Cigarette vs skinnies? A primer, please!

I dug up some old threads on cigarette pants, and I'm afraid they were clear as mud to me. Heh.

I thought the iconic cigarette pant was the Audrey Hepburn mid-calf, fitted throughout. Now I see a somewhat even split between ankle and mid-calf length - both I believe to be Angie-apoplexy-inducing lengths, yes? - with perhaps a handlful of scrunched lengths. When I see scrunch though, I think "skinny." Perhaps it doesn't matter, and perhaps the definition is blurred by today's standards, but I'm curious. Is there a difference between cigarette pants and skinnies?

I found a link on shopstyle that lists about 6 pages of so-called cigarette pants...can anyone tell me which are YLF-approved (ppl-wise) and which are no-go areas? (Not that we all march lock-step here, but I am cool with toeing the PPL line. )

http://www.shopstyle.com/brows.....ette+pants

Thanks a million!

Oh - also, do you style them like skinnies? Footwear? I would think you would skip the boots in favor of pumps/heels to show off the somewhat cropped length - or slight scrunch, as the case may be.

14 years ago

lynn

Veteran

Bumping for someone more knowledgeable!

Mochi

I'm really glad you asked this question, too.

Mamapicklejuice

bumping!

citygirldc

(website)

I really want to know too because if I can find a pair of cigarette pants (my definition would be 60s style, steam-lined and sleek), that would be great. I've been looking everywhere for these style pants that fit. I don't think they are considered skinny pants though.

Aziraphale

Anyone is free to contradict me here, but to me, cigarette pants are straight and narrow all the way down, making my legs look like columns (cigarettes!). They don't scrunch at the bottom, but the ankle opening is quite narrow.

My skinny pants are also narrow, but the ankle opening is noticeably smaller than on my cigarette jeans, so they give the impression that my legs are curvier. They are tight like leggings all the way down, making my calves and ankles appear narrower than my thighs. They look best when there's a bit of scrunch to balance out proportions.

I always thought that cigarette pants were ankle-length or longer, but here I could be totally wrong. Perhaps they can be cropped too. The ones that end right at the ankle are what I think of as 'drainpipe pants', like the guys wore when my parents were young.

And here I might be straying into the realm of totally, completely, waaay off base, but in my mind, pants only look 'cigarette shape' if you've got slim legs to begin with. Otherwise they just look like straight-leg jeans. Skinnies, on the other hand, can be worn by anybody, skinny or not, because they cling to the leg and show off its curves.

loomisdeanie

Member

Skinny pants narrow at the ankle. The very butt of everyone's 80's jokes -a tapered leg, is now the only pant anyone wants to wear.

8 years ago

Jenni NZ

Funny to see the change in 5 years. Think Angie's apoplexies have changed since this 5 year old thread with regard to pants lengths.

binkle

To me, no difference. Just a code word for how they fit, like pencil, matchstick, etc. In other words narrow and usually worn tight, no slouch around the hips/crotch.

Anonymous

I don't think there's any difference, either.

Carole

I think of them as being the same...and for me loafers, slipper type or pointy toe flats work best!

Cigarette pants are from the 1950's and originally had high waists, the zipper was either on the side or back, had flat fronts, wide waistbands and the fit was slim all the way down to just above the ankle, not as much as cropped pants though.
Throughout the years it has been called different names, such as stovepipe, pencil pants, etc. The leg opening is tapered and about one inch more than skinnies (usually 12" for cig. pants vs 11") - skinny jeans are a bit longer but the length changes based on the trends. The development and use of stretch fabrics plays a role, skinny jeans are mostly made in stretch fabrics - in the past, they could only make clothes form fitting enough so you could still move in the clothes, but these days garments can be made more fitted because the smallest stretch (3% or more) allows us to move comfortably. I never rely on websites definition of a style, because they put anything in the group to sell. I've seen regular cropped jeans sold as "boyfriend jeans"!!
I like both flats and high heels with cigarette pants. Hope this helps

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