Hello, fashionistas! I cannot count the number of times when I am in an appointment with a client and I am telling them: Try a wider leg pant, even if it’s a straight leg. They might say no they are not flattering on me. But usually that means someone doesn’t want to try them. I always encourage clients to try new shapes, after we’ve done the foundations appointment and looked at her best pants shapes. Only a few shapes really can rock skinny jeans.
And, when you go jeans shopping, be prepared to try only many, many pairs before you find the right fit.
I still have a few pairs of straight, almost skinny jeans. I often tuck them into boots, says your Indianapolis Personal Stylist, I know that skinny jeans/pants are not my best look. So I try to avoid buying them.
But we all know the saying that “change is hard,” and we often cling to what we know in life, and in the closet, too.
I think one of the shapes that wears them the worst is the Inverted Triangle shape: Ladies with larger shoulders and narrow hips and slip legs. This shape really illustrates the “ice cream cone” look.
When I show people the pics of them in their skinny jeans and talk about balance and proportion, they will finally see it–but only when they see the proof!
So once they have passed that hurdle and are a believer that wider-leg pants are in fact flattering, I teach them to be discerning in their choices. My shape is a perfect example. I am a triangle shape, although much less than I was as a teen. I am wider on the bottom. So the pants I choose cannot be too wide, they are more of a wide straight leg. Too wide a leg creates the upside-down ice cream cone look.
So once I have selected my wider-leg, straight pants I have to style the top. That type of stying is a whole different story. When you have wider-leg pants that have some volume, your top has to be more fitted, narrow, and sometimes short. For me I am always going to style any type of pants I wear with a more detailed top and nearly always with some type of fitted jacket. (This brings the eye up and does not focus on my “problem” areas. It is a trick I use over and over with dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, etc. I recently tried a cropped quilted vest, and it was not flattering. Thus I went back to styling that I know works for me: some type of casual jacket in denim, cotton, quilting, satin, etc.
Oh, and don’t forget your look needs to match its style: wear casual pants with a more casual jacket. Rarely will wear a dressy suit jacket with jeans. A separate jacket I wear. I also love to wear a heel with wider-leg pants either in a wedge, bootie, casual shoe, or even platform sneakers. It gives the outfit some edge and creates even more height which I like (I am 5’4.”)
So when you find the wider-leg pants that you love, start hunting for the fitted shirt/jacket/sweater. I will also wear a longer blazer over a cropped tank or slim tank and wide-leg jeans. But as an Indianapolis Personal Stylist, I will never wear an oversized jacket with wide-leg pants. That is not balanced nor is it flattering.
Casual jackets can work with wider-leg pants to add definition and a more put-together look than just pants and a T-shirt (come on, try a little harder). This is the most casual outfit I ever worn for running errands, etc.
Would you like help finding the right style for you? Contact Beth Divine, Indianapolis Personal Stylist, to get started!
Keep it sassy, Indy.
Beth Divine,
MA, AICI-CIC
