After a strong 12-year streak of skinny jeans and leggings, we're finally seeing the return of wide-leg pants and trousers. Flare legs have become favorable on jeans, extra wide paper-bag waist pants are becoming more and more popular and palazzo pants are a prime trend prediction… And once again, the perfect casual shoes for women have become questionable — just when we had it all figured out.
Luckily, when it comes to wide-leg pants, there aren't many shoe pairings that are out of the picture! Just in case you're really lost or are attempting to perfect a specific aesthetic, though, we've assembled some of our favorite combinations below.
Chic Style — Ankle Boots
Whether you embrace a cropped pant to showcase the boot or keep your hemline long to subtly flash your footwear choice like a secret that only the fashionistas will fully catch, we fully endorse the decision of pairing wide-leg pants with cute ankle boots of any style, and we fully applaud the complex level of styling an interesting silhouette that's seen right away.
While there are a million and one ways to work ankle boots and wide-leg pants, we love the idea of high-waisted, cropped wide-leg pants in dusty brown paired with a maroon blouse and suede ankle boots in a beautiful blush to create a coherent and complex color palette. Bonus points if you can incorporate your boot color into the top half of your outfit, whether it be through a pattern on your blouse, a colored collar poking out from under it or a cute peacoat on top of it.
Powerful Style — Pointed-Toe Heels
A pair of office-appropriate wide-leg trousers combined with a set of pointed-toe heels will create a killer statement for interviews, meetings and otherwise.
This is a combo that's almost foolproof, but in case you're not seeing the vision in all of its glory, picture this: A dark charcoal, wide-leg pair of dress pants combined with shiny bright yellow pointed-toe heels, a crisp white camisole and a bright yellow shrug cardigan. This is a look that showcases your springtime style sense and your playfulness as much as it does your sophistication and power.
Timeless Style — Ballet Flats
Ballet flats are adaptable and almost guaranteed to work with any wide-leg pants, but will work best when incorporated into a timeless look. This can be achieved through the use of neutral colors, quality materials and properly fitted silhouettes in your ensemble.
When it comes to not only achieving a fashionable and timeless look with these pieces but elevating it, we suggest fitted silk palazzo pants in navy, a scoop neck striped long-sleeve shirt, a mid-length beige trenchcoat and shiny patent leather ballet flats in nude. While every shape, texture and color is timeless, we are able to elevate the look by combining more luxury aspects (deep rich silk, shiny leather and luxe nude and navy colors) than would normally be seen in a casual outfit like this!
Boho Style — Heeled Mules
Heeled mules don't have as slim of a silhouette as strappy heels or pumps, and they don't have nearly as bulky of a silhouette as full shoes or boots. Because of this, they will allow you to maintain the balance of your outfit. If the hemline of your pants sits where it should (roughly one inch off the ground, leaving the heel and toe of most heeled shoes exposed), a heeled mule will be your best accessory, with many of them boasting additional details and designs in these areas.
When it comes to creating a full look, we suggest pairing wide-leg jeans with a simple white camisole, a wide-brimmed felt hat in burnt orange and matching orange-brown leather mules with a chunky heel and rounded toe. If you're dressing for colder weather, consider topping the outfit off with a flatteringly cropped and fabulously fringed suede jacket in almost any color.
Elegant Style — Strappy Heels
When combined with wide-leg pants, a set of strappy heels will create an airy, elegant, feminine aesthetic that's perfect for an array of events. Along with the straps of the heel exposing some skin and balancing out the beyond-full coverage of a pair of wide-leg pants, the heel will allow you to keep your hemline longer and elongate the heck out of your legs!
When it comes to pairing wide-leg pants and strappy heels for an event, we suggest going full-on elegant feminine and embracing a pair of soft and flowy velvet pants with a silk tie collar blouse and heels with matching silk straps (or close-to-matching, considering how far away they will sit from each other).
Summer Style — Sandals
Sandals and wide-leg pants can be as boho as the look above by incorporating certain materials and details, or as beachy as our suggestion directly below by incorporating alternate materials and components. For instance:
To create an unrivaled beach look, consider pairing an extra flowy white cotton pant with a crisp white crochet bralette, comfortable sandals in a muted ocean tone with a slim and airy silhouette, shimmery gold jewelry styled in a boho fashion (bracelets cuffed on the upper arm, anklets wrapped loosely around the ankle, toe rings intact, chokers layered and head chains shimmering through beachy waves of hair) and, to top it all off, a sheer beach wrap that features muted ocean tones, shrugged low off the shoulders.
Endless Options for Perfect Pairings
Wide-leg pants are as flattering to wear as they are to style. There are little to no body styles that they won't work on and little to no shoe styles that they can't work with. They offer more material options and style variations than almost any other type of pants and, because of this, will take you to more places than almost any other type of pants (from a day in the office to an evening on a date).
If you're on the lookout for wide-leg pants, there's certainly no shortage of fun, fashionable and favorable options. No matter your style and what you decide on, you're sure to find a sandal, shoe, heel or boot combination that pairs perfectly with those pants!