The right trousers
Give your new-season wardrobe a leg up. From luxe leggings to cool cords, KATIE WRIGHT has got you covered
YES, we know, if you want to be totally on trend this autumn, a midi skirt should definitely be on your shopping list. Preferably a swishy, pleated number to boot.
But in seasonal no man’s land, where the weather still makes you deliberate ‘tights or no tights’, trousers can be a total saviour.
We’re not just talking workwear – there are trews for lazy weekends and glam evenings too.
These are the five trouser trends that will make you want to give that midi a day off...
1 CHECKS AND TWEED HERITAGE prints were huge on the AW18 catwalks, from slouchy coats to sharp suits. Tweed trousers are an easy way to try the trend, but keep it modern by pairing grey or brown check with bright block coloured tops and stiletto heels or boots.
■ RIGHT: Hobbs Lorelai jacket, £199, and trousers, £149; Penny sweater, £69; Ada boots, £189 (hobbs.co.uk)
■ LEFT: Girls on Film Avenue check trousers, £28, Little Mistress (little-mistress.com)
2 SPORTY STRIPED THE grown-up version of tracksuit bottoms, tailored trousers with a sporty stripe down the side are a chic update on the classic black cigarette pant. A tapered style looks great dressed up with heels (and a fitted knit to match the colour of the stripes), or dressed down with plain white trainers and a slouchy jumper.
■ RIGHT: Wallis berry colour block wrap, £33; berry zip and stud high neck jumper, £28; black side stripe trouser, £28, shoes, stylist’s own (wallis.co.uk)
■ LEFT: Long Tall Sally bow sleeve blouse, £42; side stripe crepe trousers, £58; LTS Rebecca kitten heel slingback, £60 (longtallsally.com)
3 CORDS PART of the Seventies revival that rocked the autumn catwalks, corduroy is back in a big way. When it comes to cords, they’ve got to be loose, straight legged, cropped a little shorter at the ankle and in a suitably autumnal colour, like rust, mustard or dusty pink.
■ RIGHT: M&S Collection checked belted coat, £99; funnel neck ¾ sleeve jumper, £55; Autograph Collection corduroy high waist cropped trousers, £35; Collection faux leather cross body bag, £29.50; trainers (available January), £45 (marksandspencer.com)
■ LEFT: Miss Selfridge cropped straight leg pink cord trouser, £28.50 (missselfridge.com)
4 WIDE LEG TROUSERS
JUST when we thought she couldn’t get any cooler, Blake Lively, right, busted out the wardrobe to end all wardrobes during the promo tour for her movie, A Simple Favour.
Want to steal Blake’s look? Pair roomy, extralong trousers with a tailored jacket or fitted shirt.
■ MAIN IMAGE: Bonmarche striped jacket, £28; wide leg stripe trousers, £17, shoes, stylist’s own (bonmarche.co.uk)
■ RIGHT: JD Williams chocolate wrap wide leg trousers, £45 (jdwilliams.co.uk)
5 VINYL LEGGINGS
IF ALL this talk of tweed and tawny colours doesn’t float your boat, get a load of these shiny beauties.
Vinyl is currently edging out leather as the texture to be seen in after dark. A pair of high-waisted skinnies should be paired with a spaghetti strap vest or glitzy crop top for maximum impact. For the less daring, one of those lovely knits should do the cover up trick for the waist area!
■ BELOW LEFT: Pretty Little Thing black vinyl zip front skinny trousers, £25 (prettylittlething.com)
■ BELOW RIGHT: Glamorous tall vinyl look trousers, £32, Topshop (topshop.com)