Pants and jeans come in many lengths, and there is a lot of confusion about the definitions of full-length, ankle, and cropped lengths. It doesn’t help when retailers sometimes classify lengths differently. I’m pedantic about lengths, so here are my definitions, which might differ from those used by other fashion professionals. Note that the definitions refer strictly to lengths, and not silhouettes.

Full Length

Pants and jeans are full length, and sometimes called regular length, when they completely cover the ankle bone and ankle. Full lengths will vary from just covering the ankle bone and skimming the tops of shoes, to sweeping the floor and covering most of the shoe. Choose a full length that works for you and the type of footwear you like to wear with the bottoms.

Ankle Length

Ankle pants and jeans showcase the ankle bone, and do not cover the ankle. That is the point of ankle pants. They are shorter than full-length pants. Hems usually finish right above the top part of the ankle bone when standing. Sometimes lengths partly cover the ankle bone, but personally, I find those a little long for ankle pants. They look more intentional when you showcase the full ankle. Otherwise it might look like you’re wearing full-length pants that are too short.

Cropped Lengths

Cropped pants and jeans are any length shorter than full length. They can be cropped anywhere from right above the top of the ankle bone and up to six inches above it. Ankle pants are a specific type of cropped pant. Some people maintain that cropped pants are shorter than ankle length pants, but to me, anything that is shorter than full length is cropped.

The trick is to find your sweet spot for cropped pants. I’ve worn both shorter and longer cropped pants. I tend to like a length two inches above the top of my ankle bone when standing, depending on the silhouette and the shoes I wear with them. Sometimes I wear them an inch, or three inches above my ankle bone. Remember that when you cuff or roll the hems of pants and jeans, you are cropping their length too.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments if things are still not crystal clear.

Wardrobe purchases that address your needs will eliminate the feeling of having a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. So keep a list (in your head or on paper) of wardrobe holes, items that need updates, and new trends that tickle your fancy. Regular closet reviews and edits improve the accuracy of your list. 

This is a practical and organized approach to shopping for wardrobe items. It forces you to think about the way individual items can be combined to create effective outfits, and the way they work with other items to create efficient capsules. 

On the other hand, I have also found that shopping is most successful when it is accompanied by a high level of positive emotion. A great item is love at first sight, you love the way you look when you try it on, and you feel like you can’t live without it. It is only an item of clothing, but it makes you happy to bring it home. And it continues to make you happy whenever you put it on.

Organization and emotion are both important. The problem comes in when shopping is either overly organized or too emotional.

Overly organized shopping can lead to a wardrobe that you don’t love as much as you should. By focussing on lists, numbers and analytics, you forget to listen to your heart. You aren’t allowing that all-important emotional spontaneity to help you guide your purchases to what feels right, both physically and emotionally. Any conscious analysis we do can never completely capture our ever-changing needs and preferences. Sometimes our intuition knows better. So the plan is a very useful guide, but sometimes we need to trust our intuition and ignore it.

Of course, relying too heavily on your emotions when shopping is equally problematic because you forget to purchase for your needs. You can fall into the trap of shopping for an imaginary life, duplicating items unnecessarily, or having a closet full of items you love, but that don’t work together in outfits and capsules. Your emotions need to be focussed on the right pieces in order to create a functional wardrobe.

The answer is to consult both your head and your heart when adding to your wardrobe. Have a good plan, but make it flexible. You will come across items that speak to your emotions. If they are on your shopping list, so much the better. If not, and if the item works for your lifestyle, don’t ignore what your heart is saying to your head.

I’ve posted about complements several times on YLF, and it bears repeating because a functional wardrobe has items that relate to each other, where items can be easily mixed and matched to create outfits that look and feel great. One way to create such a wardrobe is through building and wearing what I call complements.

A complement is a small group of accessories and footwear that match in colour, pattern or vibe, and can be worn together. Adding the items from a complement to an outfit makes it look more cohesive and rich, and gives it a punchy finishing touch. I create seasonal colour complements with footwear, bags, scarves, belts and sometimes eyewear. But most are created with shoes, scarves and a handbag or two.

When I shop to refresh my wardrobe, I think about the complements that I have, how I can build on to them, and which complements I might build from scratch. As I was shopping this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale (NAS), I had light neutrals like cream and oatmeal in mind. I have all sorts of optical white and off-white shoes, bags and belts to create complements with, but I don’t have a complement in a rich cream. Although I happily mix shades of white, I also like to match them. And because white wardrobe items are my thing and white is the most important neutral for my style, creating a cream complement is not a duplication.

I had a successful NAS, and unexpectedly came home with two pairs of cream shoes. A pair of loafers and a more refined pair of combat boots, neither of which I have in a rich shade of cream. I saw a great cream barrel bag and an oatmeal cashmere scarf that together with the shoes, would complete the complement. The bag is absolutely darling and beautifully made. It’s a richer cream than the stock photo and matches perfectly. The oatmeal cashmere scarf is darker but works well. It’s an unusual shorter length that is easier to tie and tuck into outerwear. The texture is pretty too. The collection shows the exact pieces of the new complement.

Nordstrom

Sam Edelman Lex Boot

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Top Pick

30

Nordstrom

Vionic Amora Loafer

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19

Nordstrom

Plissé Cashmere Scarf

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Top Pick

7

Nordstrom

COACH Leather Barrel Bag

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Top Pick

13

Complements are an easy, versatile and effective styling tool, which is why I go to the trouble of planning and creating them. They can be worn over and over again, season after season, and have a high longevity factor. Complement building also means combining old wardrobe items with new items, which gives me great satisfaction because I don’t like forgetting about my old stuff. So I bought the same cashmere scarf in light blue with an aqua tinge to match a handbag I’ve had for six years. It doesn’t look like it in the stock photos, but they are a perfect colour match. I’m in no rush, but it would be nice to eventually find a pair of hi-tops or boots in the same shade of blue.

Nordstrom

Plissé Cashmere Scarf

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Top Pick

7

John Lewis

Radley Millbank Leather Multiway Bag

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Top Pick

30

I tend to stick to solid complements because I wear a lot of pattern. Some of my clients add patterns to their complements, and do so with scarves, or animal print bags and shoes. That’s because they generally wear solids allowing the patterns to emerge in complements.

Over to you. Do you build outfit complements with footwear and accessories? If so, do you find it an effective styling tool because it helps pull a look together.

Cover Story offers a curated collection of wardrobe items for US sizes 10 to 26. Twenty brands have made the curated cut, and the list will grow over time. Among the brands I recognize are BB Dakota, Universal Standard, Rachel Pally, Kiyonna, and Standards & Practices. Among the new-to-me brands that look potentially fab are Shegul, Oak, and See Rose Go.

Although you can browse and shop directly from the brands themselves, there is something to be said about having a short list of organized and well-presented items in one place that share the Cover Story philosophy.

“We don’t believe that chic stops at size 12 and we are committed to creating stylish options to women of all sizes, race, sexual orientation and gender orientation. Everyone deserves to feel stylish and to express beauty in their own way. We partner with brands that share the same point of view and together we celebrate YOU.”

As I browse the small set of offerings, I see a pretty good assortment of price points and product. Small, versatile, neat, and tidy. Items are fairly neutral and solid across dressier and more causal looks. Silhouettes vary in terms of tailoring and volume. As far as showcasing items on models that represent the size range of the site, there is room for improvement. A little more information about where and how the items are made would be good too.

If you fit the company’s size range, Cover Story might be a good place to begin browsing for a seasonal refresh, or finding items on your shopping list.