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Tall boots are a great shoe option for the skinny pant.
(Sara Dahlquist)
Pants, it seemed, usedto come in one or two general styles. Now whether you're looking for dress pants ordenim, you're faced with a sea of options.
With all those options it'sdifficult enough to find a pair of pants that fit. But then you're hit with thedilemma of what shoe goes with them. Check out thesetips on which shoe style you should wear with what pants.
The Skinny
It's not only denim thatcomes in "skinny" anymore. Dress pants now come in skinny styles as well. Whetheryou're buying denim or dress pants, the fit is going to be snug, similar to a legging.They should fit right next to your body and at first, may even feel a littleuncomfortably tight. These stylesof pants usually have a great deal of stretch to them. When that stretch warms to your bodytemperature, it releases a bit giving you a comfortable and flexible fit. The biggest mistake women make is purchasinga pair that fit comfortably when they first put them on. When they warm and release, you are left with a saggy pair of skinnies, which are not cute or flattering.
Buy skinnies that are as longas possible, preferably to the tops of your feet since your legs will look as long as your pants are.
The most common choice offootwear for a skinny pant is a boot or bootie because the tightfit allows you to wear a boot over them with comfort. I have found, though, that there really isn'ta shoe style that doesn't work with the skinny. As long as you're choosing ashoe that's flattering to your foot and to your outfit, rock it.
The Straight
The straight leg pant isusually the choice for those that want a slimmer cut but don't want to go all the way to skinny.The straight leg should just skim your body and hug your tush a little.
The hem of the straight legshould hit at the top of your foot.An inch or two of extra fabric isn't bad but anything more than that andyou risk your pants looking frumpy and ill fitting. The point of the straight leg is to slim andelongate your leg so you want that line to go as long as it can without poolinginto a mess of fabric around your ankles.
If you're a lover of flatsthen this is the pant style that is best suited for your look. The slim cut of the pant will not overwhelm asimple pair of ballet flats or a pointy toe d'orsay. I love the elegance of aheel with a straight leg pant as well. Your legs can look a million miles longif you have the right fit.
Beware of pairing yourstraight leg pants with a tall boot or ankle bootie with an opening circumferencethat's wider than your ankle. In this case the opening of your pant usually equalsthe opening of your pant hem so tucking in your jeans to a bootie will lookmessy and your hem isn't wide enough to fit over the shoe. When I see someone trying to fit their straight leg pants into a pairof booties, I see a fashion fauxpas. One way to resolve this is to roll up the leg of your pant so hithits an inch or two above the top of the bootie, exposing the smallest part of your ankle.
Also one of the biggestmistakes I see women doing is tucking their straight leg pants inside a tallboot. This looks sloppy and doesn'tflatter. For your pant to be boot friendly it needs to fit snugly down thewhole leg, especially at the knee, such as the skinny pant.
The Bootcut
The bootcut is a flatteringstyle of pant. I was excited when they started to offer it in more styles thandenim.
The leg of a bootcut should fitsnug to the knee, then right below the knee should flare out to the tops ofyour toes.
The hem is the most importantpart of your fit. You want it to fall to where your toe meets your foot. Thismeans that if you wear a taller heel you'll need a longer pant.
For shoes, you should wear a shoe that has a minimum of a 2-inch heel or platform. The heighthelps to allow the bell of the hem to fall and perfectly skim the tops of yourtoes and not drag on the ground.
Avoid a flat. Most oftenyou'll have a pool of fabric around your ankles and the back of the hem willdrag on the ground. This just isn't taking full advantage of what a bootcutstyle can do for your legs.
The Ankle Length
This is a hot trend right nowand a flattering one, which means it will become a classic (if it flatters, itwill never go out of style). There areso many styles of ankle length pants. They can come in skinny, straight, taperedand many more. There are always exceptions to the rule, yet the most flattering cutwill always come in at the ankle instead of flaring at the bottom.
The ankle pant should hitright at the top of your ankle so your beautiful ankle is exposed. Any longer and you're wearing a cropped pant. Any shorter, you're wearing a capri.
If you have the right fit youcan't go wrong with your shoe selection because just about anything goes withwell fitting ankle pants; flats, pumps, sandals. If your pants arefitted enough you can even wear your tall boots over them.
I do suggest that if you are wearing an ankle bootie that you make sure you're showing from 1 to 2 inches of skin between the top of your bootie and the hemof your pants. It's important to seethat break to get the full effect of the ankle length silhouette.
To sum it up, you want toavoid excess pooling of fabric around your ankle, avoid any dragging of yourpants on the ground or high waters. The goal is to have your pants work withyour shoes so the visual line of your leg looks as long, lean and sleek aspossible.
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Sara Dahlquist is a personalstylist in Portland. Learn more style tips on her website www.dahlstyle.com.
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