Wide-legged pants and jeans are all the rage this season. Voluminous slacks always remind me of the panache that Katherine Hepburn sported in the ‘40’s. I adore the sophisticated and dramatic style that they can convey, but it’s not that easy finding a flattering pair. Here are some guidelines based on my experience with dressing different body types in this style:

• Don’t go too wide at the hem if you are petite – you’ll look like you’re drowning in all that fabric
• Be mindful of cuffs – wide cuffs generally work best on taller women because they tend to shorten the line of the leg on petites and women with long waists. 
• Opt for mid-waisted and flat fronted waist bands if you are curvy – pleated, paper-bag and high-waisted styles add volume where you won’t want them to and are therefore best on straight boyish body types.
• Keep them fairly fitted on the waist, hip and thigh area –  you might feel dumpy instead of streamlined and elegant when wide-legged pants are also wide from the top down. Keeping them fitted is a better option. 
• Get the length right – it’s imperative that this style of pant skims the surface of the ground for that effective “leg slimming” effect.

The right pair of wide-legged pants can make you look slender, while the wrong pair can make you look stout. If you still don’t fancy the look of them, stick to the forever-flattering boot cut.

Wide-legged jeans from Victoria’s Secret at the the perfect length and width.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 7:24 am and is filed under Spring 2007, Instant Style Tips, Body Type. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.