How To Wear Wide Leg Pants

I need another pair of denim like I need another toe. However, when I saw these wide leg jeans from Joe’s Jeans it made me think about how to wear wide leg pants and how incredibly flattering wide leg pants are on almost any shape. It made me wonder, how is this possible?! And also made me realize that maybe having a sixth toe wouldn’t be all that bad. Ha!

JEANS // Joe’s Jeans c/o Amazon Fashion — TOP // c/o Tobi — SHOES // Steve Madden c/o Amazon Fashion — NECKLACES // Forever 21 & ZARA — BAG // ASOS

PHOTOGRAPHY // Christopher Jamar Payne for Mattie James

There has been speculation that if you’re petite like myself – under 5’4″ and a between a size 2 and size 6 – that you cannot wear wide leg pants or jeans because they’ll swallow you up. Honestly, that’s a myth. You can certainly wear wide leg pants no matter what your height or shape, but you certainly have to keep a few things in mind. What I love about wide leg pants is that it flatters just about every body shape – if you have an athletic build, it creates the illusion over curves, if you’re curvy, it makes you look leaner. Seriously it’s a win-win. And you don’t have to worry about squeezing into them like you would skinny jeans.

If you’re wondering how to wear wide leg pants because you’re convinced you may not be able to pull it off, stay hopeful, sis. You totally can as long as you have the following:

THE RIGHT HEM + SHOES
The length of your wide leg pants will really make or break your look. If it’s too long, it’ll swallow you up and make it extremely hard to walk and if they’re too short, it’ll make you look awkward and bigger than you are. Determine whether or not you’re going to wear heels or flats with your wide leg pants or denim to determine where your hem should be. For the sake of transparency, I did not get these jeans hemmed and they were a bit too long even with heels on. I don’t plan on wearing sky high heels with this, but because of my height I certainly won’t wear them with flats. I’m going to get an inch taken off the hem. As a guideline, the hem of your wide leg pants should be no longer than 1/4″-1/2″ above the floor and should be no shorter than 3″ above the floor. Basically, your ankles should always be covered.

THE RIGHT CUT
The silhouette and shape of your wide leg pants or jeans can really make or break the look for you. If you’re petite, you don’t want them to drown you and if you’re tall and/or curvy, you don’t want them to make you look bigger or wider than you are. If you’re petite, opt for a pair that are narrow/slim in the leg and start to flare out at the knee. This will create the illusion of curves because the leg of the pant is form fitting. If you’re not into a flare pants, then try a wide leg with a narrower hemline. Then opt for a form fitted top so the volume of your pants stand out. If you’re long or curvy, try a wide leg pant that’s the same width top to bottom. This will lean out your figure and accentuate your height.

THE RIGHT TOP
As I mentioned before, wearing a form fitting top will force the focus to be on the volume of your wide leg pants like I did above. But in case form fitting tops are not your thing, your can choose a top or blouse that can be tucked in to highlight your waist. Wearing a top that isn’t tucked can create a undone look because the looseness of the shirt blends into the volume of the pants. You want to make sure you break up the shape at your waist which is why tucking your top in is important. You can dress it up for work with a button blouse or keep it casual & basic with a statement tee. And you can layer as well. Top a t-shirt with a long vest or motorcycle jacket that hits you at your waist.