|
WHEN was
the last time you stepped into a pair of proper
trousers, ladies?
With
jeans and dresses dominating our closets these last few
years, pants have been getting a bad reputation—and for
good reason. Black slacks once were so ubiquitous as
office wear that we might as well have been wearing
hospital scrubs.
With the
waning popularity of premium denim (begone, $200 jeans!)
and the shift toward dressier, more powerful
silhouettes, a pants revolution is fast upon us—and
we’re not talking elastic-waist slacks.
Think
Hepburn or Hutton, Dietrich or Hall (as in Annie). The
new silhouette is dramatic and wide—slouchy around the
middle or slightly high on the waist. When done well,
pants narrow your waist and lengthen your legs.
Call it
the power pant and get ready to see versions of it
everywhere: Designers, including Proenza Schouler and
Alexander Wang, showed glam versions of the look on New
York’s runways.
Los Angeles
fashion designer Arianna Pistilli, a former accessories
designer for Trina Turk, so believes in the versatility
of trousers that this month she’s launching a collection
based around them, called Parker & Barrow (the surnames
of Bonnie and Clyde).
Pistilli
offers tips on how to work the new silhouette:
Nix the
flare
PANT
legs should flow seamlessly from waist to floor,
Pistilli says, and move like liquid around your feet.
“Look for a smooth break at the knee,” she says, “not an
obvious flare—that’s dated.”
Keep it
long
THE new
trousers aren’t just for tall girls but the vertically
challenged as well. “A higher rise helps shorter girls,”
Pistilli says. “It increases the length of waist.”
Menswear
IT’S
tempting to think you should always offset
menswear-inspired trousers with feminine tops and
sweaters. But if you’re going for that legendary look,
“any object...made for men is your ideal pairing,”
Pistilli says—“vests, button-downs, ribbed undershirts,
long and thin cardigans, tuxedo shirts. They’re things
that aren’t archetypally feminine, but when you carry
off a menswear look, it’s very Katharine Hepburn.”
Shoe
scene
POWER
pants beg to be worn with heels—from stilettos to wedges
to platform sandals (if you’re going for that 1970s
‘Three’s Company’ vibe). Make sure the pants partially
cover your shoes or you’ll be sporting cropped wide-leg
slacks, a total fashion faux pas. But you don’t have to
be in heels to look cute in the new silhouette: “You can
definitely wear flats, but your pants have to be
perfectly hemmed, and don’t, under any circumstances,
cuff them. You will look stumpy.”
Party
pants
AFTER
hours, Pistilli funks up her pants with “more playful
stuff on top, like a Brian Lichtenberg octopus-printed
tank top or an old Byrds concert T-shirt. Then, I like
fitted jackets—not blazers—that hit at the hip.” Careful
to keep it age appropriate: “Wearing a T-shirt with
little spacemen on it will make you look like a raver if
you’re past a certain age.”
Bags and
baubles
“BIG
earrings and an armful of big wooden bracelets—or a
clean cuff— look amazing,” Pistilli says. “It’s also a
good time to rock a great necklace, paired with a very
plain top.”
Bottom
line
“PANTS
have an edge over jeans because they differentiate you
from 97 percent of the walking public,” Pistilli says.
“And they highlight a woman’s form in a way that’s less
obvious than wearing a tight skirt. You stand
differently in pants. It’s like, even if you’re not
going to romp around, you could if you wanted to.” |
