I LOVE culottes and have been waiting for this trend to resurface. Culottes were my favourite thing as a child in the 70’s and I had several pairs. The shorter palazzo pants of the 90’s and gaucho styles of the early 00’s were culotte-inspired, but not quite the real deal. At last, we have the real deal. 

I prefer culottes that look more like skirts than trousers. It’s only when you stride that people realize that you’re actually wearing pants. I adore the styles below because the box pleated design is genius, perfectly marrying the skirt and trouser integrity of this silhouette. I also adore the length, although shorter versions are very sweet too.

My eyes are peeled for culottes, which I expect will stay very fringe. Have you ever worn culottes, and do you think that you would wear them again?

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We recently discussed how the right lightweight and streamlined leather jacket can add a fashion forward twist to a classic business casual capsule. Straight leg or tapered trousers can have a similar effect. 

For the last few seasons I’ve been suggesting a more tapered trouser leg to my clients who are bored of wearing classic boot cut trousers in a conservative office environment. Well ladies, actions speak louder than words, and here is my gorgeous client Christy putting a new pair of black straight leg trousers through their paces. 

Petite Christy stands at 5 feet 2 inches and works full time in the financial sector. It is important that she look and feel polished, professional, pulled together and approachable. Christy also adores shopping and fashion, so she’s always looking for ways to inject newness and pizazz into her daily outfits.  When she excitedly emailed me to ask for my opinion on her straight leg trouser work look, I squealed with joy. “YES, Christy!”. I love the outfits and you look every bit as authoritative and fab in this trouser style as you do in flared silhouettes. Plus, you eliminated the need of committing to a heel height in order to sport perfect pant lengths. Welcome to the joys of wearing tapered trousers. 

Thanks to hubby Dan, who kindly took these photos of Christy modeling her business casual straight leg trouser looks in their back garden. Not easy when you have kids running around for Mum’s attention after a hard days work!

Christy, who bats for Team Neutral and Team Heels, takes the dressing formula that she uses for dress slacks and pencil skirts and uses it to complete the outfits with straight leg trousers. The other components in the formula are:  

woven blouse + tailored jacket + chunky necklace + smashing statement heels

Christy’s outfit strategy works like a charm, making the new trouser silhouette an easy integration. She is thrilled with the result because it changes up her outfits. Christy is now more keen than ever to inject trendier items into her work look. As long as the outfits are modest and grounded with classic pieces, she will feel office appropriate. 

Thanks for sharing your new work look, Christy. And for being a wonderful client. You are one stylish lady rocking your classic pieces with fashionable trends in a conservative office setting. And most importantly, you’re having fun putting your outfits together. That REALLY tickles my toes.

A while back I wrote a post on four ways to wear bright shoes and the guidelines are still valid. Here is a fast recap on how to integrate non-neutral shoes into an outfit, with one new guideline.

1. Pick up a colour in a top with your shoes
2. Match up bright shoes with the same colour handbag or belt
3. Wear bright shoes with a neutral ensemble
4. Wear several brights of the same intensity
5. Match bright shoes with a scarf or necklace that picks up the same colour

Number 5 is the new addition, and has gone down particularly well with my clients because it pulls together your outfit without it feeling overly matchy-matchy. The following pairings between accessory and footwear illustrate this point.

I incorporate my bright shoes in all of these ways, favouring methods 3 and 4. How do you like to wear your non-neutral footwear?

It took me a while to name this poll. I could have used Team Simple and Team Complex, and I even considered the acronyms Team LIM (Less is More), and Team ALGO (A Lot Going On), but I finally settled on Team Minimal and Team Maximal.

You are on Team Minimal if you prefer simple, crisp outfits. You believe that less is more. You wear few visible layers and accessories. You also prefer clothing and footwear with clean lines. Team Minimal does not necessarily have boring style. Your style can be strong, bold, colourful AND minimal. 

You are on Team Maximal if you prefer complex outfits. You have a lot going on. You wear lots of visible layers and accessories in one ensemble. You adore complicated design details and like to mix several patterns at once. Team Maximal does not necessarily have a cluttered style. Your style can be coherent, impactful AND maximal.

Until my mid 30’s I batted for Team Maximal. I loved wearing lots of visible layers, and several accessories at once.  I was also bolder at pattern mixing. Things started to change as I approached 40. I still wore high contrast outfits and lots of colour, but I began to simplify my look.

These days I want to leave off most accessories. I want to wear simple silhouettes in beautiful fabrications without the bells and whistles. I do not want to mix my patterns. I am no longer interested in complex design details. I challenge myself to come up with a strong outfit that has few components. I bat for Team Minimal, and it feels completely right for this leg of my style journey. 

Over to you. Are you on Team Minimal or on Team Maximal. Remember that there is no right and wrong here. Simple styles are as killer as Complex styles.