A tall-ish girl’s defense of short pants

Defense of short pants | ourguidetotheeveryday.com

(Image via Madewell)

“Why don’t pants go all the way down to the floor anymore?” was the investigation done by The Hairpin the other week. I found this article via A Cup of Jo and I was smiling and nodding in agreement the whole way through…until I stopped to think about the day the fashion gods decide that pants need to start touching the floor again. No. Please, no.

I agree with the author that this ankle-baring trend can be impractical. I think anyone (i.e. everyone) who has ever felt a chill knows that short pants, come winter especially, are a crazy idea. In spite of this, the trend has been popular for years. I have pinned many an outfit like this. I think 90% of the pins on our Fashion board are of ankle-baring pants. (I’ve also seen pictures of many committed fashion-y people wearing parkas, but baring their ankles. Please, tell me, what does the temperature need to be for this kind of outfit?)

So, while I wholeheartedly agree with the author, and despite the impracticality of short pants come winter, I never ever ever want this trend to go away. And if it does? Well, I’m hoping if floor grazing pants come in style again I’ll have the strength to ignore the trend and stay firmly in 2017.

Why do I love these impractical short pants? I am traumatized by a growth spurt and flare jeans of the late 90s. For those of you who do not remember: in the late 90s clothing was more expensive (fast fashion was coming, but is nothing like it is today) and more clothing was made out of cotton (I don’t have a statistic for that statement, but I feel like everything has polyester in it these days, yes?). I had about two pairs of pants that I thought were fashionable enough to grace my legs during high school and they would often be thrown in the dryer and shrink. As a result, my lovely flares would hover an inch or so above the ground. This, I thought at the time, was the lamest look ever. And, then, when I sat down…this is almost painful to type: they would ride up my legs and the flare would sit mid-calf. The horror. I spent a lot of time tugging on my pant legs and hiding my legs under desks. Teenage me found this very stressful.

When the skinny jean trend came in my 20s I was so relieved. No longer did I need to search for pants with a long inseam and hem them (I’m tall, but not that tall, so often ‘tall’ pants would be too long). If skinny jeans are a bit short, it’s not very obvious. And now? When slightly shrunken pants are in style? Even though there are many other annoying aspects of fit and style to think about (gaping at the waist, too narrow in the legs, sagging at the crotch, to name a few), length is not one of them and, for that, I am grateful.

So, what to do when the weather gets cold? I’ve embraced Chelsea boots and an exposed sock and that seems to take care of the problem. (This pic is my inspiration.) Does no one remember the chill of a soaking wet pant leg from their flares dragging in the snow (not to mention the salt stains)? I do. And I don’t miss it. Long live the short pant.

Christina

ankle length pants | ourguidetotheeveryday.com

 

3 Replies to “A tall-ish girl’s defense of short pants”

  1. For those of us who are shorter, the long pants do make us look taller:-)

    1. Good point – I can certainly appreciate that!

  2. […] wear a plain pair of trousers to work? I like narrower ankle-length trousers (I’ve already written too much about that), because they work whether I wear boots with a bit of a heel or ballet flats […]

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