Something fresh, something new?? The Culotte.

It's hard to believe that it has been almost two years since my last post... that's when the morning sickness kicked in and the rest is history. Now my 14-month-old ginger devil-child keeps me quite busy, but I finally feel like I can jump into the world of fashion again... or at least get my toes wet.

I have been online a lot lately trying to find pants. That is probably the hardest piece of clothing to wear post-baby. Somehow comfortable, flattering and won't get ruined when you have snot and/or baby food wiped on you don't go hand in hand.

The jogger style has been my go-to since Charlotte was born last Spring, but I am trying really hard to brake out of that mode. It would be nice to not look like I am wearing the same thing everyday, even though I am... shhhh!

I have been fascinated with culottes lately. Not for any reason other than they aren't skinny, they're not joggers - they just seem new, fresh and perfect for summer. Then it dawned on me the other day... it was like déja vu... 2005 to be exact - GAUCHOS!!! How many of you remember these lovely knit pants that you had in a rainbow of colors? Before athleisurewear and the dawn of Lululemon, we all wore gauchos... all of the time. Gauchos for work, gauchos for leisure, gauchos for going out and most importantly gauchos pre and post baby! When pregnant with my first, that is all I wore and continued to wear for a long time... Omg, how quickly we forget these trends.

Let me give you a visual...

Do these ring a bell? 

Jessica Simpson embraced gauchos. 

The pregnancy look.

I think those days are best forgotten. It's time to take on the culotte of 2015 - definitely a more polished version and a breath of fresh air. Who wants to go out everyday looking the same as everyone else? As though we were all a bunch of style drones... At least the culotte allows us a chance to be different.. more options are definitely a good thing.

                                             

The key is how to wear culottes now. 2015's culottes have a different look... as though you were going to wear a pair of wide leg trousers/ball gown/maxi skirt, but the bottom has been cut off above to ankle to keep you cooler. Therefore, what you put on top should complement the style of the pant - for more inspiration think Katherine Hepburn or Grace Kelly. Some culottes are made to be the statement piece, some are very high-waisted and look great with a cropped, boxy top or sweater. Others are more fluid and casual, which look great with a not too large blouse or tee and/or a jacket or blazer.  

The key is to remember proportion. Don't let the culotte overwhelm you. Models may walk down the runway with long flowing tops paired with equally large and fluid culottes. Don't do it. Keep it simple. Keep it pulled together.

Tibi has some fabulous culottes right now... too bad they are so expensive, but great for inspiration.

 

 

 

As far as shoes go, keep them current. Simple sandals, strappy heels, pointy toe pumps or even a fab mule (my favorite right now). Do not wear a round/almond toe heel with these, please. And, if you are wearing a little heel or flat sandal, stick to a slimmer culotte.  A higher heel helps balance out the fullness of the more extreme versions.

Be adventurous, have fun and good luck.

Post pics of culotte success stories or if you have a question...

                                      - Allison

*Photos courtesy of google and tibi.com.