Outfit lab: wide-legged pants (feedback welcome!) - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing

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Outfit lab: wide-legged pants (feedback welcome!)

ironkurtin

Veteran

Confession: I LOVE these pants. They are so comfortable and have great pockets and the black is so crisp. But I'm not sure I'm wearing them with the right supporting bits. Any suggestions for different tops, shoes, jackets?

Please note my legs are not as stumpy as they look here, it's mostly how I have to hold my phone to get a pic. I put the phone at crotch level in the last shot to try and combat the effects.

The first four photos are me. The last four are product shots.

You won't hurt my feelings, have at. Thanks!

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Dressing

31 replies

Latest reply was from Jaime

crutcher

Veteran

I like your pants...Perhaps 3 with the jacket is my favorite...Having a topper piece seems to balance the style of the pants...The waist band on the side looks really sharp...

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

I have no suggestions. I actually have issues with this length+width, as it reminds of years (!) of struggling with finding the right pants length for myself. But, photo #4 made the bottom line look more relaxed (I think your left leg interrupted the line of the pants and softened it), as if they were rolled up, and I liked that idea of rolled up crisp black pants with sharp white jacket... which now makes me wonder what they would look like with something knitted on top. Something along the lines of photo #5? No help, am I...

Anonymous

The pants are great but I was distracted by the oxfords. LOVE them. I like the topper paired with them and I like the outfit examples in 5 & 6. I think a slightly fluid high/low sweater, like the linen ones from jcrew would be cute with those pants too. And as someone who does have stumpier legs, trust me, you look like a gazelle in these pics!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I have a very hard time with the pants in #1 and #2. My poison eye, so of course, I cannot be objective about this.

FWIW, I think black high vamped heeled shoes/booties are the only way to even out proportions to "just flattering enough".

ironkurtin

Veteran

I knew this wasn't your cuppa, Angie - especially how they styled it with the flat sneakers.

catgirl

Veteran

I love this style of pants but agree it is not the most flattering look. It makes up for that in other ways.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I'd be curious to see them with a more streamlined, heeled shoe -- I'm really not wild about the cropped wide leg with the flat shoe look. I kind of want to see a less gear-ish top too -- a patterned shirt, with rolled sleeves and tucked, perhaps. Or a more cropped jacket with the tank you are wearing. Really play up the proportion. I get the appeal of the pants and my hat is off to you for working with them. On me they would be a total disaster.

Anonymous

I'll take a stab. I like the pants and shoe combo, kind of news boy looking. The fitted white tank looks out of placebo me. Something less contrasting, maybe a darkish blue or mid grey in a more drapey fabric tucked or cropped? Or what about a dark tank with a cropped open knit soft type sweater?

Anonymous

Argghh auto correct! 'place to' not 'placebo'

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I like the pants and shoes combo. The white tank looks a bit like an underpinning to me, so I'd like to see a silk blouse tucked in over this. I'm not a fan of the jacket with these trousers, though; I think it's not tailored enough. A silk cream blouse would still be unstructured, but not as overwhelming, IMO.

ma

Veteran

I agree with Janet. I like the way they are styled in pic 7 with the print top and strappy heel.

Anonymous

Hmmm, I really like them with the boxy cropped tops in 5 and 7. Do you have anything like that?

ironkurtin

Veteran

Wow, two votes for a tucked in drapey blouse! I do not, however, own such a beast nor am I likely to. (Jenava, I do love the Everlane silk shirts, but silk is terrible in hot humid climate like Austin. Maybe if/when I'm in Portland!) One reason is - as you can see - that I do not have a waist, so tucking a drapey blouse makes me feel like a pillow with an elastic around it. Maybe a more cropped fluid sweater?

In general, do we think cropped tops/jackets for cropped trousers?

Diana

Veteran

Ok, I am really surprising myself by liking your combo of the pants with the menswearish oxfords. I am getting an awesome louche schoolboy sort of vibe from it. Maybe too literal but I kind of would like to see it with a schoolboy blazer and tweed newsboy cap!

Or in perhaps a more realistic world, I agree with the comment above to try a sharper, more tailored jacket. Doesn't necessarily have to be more fitted, just one with sharper lines. Maybe even a leather moto.

catgirl

Veteran

So for the cheeky newsboy look, I'd wear fitted lace-up boots, like Dr. Martens, and a vest. But that may be too literal.

unfrumped

Veteran

I confess I like some types of wide-legged pants but I can't pull off this style with the ankle length. I will wear a full-length wide/straight trouser with a low- heeled sleek boot, or, my pleated pants are full through the thight but have a slight taper, and still I wear them full length.

Greyscale

Veteran

I like them. I agree with people about the fitted tank being the wrong note. I had a similar problem with one of my outfits recently.

I would try a boxy, cropped cotton tee in a dark shade similar to the pants, or white.

The nice thing about silk is that it does drape better than most fabrics, so it works better for making your waist not pillow-with-a-belt as you say.

Also, I've been pegging my pants at the bottom like we used to do in the 90s... it doesn't work with everything, but I like the tapered look it creates.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I will like them with different footwear and top. I think you have some awesome peep toe type booties that will work with these. I love the suggestion for silky tucked top but understand that is a no - go. So a cropped linen sweater/ top might be the ticket.

Also like Greyscale's idea to "peg" them for a different look.

I happen to love the waistband.

Sal

Veteran

I think the tank and pants would work with a heel for an elegant and streamlined look. Or the pants and oxfords with a boxy tee/sweater like in 5 for a tomboy look.

I think a tucked top is better on full length trousers for a more Kate Hepburn look. I can't quite see it on these ones.

Anonymous

My first thought is to pair them with a higher heel like the strappy wedge in pictures 6 and 7. I'm not a fan of flat shoes and cropped wide leg pants - can stray too much into Charlie Chaplin territory for me I admit to wondering too , if they couldn't be a tad looser to get a more fluid look - they look fairly snug at the waist. Or maybe that's just because of the fitted tank.....

Anyways, I second a silky print shirt and cropped jacket to finish it off.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I agree with the idea for a top with some looseness through the lower torso with this. Either fluid and tucked, or cropped but stands away from the body a bit, like some of the inspiration pics, or maybe a banded top?

ironkurtin

Veteran

I'm curious as to why the tank isn't working. Jenava says it looks too much like underpinnings - is that the reason? I generally put tighter layers with looser layers. Here's another snapshot of the tank closer up (I'm at home now, so of course the vantage is totally weird), untucked for a wee more volume at the waist. Also some looks from modernlegacy in similar pants; she's also wearing them with oxfords.

I've never liked drapey blouses, I feel like they swamp me. And
while I do have a few Liberty Print tops, those are the *only* patterns
I've ever worn. It's hard to see myself in a loose silk blouse (even the one modernlegacy is wearing), because honestly I don't know how much wear they would get. It's too hot in Austin for them until it's too cold for them, if you know what I mean.

As for cropped jackets, how cropped is "cropped"? Guidelines?

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Janet

(website)

Veteran

Well, you actually *do* have a waist, it's just that you have slim hips, and these trousers actually give some volume below the waist. I think a cropped or tucked silky top could actually perhaps give the illusion of a more defined waist as long as the fabric is light and not stiff, so it moves with you and hints at the slim shape you have underneath. But I understand. Maybe the cropped top is an idea?

But yeah, I do get a bit of an "underpinnings" vibe from the tank -- maybe even a color other than white would help with that.

As for a cropped jacket, I would want to try something structured that is short enough to show the waistband of the pants.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I like the pants on you & would like to see a more streamlined shoe too. I have a pair of similar pants which I wear with a (looser) tank & knee-length linen coat but I do wear either a 2 inch heel or a pointed toe flat with them.

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I too am wondering a bit about fit. Pants with side slash pockets AND pleats can cause a bit of a poof on the side as you move. I see it in a few pics but this isn't usually an issue for one with narrow hips.

I am loving wide legged trousers this year and think you can make them work with the right supporting pieces. Most important of all is that they make you happy. Can't beat happy.

ironkurtin

Veteran

Funnily, the top is actually a sweatshirty gray.

Marley

Veteran

I want these pants. Love them! I think that the shoes you are wearing look great with them - but it would be fun to see you try some type of heeled shoe. I honestly thought that the top was an undershirt and you were just wanting us to be able to see the waistband of the pants and so that was why you were wearing it in the pics! (Sorry!) I think a cropped flowy top would be fun to try - same with a cropped jacket - but, not sure about how cropped! You need to experiment!

Sal

Veteran

Photos can only tell part of the story...it comes across as white on my screen.

I like the shape of the top, I have a real fondness for fitted tanks, but they don't do me (shortwaisted, hourglass, bust) a lot of favours. I can and do wear them because I love them so much. However you really suit the shape.

Greyscale

Veteran

I just bought a bunch of these tanks for an updated loose vibe:
https://www.madewell.com/brows.....4441768756
Though they are like tissue-thin and I'm not sure how well they'll hold up or how appropriate they are for professional wear (rather, I'm pretty sure they're not).

Anyway, I'm drawn to that sort of drapey fit now, with loose pants. It would work well with your pants I think.

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