Women's Wide Leg Pants

Wide leg pants keep roughly the same width the whole way from the hip to the hem, with no taper at the knee or ankle the way a straight or slim pant has. The leg opening alone can run 22 to 26 inches around, close to double a fitted straight leg, and that extra cloth is what gives the style its full, sweeping look.

Fabric decides whether that width flows or stands still. A soft crepe or viscose drapes in long vertical folds that move with every step and skim rather than cling. A stiffer cloth like twill or heavy cotton holds the same width away from the body in a more architectural block, which can look sharp when pressed and boxy when it is not. Neither fabric is wrong; they simply produce two different versions of the same silhouette.

Hem length matters more here than on almost any other pant, because there is so much fabric that has to land somewhere. A hem cut even half an inch too long pools on the floor and drags under your heel with every step, picking up dirt and fraying faster than a shorter pair ever would. The ideal hem just grazes the top of the shoe, which means trying the pants on with the actual shoes you plan to wear before any hemming happens.

Tailored trousers narrow slightly at the ankle and hold a pressed crease down the center of the leg, a line that wide leg pants are cut too full to hold. Culottes share the same wide leg but stop well above the ankle, between the knee and the calf, which is the whole difference between the two styles; lengthen a pair of culottes and you arrive at wide leg pants. A paperbag waist can pair with either leg shape, since its gathering happens only at the top.

A wide leg balances broad shoulders and hides the leg shape entirely, which suits anyone who wants comfort without looking loose. Shorter frames should watch the rise and the hem together, since too much fabric above and below the waist can overwhelm a smaller frame; a higher rise and a heel usually fix it. Press a crisp fabric with the pants inside out to protect the surface, and hang softer drape fabrics rather than folding them, since a fold line across that much cloth is hard to steam out.