These jeans silhouettes have been winners on those of my clients who needed to change things up from their regular jeans wearing style. All four styles work on both curvy and straighter body types. 

I just purchased the Citizens of Humanity Rocket High Rise Crop Jeans and LOVE them. I’ve already worn them three times with higher shaft booties — last season’s cognac Prada equestrian booties to be exact — because they’re comfortable, flattering, trendy, NOT sausage-casing, and refresh my smart casual style. I didn’t think that I would enjoy wearing high-rise, cropped dark jeans, but I was wrong. The high rise is comfortable and elongates the leg line when worn with a semi-tucked top. The cropped length feels new, and the dark denim is dressy. Why not!

• White House Black Market Saint Honore Mid-Rise Culotte Jeans: These streamlined culottes look really good. Not too voluminous and great drape. They fit a curvy waist to hip silhouette extremely well. Soft denim. Faded yet quite luxurious. No rips and tears. Excellent on petites.
• Express Dark Blue Faded Mid Rise Wide Leg Flare Jean: A great pair of dramatic retro flares at an affordable price. Comfortable, long and flattering.
• Citizens of Humanity 'Rocket' High Rise Crop Jeans: Soft, flattering, high in the rise, and NOT sausage casing. They are soft and comfortably snug. Fabric is very substantial. Absolutely no bagging out after multiple wears, and the blue dye doesn't bleed onto your clothes either. Great on curvier figures too. THIS is how I expect premium denim to fit and feel, and it did not dissappoint. They run true to size, unlike most premium denim which has been running small for several seasons.
• AG 'Contour 360 - The Farrah' High Rise Skinny Jeans (Hideout): These skinnies look like they're awfully body con, but they aren't. They mould to your body in a flattering way. They are extremely soft and quite high in the rise. Jet black, and dressy. Look like pants - not jeans.

[finds-list id=”1223″ size=”large”]

Visit the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Ponchos are typically available in one of two silhouettes: those with neck openings and those with front openings. The former has a hole for your head and drapes over clothing without a centre front opening. It stays put once you style the direction of the drape. The latter opens down the centre front and looks more like a wrap. One of the front panels can be thrown over the opposite shoulder to create some extra drama. The open-front styles can be a little fussy, slipping around as you move. But they’re fine if you’re not having an active day with lots of arm movement. 

Ponchos in either silhouette can be solid or patterned, heavy or lightweight, fringed and bordered, long or short, and in any colour. Their fabrications vary from the breeziest cotton, cotton blends and silk, to the warmest of wools and wool blends. Their hemlines are asymmetrical by design to add structure to the voluminous silhouette. 

PLEASE don’t think that you have be slim, tall and willowy to wear a poncho. You don’t. I’m helping petite clients across all sizes style their ponchos and it’s going well. Choose a poncho that is a little shorter to start off with and wear the shorter portion in front so that the hem is straight or asymmetrical. Choose a style in a soft knitted fabric that drapes back onto the body as opposed to a rigid woven fabric that creates boxy folds on the body. Solids work best, but if you’re after a pattern, choose a subtle one.

Ponchos can be worn in all sorts of ways, but pairing them with jeans is the easiest of all. Here’s how to create some casual and smart casual combinations.

1. With Full-Length Skinnies

Combine a pair of skinny jeans with a layering top, poncho and boots. Add a bag and voilà, you’re out the door. The fitted silhouette of the skinnies offsets the volume of the poncho. Think long sleeved T-shirt, turtleneck, blouse, or button-down shirt as the layering top.

The poncho becomes more of a top than a jacket when it covers the top underneath. This is often the case with a shell top underneath.

Ponchos can also be very lightweight, and when they are the outfit can be finished off with sandals. 

The examples below show a high contrast between the jeans and poncho. Create a low contrast between the two items if you’re after an outfit with more vertical integrity.

2. With Cropped Skinnies

Cropped skinnies are a trendy alternative to full-length skinnies. Wear them with the same types of layering tops, but wear footwear that is higher on the leg, like booties with higher shafts, or open shoes with high ankle straps. Cropped kick flares will also work, but won’t be quite as flattering.

Create a column of colour if you’re after more vertical outfit integrity, which might be the case for the version with cropped kick flares. 

Pair shorter ponchos with denim culottes — another variation on the cropped pants silhouette — and add heeled footwear.

3. With Flared Jeans 

A poncho with flared jeans is the most ‘70s and retro combination. Keep the flares fitted on the thighs to compensate for the oversized fit of the poncho. Wear the poncho a little shorter — like in example 2 below — for extra structure. Although these examples have been completed with sandals, feel free to wear boots, sneakers, pumps, loafers or oxfords.   

Casual ponchos worn with fringe, faded flares and platforms create a boho chic vibe. Dressy ponchos worn in a crisp, hard-edged, graphic or minimal way look more avant-garde. Both looks are fun and fab, making the poncho a piece that transcends the trends. 

Although I’ve focussed on pairing ponchos with jeans, feel free to substitute the jeans for trousers in the same silhouette for business casual. Or wear ponchos over sheath dresses and pencil skirts. 

My clients either love or loathe the poncho. Those who enjoy drape, boho vibes, avant-garde silhouettes, or have very casual lifestyles, love it. Others find the item fussy, unflattering, overly casual, too blanket-esque, and above all far too unstructured. Personally, I’m not into wearing ponchos because I’m a big jacket and coat gal. But I love the look on others and I’m having a ball helping clients pull together their poncho outfits. What’s your take on the poncho, and do you wear it with jeans?

A new plus-size brand inspired by Theory and Vince, a handbag to raise awareness of domestic violence, and other style news that made headlines this week.

• Last week Nordstrom opened its third Canadian and first international flagship store in Vancouver.
• Inspired by Theory and Vince, new plus-size brand Universal Standard offers “modern essentials” for sizes 10 to 28.
• Three new Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores will open their doors in November: in San Diego, Manhattan, and Philadelphia.
• Kerry Washington and Dee Ocleppo have designed a limited-edition handbag to raise awareness of domestic violence and financial abuse.
• A group of Finnish organizations are teaming up to turn waste cotton into new fibres for the textile industry.
• Reese Witherspoon is opening her first brick-and-mortar Draper James store in Nashville this Fall.

Fun Fashion Fact

According to body language experts the way we carry our bag can say a lot about our personality. For example, sporting a crossbody with the bag in front of the body “is almost a form of armament. This style of bag-wearing often indicates a more cautious personality, someone who is reticent or shy”, says writer Kathlyn Hendricks. Do you agree with what this Glamour article has to say about your bag-carrying style?

This ensemble was inspired by a client who didn’t think she’d like the combination but ended up loving it because the cobalt brightens grey and black. I’ve created a few renditions to get you started, but think of combining grey and black with cobalt in any way at all. 

Black Bottoms, Grey Topper & Cobalt Top

Combine black jeans, pants or skirt with a cobalt top and grey cardigan, jacket, vest or coat. Finish off the look with black footwear and a bag that works with the palette of the outfit. The example on the left with the black jeans and two-toned cardi is almost the exact combination that won my client over. 

Grey Bottoms, Black Topper & Cobalt Bag 

Combine a grey skirt with a black top and topper, and finish off the look with a cobalt bag. I’ve chosen a marled grey skirt, a black windowpane blouse to create a pattern-mixed effect, and topped the look off with a black poncho. Black shoes and blue bag finish off the outfit. Add jewellery, eyewear and watch as desired. 

I’ve added cobalt trousers – feel free to make it a skirt – into the mix to create a cobalt column of colour. Or match it with a black top and grey topper. A cobalt sheath dress is fab with a grey or black wrap and silver pumps. The combinations are endless.