Raise your hand in the event you grew up throughout a time when the wonder customary that was upheld and strengthened belonged solely to a selected sort of lady: often blonde, usually tall, and all the time very, very skinny. (Of course, having massive boobs and a tiny waist had been additionally extremely praised.)
If you’re like me, there’s a great probability you’ve nonetheless acquired emotional scars from the ‘90s (even typing the phrase “heroin chic” makes me recoil) and 2000s, when mainstream media was more than happy to tell us everything that was wrong with our bodies, all while selling us sh*t that would “fix” or “conceal” those “flaws.”
Even with years of therapy, deprogramming and unlearning diet culture, and the efforts to treat myself and others with the unrelenting kindness we’ve all the time deserved, I do know I’m nonetheless holding onto some outdated, baseless bullsh*t from that point interval. And possibly you’re, too.
As somebody who’s not tall and never significantly skinny, I can’t be alone after I admit that I’ve spent most of my teen and grownup life shunning types of garments if I didn’t deem them “figure-flattering,” which is a thinly veiled approach of claiming “makes me look smaller” or “minimizes” some or all of my physique. Maybe you additionally do that with out even realizing it. After all, in the event you’re of the technology who watched Jessica Simpson get publicly skewered in 2009 for daring to wear a pair of “mom jeans” onstage (sure, even by women), it’s exhausting to not fall into the entice of considering that your physique solely has worth the smaller it seems to others.
For years, I caught solely to “skinny” denims, hoping they’d magically make my thick, sturdy, muscular legs look, properly, skinny. They had been on development, so I too can be, although my abdomen all the time felt sore from a waistband reducing into it and I’d slide the pants off the second I stepped inside the home. Instead of apologizing to my flesh for putting it into denim torture gadgets, I’d say imply issues to it, questioning when it could simply disappear so I wouldn’t must take care of it anymore.
So, when social media began telling me that the cool women had been sporting wide-leg pants, I merely thought, “Everyone else looks great in them, but they’re just not for me.” But I’m right here with an essential vogue PSA, and it’s all because of an opportunity encounter with a hot pink jumpsuit from Rent the Runway for a Barbie screening. My buddy, I’m begging you, strive the wide-leg pants.
My fashion a-ha second got here after I realized I had nothing pink sufficient to put on for Barbie, so I took an opportunity on a rented jumpsuit. While it was a number of inches too lengthy (brief woman issues, you understand), I placed on my highest heels and wore that factor proudly. I posted pictures on Instagram, and I didn’t edit my thighs to seem smaller or do some other type of trickery to “minimize” my physique.
I used to be sporting glitter lipstick and a tiara watching arguably probably the most feminist studio movie of the yr about one of many world’s greatest popular culture vogue icons, so why the f*ck ought to I care if my legs or abdomen appeared small? I’d had sufficient of making an attempt to alter myself to suit some arbitrary and unimaginable customary I wasn’t made to suit into. The jig was lastly up.
Next got here wide-leg denims, which arrived within the type of a cute mirror second because of a pair of high-rise wide-leg denim from Chico’s I used to be graciously gifted. Sure, they wanted to be hemmed just a few inches, however they appeared nice and felt even higher. My abdomen might breathe, and I didn’t wish to claw them off as quickly as I might. Your garments ought to really feel comfy. I do know, what an idea!
I urge you to put on the wide-leg pants and the “mom” denims. Not solely are they cool now, however they’re so comfy, which is actually all that issues. And yeah, they really do look good AF on each physique sort, as Jaime King, skilled dressmaker and SVP of design and development with Maurices, tells Scary Mommy. (Pssst… the model has each wide-legged pants and denim.)
If you haven’t purchased new pants in a very long time, King shares discover your excellent match. “If someone is new to wide-leg pants, it’s best to start with understanding what size best fits your true waistline,” she says. “That portion of the pants will fit similarly to other pairs of jeans or pants you already feel comfortable wearing. However, the hips and rest of the leg are much more breathable, so you may want to play with your size and see what fits best on your hips. Most wide-legged pants are high-rise, so you may be able to size down depending on where you typically wear your pants.”
The fashion potentialities are infinite with a wide-leg reduce, as King notes. “Once you find your fit, you can play around with what you already have in your closet, pairing them with a crop top or flowy peplum top to create the ultimate polished look, or a tapered blazer to dress it up a bit. Tucking in a top will also create contrast with your waist, adding contour to your body’s silhouette. This is especially helpful if you wear a petite length. You want to make sure your waist is more defined if you fall into this body type to not overwhelm your frame.”
“As for shoes, wide-legged pants typically don’t show a ton of your shoe. And while you can wear boots, you may not see all of them. Booties with a heel, or loafers with chunky heels help to accentuate the wide nature and flow of the look.”
