And maybe, just maybe, this is why this whole capri thing had me confused in the first place. Context is everything. In general I've never found them to look as bad as others obviously do, which is why I asked the question in the first place. I thought I was missing something, maybe I wasn't!

Gaylene's comment sort of hit the nail on the head for me… especially the point about her mom: "She was as picky about her prints, styles, and color combinations as any YLF member. To her, classic cuts and careful matching were HER style." This describes my mom to a tee. She is always fastidious in her appearance and carefully considers what she wears each day, down to the smallest details. And "careful matching" is a key element of her style. She needs to consider comfort due to her advanced age, so looser fits and elastic waistbands are practical choices. But she still "rocks her look", as do the other ladies in her social groups. Would I be able to wear the same items and look good? No. I have an entirely different style persona, height, body type and lifestyle. Style is such an individual thing.

I really really wish I'd left the term "mom" out of my initial post. This wasn't about that, at all... it was about identifying what some people see as a "dreaded" type of capri.

Don't worry, Elizabeth! I know you did not mean to complicate matters in the slightest. This has turned into a good discussion, and I am sure that people will stay respectful.

It's been a fascinating discussion and helpful. Gaylene, you are so right, and once again I apologize for what I think may be my own role in this, disparaging my poor mother the other day when in fact she was as careful as your mother. It was just a certain association to a particular time and set of outfits...my own baggage. And sorry, Elizabeth, if I set that in motion for you, too!

Anyway...we can't help but have opinions about aesthetics, but even where we don't care for a particular look most of us can agree there are better and worse versions. The person who is having fun with fashion -- at any age, any size -- is the one we appreciate for her style.

Meanwhile, the person who is oblivious to fashion may be a very, very good person and a loveable person and a smart person. It's okay if she's not "into" fashion. I certainly don't judge her, any more than (I hope) she would judge me for my ignorance about cricket or fractals or roof tiles or slug repellants. I'm just not knowledgeable about such matters and I hope I can learn from her if the occasion arises.

But I think it is also okay for Elizabeth, on a fashion forum, to question how she can look fashionable in an article of clothing she quite likes, finds useful, but isn't certain how to style in a way that makes her feel fab because it comes in for a lot of disparaging criticism in fashion circles.

I'm also with Peri 10000 per cent!!

I do think it's important to recognize physical restrictions. It's so much like shoes for serious foot problems.
Mobility / flexibility issues, especially , affect getting s goid- LOOKING fit because things need to be looser and maybd can't use stretchy as a sub.
I echo Gaylene- I had to shop for my mom when she was in her 80's and ended up with things that were a size up or boxy or straight. Not only to allow dressing, but she could selfom GO shopping and there was a limit, in practicality, to what all I could buy and make her try on-- so not too much experimenting. I compensated as best I could by sticking to her best colors and coordinated tops & bottoms that I could find.
I keep hoping for a unifying and hopeful theme to emerge, and I'll come back to Less( numbers) Is More. It is still easy to spend time and money
buying more outfits or tossing more of those inexpensive ( usually) capris and T's in the cart without scrutiny. Since I hope to live to be one of those 80-yo
ladies and I doubt I'll escape the ravages of time, I may need to to remember to find, hopefully, a few items that work well for the body I have at the time. Or I may instead have to be satisfied with what a DD brings me and look for satisfaction elsewhere, as is likely to happen.

My dear, Suz. No need to apologize at all. It is impossible for you to be disparaging and judgmental! And you are absolutely right that Elizabeth can ask those questions on a fashion forum - and I'm glad she did.

I buy groceries at Sam's Club; rarely go to Walmart anymore. I wear the same attire to shop there as I do when I go to Publix or anywhere else. No slouchy stuff ever. I think the point of this thread was to find a flattering style of Capri/cropped pants & to avoid the not-so-attractive pants that many women choose to wear. It's not about judging their character or their choices. It's just about seeing if there are better choices. I say there are. I personally like the NYDJ cropped pants I recently bought. They're styled like jeans: just shorter and slim fitting (not the least bit wide) with no elastic. I wear them with my cutout sandals instead of with athletic shoes, & do think the choice of footwear makes a difference. So does the top/blouse & accessories.

Surfing around the net for capri related posts I came upon this!

https://youlookfab.com/2007/04.....-be-risky/

I am wearing capris today for a trip to the wildlife viewing boardwalk. They are the Zella ones from last year and I love them. Will see if I can get a pic.

Don't apologize Suz, you didn't set anything in motion at all. I've been noticing the comments over time, and wondering, as capri season approaches... (Gad, I wish it would GET HERE ALREADY).

BC, exactly! )

thanks AG. I actually have the Zella's as well, both the pattern and the black.

Absolutely no need for apologies from anyone--of course, the YLF forum is exactly the place to ask questions about pant lengths as well as to express aesthetic preferences. It's just I think we would be wise to remember many of the perceptions expressed on this forum aren't necessarily shared by others who also endeavour to dress well.

Angie is a good example: She is quite clear in stating her aesthetic preferences but I've never heard her be disparaging of those who don't follow them. She'll offer guidance on pant lengths, but never links a hemline choice to a segment of society or lifestyle.

That's right, Gaylene. And it's a good point we should all remember.

Especially since we are the "mom" generation!!

Or, in my case, the "grannie" generation (and edging closer and closer to the "how the &?#* did I get that old" generation).

This is a good reminder- I know I have quite a satirical sense of humour which is mostly directed at myself, but I can get it wrong and direct it at others too. NZ humour is a bit like that - the line between mean and funny is very thin.

Okay, back from boardwalk! No pics of me because the wildlife was out and we were too distracted to care about capris. Here are some pics. The eagle pair have a nest and were very active but hard to get with an iPhone.

And a hilarious educational blog post from TheMomEdit where the writer experiments with her actual mother's actual capri collection:

http://themomedit.com/2012/06/.....l-pushers/

Una, that blog deserves a thread of its own!! So intriguing. Note that it is from 2012. I would love to hear Angie's comments. What interested me (besides the confusing terminology) is that she did so much with the styling -- she was using low contrast to improve the look of some, and "closing the gap" with her footwear in others -- long before we were really talking about that or before cropped pants had become so popular.

Gorgeous photos, by the way!

All I have to say is I am so glad you all on here, and most women, including me, are ignoring that stuff about the dreadful length. I do not know who started it, or where I first found it-on line somewhere--BUT someone tried to convince women they should absolutely NEVER wear any pants length that ended at the wider parts of leg-from just below knee to end of calf. The objective was to convince us all that this cut us off, made us all look stumpy. The only name for them at this time was capris.

Seems that since then there are all sorts of contradictive stuff about what to call them and different lengths. now we are hung up on the proper width, proper length and all this garbage.

SO ladies, lets all just wear what we want, try our best to be at least somewhat comfortable in hot weather, and forget all this bull. Lets embrace out stumpy selves! Funny how men can wear any length and width of shorts from too short , too long, to baggy, and no one tells them they look stumpy, or any other negative adjective.

Hey, it's hot in the summer, and I wear cropped pants at whatever length I so choose. I'm petite, but sometimes I need to wear something that the fashion/style bloggers would say is unflattering. That said, I do try to pair my cropped pants with the right top, shoes and accessories so I'll look my best. There are certain styles of cropped pants that make me look frumpy, and I avoid those at all costs.

BC, that's the issue - I have a hard time telling the frumpy from the fab! I wonder if it's because capris and crops of every kind are so ubiquitous where I live - they are environmental normcore abd I have lost any comprehension of them as a fashion item!

I think what they're paired with makes a difference. Proportions matter. If I were going to wear the ones with wider legs (I don't, so this is hypothetical), I'd want a slimmer fitting top. The reverse would be true with the slim-legged crops--I wear more flowy blouses, though I try not to venture over to oversized. Choice of shoes depends on the width & length of the pants. I never ever wear the type of pants that have elastic waists & make my hips look disproportionately wide, nor do I wear the ones with the drawstring waist that emphasizes my tummy.