Women's Wide-Leg Jumpsuit

Volume below the hip is what you are buying. Leg openings on a true wide-leg one-piece measure roughly 20 to 26 inches around at the hem, cut from a high rise so the width starts at the thigh rather than the knee. Standing still, the two legs read as one column and the garment passes for a long dress. Walking splits them apart, which is the whole visual trick.

Drape does the work, so fabric is not decoration here. Crepe, viscose and heavier satin fall in soft vertical folds and keep the column closed. By comparison, stiff cotton pushes the legs apart and turns the same pattern into two flags. Most versions set the waist seam high, at or above your natural waist, because a high seam is what makes the leg look long. Weight then creates the one problem the style cannot design away. All that cloth hangs from your shoulders, so a heavy fabric slowly drags the crotch down over a long evening and a light one stays where you put it.

Set it beside the culotte jumpsuit and the difference is a single decision about the hem, since that style takes the same width and stops it below the knee to free your ankles. A tailored jumpsuit narrows the leg and hands the shape to darts and pressed creases instead. Wide-leg pants worn with a matching top get within a few feet of the effect and let you buy two sizes, which is the reason to choose separates. Compared with a maxi dress, you gain stairs, bikes and wind resistance and lose the ability to visit a bathroom quickly.

Hem length makes or breaks it, so choose the shoe before the alteration. Leave about half an inch of clearance in the shoe you will actually wear: more than that shows the shoe and stops the column, and less drags the back hem on every curb. Petite frames can wear this, though only with the hem taken up and some heel inside, since shortening the length leaves the width untouched. Inspect the back hem for scuffing after a few wears, hang it from the shoulders on a padded hanger. Steam rather than press the leg so the folds stay soft.