A. It's all about the stylish proportion of the new crop of cropped pants which makes them a must-have rather than a has been! If you have continuously worn pleated slacks and your eyes bug out reading this while you pop to attention thinking that you are rather in fashion at the moment, sit back, you are probably not. Style is in the nuance not the humdrum.



Cropped pants have been getting a bad fashion rap for a while mostly because the loitering style-less versions of those hacked-off, and sometimes pleated, chinos worn with ankle crew socks and white monster sneakers that have proliferated the wardrobes of stylishly impaired women for years as an alternative to their other dreary wardrobe staple-- Mom jeans.

These pants are NOT them.

Taper has been a fashion no-no for so long, but the right taper is soooo chic. The modern cropped style of pants have an 80's vintage feel but have a fuller leg which drapes to a narrowed taper above your ankle, below your calf. Stopping right smack at your calf would only make your legs look dumpy.

Yes, sometimes, these pants even have pleats that give way to a baggier, yet well-cut volume. Ankle rolled hems are another cropped pant alternative, particularly in the new boyfriend jean. There are even Zouave pants and Hammer-time pants that have taken a way to trickle back into fashion since Mark Jacobs first introduced them a few seasons ago” not so sure that it is a good thing but the Europeans love them!

In balance with the pant's fullness are jackets with wider shoulders, even slight shoulder pads. The waist is best left cinched. The most important style element are the shoes! The new full cropped pants work best when worn with a platform shoe or bootie that has a sharp, stacked architectural heel and not a slinky stiletto.

Now, about those pleats... pleats always come with the caveat that they are not hiding a belly, but merely adding extra volume.

Wear then right and win big on style. Think you have the look buried in your closet and off to the soccer game you go!

--November 19, 2008