How To Style Bell Bottoms - an indigo day - Affordable Style Blog (2024)

FAQs

How do you casually style bell bottoms? ›

Pair them with a graphic tee or a blousy tank. Add a denim jacket for color or a long thin cardigan. White flared jeans are great for summer outfits and to me, they feel more dressy and cool than just a pair of white skinny jeans or white shorts.

Yes, bell bottoms are one of those fashion trends that came back in fashion for 2023 together with rave trend.

Casual Meets Cool & Trendy

Now, if you are wondering how to style flare jeans for a casual and trendy look in 2023, keeping it simple and adding modern elements is the key! They can be worn high waist along with a knitted sweater and oversized jacket for a truly contemporary look.

An open button-down shirt is a great layering piece—it works for a day at the office or a night out and definitely pairs well with bell bottom jeans. Keep the shirt under the button down simple and play the look up with layered jewelry.

Fitted bellbottoms that flare just a little at the bottom create the illusion of longer legs— especially when worn with heels. The trick here is to make sure the waistband hits your natural waist—not any lower; and your flares are paired with a waist-length top, or a tucked in blouse.

Style Notes: If you invested in a pair of trending wide-leg jeans in 2022, rest assured this is no flash-in-the-pan buy; wide-leg denim is here to stay for 2023. The clue is in the name. Look for classic shades of blue to make this silhouette feel its most refined.

Balance Out the Look with Oversized Tops

The easiest way to wear skinny jeans in 2023 is to style them with oversized, voluminous tops (and no, I don't mean tunics). What is this? Today, it's all about balancing the top to the bottom. Like this voluminous sweatshirt that has a half-tuck at the waist.

But three-quarters of the way through Fashion Month Fall/Winter 2023, it seems the pendulum is swinging back. Skinny jeans, skinny pants, and — gasp — leggings have taken over the runway, most recently making their presence known at Saint Laurent.

Wedges are another top shoe choice to pair with wide leg jeans, such as bell bottoms, particularly if you want to keep with that 1970s feel. Wedge heels & even flatforms perfectly compliment a flare pant, giving you that extra lift in the most comfortable way, taking the pressure off the balls of the foot.

Do bell bottoms make you look skinnier? ›

It is very important that you find the perfect size to look skinnier in your jeans. Bell bottoms are fitted around the butt and thighs. The bell bottoms flare down and add drama to your silhouette. Wide bell bottom jeans with a fitted top will make you look skinnier in your jeans and taller as well.

What body type do bell bottoms look best with? A pear-shaped woman usually has weight on her hips, thighs, and rear. Wide-flare pants or bell bottom pants are best suited to this body type. Styles that fit your pear shape well at the butt, thighs, and all the way down to the middle of your knees are ideal.

Cargo pants are the look of choice for 2023 with baggy legs, long hems, and maximum pocket space. While the trend has definite early '00s roots, the waists are higher than their super low-rise counterparts at the turn of millennium—which comes as welcome news to most.

Two-toned or color-block jeans are one of the more adventurous jean trends hitting shelves in 2023. The colorblocking acts like a contour for your legs and will make them appear longer than they are. Look for a pair with a slight flair to really play into the optical illusion.

And the biggest comeback of 'em all has to be flare jeans. It's one of 2023's jean trends, and we're all here for the chic yet laid-back style. Not only does it match with any attire — from hanging out with friends to business-casual events — but it elevates basic looks with its bell-shaped bottom.

Flared jeans are best for these body types:

Flares look great on pear and hourglass shapes. Petite Tip: Look for the right inseam for you! You'll want something that grazes the floor and doesn't' overwhelm your frame.

Body Shape for Flare Jeans:

So many body-types can wear these jeans! For an hourglass or triangle, we love how the flare jeans mimic their natural curves up top. For a rectangle body shape, flare jeans will soften your legs and give some visual curves.

This style has been popular for many years, perhaps originally because the trouser leg can be rolled up easily, allowing the wearer to work in bare feet, but there is no reliable documentation that confirms a specific timeline or reason for the popularity of bell-bottomed trousers in naval apparel.

For instance, bell-bottom jeans look incredible on tall women because long legs can carry and balance out the volume of the pants. When you've determined what style of jeans flatter and fit your body, it is easier to assure that when shopping online your jeans will fit exactly how you want them to.

It's official: shorter women can definitely rock looser, flared or baggy styles – it's just a question of keeping your look (and the jeans) in proportion with your body.

What are the 5 color trends in 2023? ›

Digital Lavender, Luscious Red, Sundial, Tranquil Blue and Verdigris are the color names for 2023. Who chooses the names of the new colors? Names are selected by the WGSN and Coloro color team, before being verified by our in-house Equality Vision Team to ensure a proper translation on a global scale.

No, they are definitely not out of style and we think they are here to stay. But if you want to experiment with other denim trends, there are plenty of options out there for you to try.

Skinny Jeans – We say YES to skinny jeans at any age. Choose skinny jeans that are flattering to an older woman's figure like these from NYDJ. Cold Shoulder Tops – Uncover part of your shoulders without going sleeveless. This cute top looks great on women of any age.

Weingarten says, “Since fashion always celebrates opposite trends, for everyone who embraces flares, we'll see cute crops as well.” But flare jeans aren't the only comeback that will be dominating 2023. “We'll be seeing more baggy jeans, a look that was super cute in the '90s,” Weingarten shares.

The 2000s saw the continued rejection of slim-fitting pants and jeans throughout the early and middle years in mainstream fashion.

While mom jeans dominated the fashion scene in 2022, it seems a few new takes on the classic bottoms are set to take over in 2023.

The Denim Maxi Skirt Will Be Everywhere In 2023, Here Are 7 Buys To Get Ahead Of The Style Curve. Shop it first. The style savants of TikTok have spoken: The denim maxi skirt is going to be the it-girl wardrobe staple of 2023.

For a modern look, high top sneakers offer a trendy, comfortable shoe choice that work perfectly with bell bottoms or flare jeans. You can go with the popular black or white sneaker style to match any outfit, or wear a bolder style.

Who was famous for wearing bell bottoms? ›

Sonny and Cher were the faces of bell-bottoms in the '70s and wore them in their TV appearances. Other variations like loon pants and elephant bells were favored by the disco crowds for their dramatics.

Black never fails to make you look slim and elegant. Darker shades of colors like blue, purple and brown can also help to hide flaws and create a slimming illusion. On the other hand, lighter colors, like white and khaki, can add pounds and give the illusion of a larger frame.

Bell-bottoms, pants with legs that become wider below the knee, were an extremely popular fashion during the 1960s and 1970s. The belled or flared legs on bell-bottom pants were originally a functional design, worn by those who worked on boats since the seventeenth century.

Darker-colored jeans are helpful to smooth bulges while lengthening the silhouette. In order to achieve a stylish look, though, it's better to opt for hues that have a slight variation in color (washed-black jeans or dark grey ones are nicer and more versatile than black-beyond-any-doubt ones).

The key to wearing flare jeans is to get the length right!

What is the proper length, you ask? While opinions on this can vary slightly, the general consensus is this: the hem should be no more than 1″ off the ground. I personally prefer even less, like half an inch off the ground, just grazing the top of my shoe.

Flare jeans are a big trend right now, with so many trends from the past resurfacing. While they're on trend, it can be a difficult one to pull off when you are petite. For many years petites have been told to avoid flare jeans and silhouette pants as they have often been known to look too overwhelming on shorter legs.

In the 1970s, bell-bottoms entered mainstream society after gaining national attention on the Sonny and Cher show. They sold fairly well in both Europe and America and became part of the disco look in the mid '70s. This proved to be the downfall of bell-bottoms.

Yes, you can wear bell-bottoms to the office as well. Pair them with a cool blazer to keep the ensemble polished.

Bells are meant to drag or hit the ground and with this comes some natural distressing. This means cutting is perfectly fine! Many of our bell bottoms are made with around a 34" inseam intentionally for easy cutting to length. Here's how to cut and maintain the bell shape!

A turtleneck is a great top to style with your flare jeans. Going for simple ones is a great idea as it allows your jeans to stand out. It also balances the look well since the jeans are wide around the legs. Christy (above) wore her black turtleneck top with a pair of simple flare jeans.

When did bell bottoms go out of style? ›

By 1999, flare jeans had come into vogue among women, which had a wider, more exaggerated flare than boot-cuts. The boot-cut style ended up dominating the fashion world for 10 years. By around 2006, the bell-shaped silhouette started to fade as the skinny jean rose in popularity.

The flared trouser supposedly has it origins in the US Navy, with American sailors being the the first to adopt bell-bottomed trousers as early as 1817. They went for wide legs, due to the practicality of being able to roll up the legs when scrubbing the deck and easing removal when wet.

They were officially adopted by the British Royal Navy mid-century and were, at the time, an easy bottom option to roll up for practicality. A century later, the bell bottoms gained in popularity thanks to the hippie culture of the 1960s and 70s, worn with a range of heeled shoes from clogs to boots set on Cuban heels.

Try to pick wide leg dress pants but not bell bottoms. Avoid any skin-tight pants because it is not professional. Shirts should be a pencil shirt or an A-line skirt because it looks flattering and nice for the office. Try to go with subtle prints or solids, and dark colors are still better.

Chunky Boots with Flare Jeans

In ankle or calf height form, heeled or not, chunky boots work great with flare or bell bottom jeans. Especially the trendy ones with a high lug sole and similar aesthetically to combat boots that are THE trending boots of the 2022 season.

You're going to want to steer clear of jeans in most Business Casual settings—and that means all jeans. Blue, black, brightly colored, floral patterned, and so on. Your company might have a Casual Day, but even then, you'll most likely want to stick to clean, solid-wash jeans that don't have any holes or rips.

1. Flares Were First Worn by American Sailors. Like many of the best fashion items, flares were originally worn for completely practical reasons. It's thought that British and American sailors first wore bell-bottomed trousers in the 19th century because it made it easier to snag a man who had fallen overboard.

The U.S. Navy designed bell-bottoms for sailors as the wide legs of the pants made it easy to grab them in case they'd fall overboard; the trousers were also easier to remove should they get wet.

Bell-bottoms, pants with legs that become wider below the knee, were an extremely popular fashion trend during the late 1960s and 1970s. The belled or flared legs on bell-bottom pants were originally a functional design, worn by those who worked on boats since the 17th century.