “Saggy trousers” have gotten a nasty identify through the years, for being scruffy. However a extra beneficiant match seems to be a extra deliberate, subtle type alternative – intentional, keep in mind? – than something tight and stretchy. That is a kind of instances the place the area between the physique and the garments is a part of the look.
You don’t must overthink the query of what to put on them with, as a result of the purpose is that the trousers are the purpose. A easy shirt, or a knit sweater, or a tucked in T-shirt will do. You desire a stable shoe to stability them out, so a pair of loafers might be going to work higher than a ballet pump. However, properly, it’s form of as much as you. You’re carrying the trousers, keep in mind?
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Styling assistant: Sam Deaman. Mannequin: Cynthia at Milk. Hair and make-up: Sophie Higginson utilizing Color Wow and Make-up by Mario. Jumper and shirt: Joseph. Trousers: Me+Em. Footwear: Zara