How to wear wide-leg trousers, the shape of the season

This season trousers come super-sized. For spring, swap out your skinny trousers for the spacious, cooler silhouette of wide-leg trousers. Don’t ditch your skinnies altogether, of course, but if you want a more laid-back, chic look that can work for the office and weekend too, billowing trousers are a fresh option.

At Copenhagen Fashion Week, the vogue among the fashion set were XL strides that filled the front row.

A model presents a creation by Louis Vuitton during a fashion show in Paris, October 1st, 2019. Photograph: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

Get in your style stride with wide-leg trousers

Victoria Beckham has long been a wide-leg aficionado, personally and on the catwalk, and included several pairs in her spring 2020 collection. She also opted for a sophisticated Oxblood pair to take her bow after the show. Elsewhere on the runways, they came in everything from high-waisted flared styles at Louis Vuitton to slouchy, mannish fit as part of a trouser suit at Gabriela Hearst. Gucci, Chloe and Celine, all have churned out wide-leg hits this season too. The message is clear: billowing trews are the quintessential look of the season.

Not just reserved for tall, willowy types, wide-leg trousers are actually easier to wear than you might assume, and they come with lots of style positives including a perception of leg-lengthening .

The key to the roomy style is symmetry. Opt for a cut with a high waist, and a hem just wider than a boot cut, to avoid being swamped by too much fabric.

Wide-leg shapes cut from the knee look a little too throwback; a more modern choice is the straight up-and-down silhouette, or slightly flared from the hip.

Keep things streamlined up top. Tucking in is advised, and you can add heels if you feel like you need the increment in height. For extra elongation, or if you are on the petite side, look for styles etched with a horizontal stripe or a crisp front crease that creates a line and draws the eye up and down.

Slotting into your work and weekend wardrobe rotations, worn with a fitted knit, blouse or part of a suit, wide-leg trousers are perfect for work. Off-duty, they will work with a thick-sole style trainer – just ensure the hem drops cleanly, rather than bunching or dragging on the ground.

Shoes to wear with wide-leg trousers

Pointed courts that stylishly peek out from under the trouser, platform pumps, sleek ankle boots, and heeled sandals are good choices for wide-leg trousers.