Stripe pants for Spring.

Every new season there’s a trend or two which captures the collective imagination of the fashionista crew. This spring it happens to be stripe pants which, by chance, I absolutely love any old season. My obsession started at a young age when my mum bought me some (perhaps on reflection more Andy Pandy-esque stripe pants) and I thought I was the bee’s knees. Fast forward to today, and I’ve seen them slowly appearing in store and in mags, and I for one am ready to embrace the look, Andy Pandy references and all.

J.Crew stripe pants, Me + Em knit, Cult Gaia bag, Massimo Dutti sunnies, Sam Edelman sneakers

These particular stripe pants I finally snaffled up from J.Crew. I stalked them from afar via Net-a-Porter chucking them in and out of my virtual basket – hubs is on fiscal prudence mode, so shopping in our house has diminished of late. But then I tried them while scooting around Brompton Cross (have you shopped there? Check out our mini shopping guide with Donna Ida here), and I couldn’t resist any longer. Here I’ve paired them with a Me + Em knit and Sam Edelman sneakers. These particular stripe pants are a little harem orientated, but nothing so baggy as makes you feel like the crotch is giving you rapper status – if anything the drop crotch makes them easier to travel in with extra comfort points.

For us shorties, the striped pant is a fab friend. With leg-lengthening magic, you can make like a tall bird… if only in your head. Pair with simple accessories – I love the current trend for monochrome to keep things simple and let the trousers do the talking. For summer I quite like a relaxed drawstring vibe, but there’s also plenty of paper bag (i.e. tie waist) stripe pants out there too. Look for lightweight fabrics like cotton, silk and linen which will give you warm weather wearing capabilities and a cropped length also works with either a wide leg or a tapered finish. Just remember with crop pants to ensure that the hemline sits at the skinny and most flattering part of the ankle and not at a chunky calf point to avoid cankle trauma.

I tend to wear my stripe pants with flats like sneakers, but you could easily work them for date night by simply adding some heels. They are a versatile beast so grab a pair and have fun with your styling.

Stripe Pants… where to shop.

So where to snap up your stripe pants this season? The answer is that they are available pretty much everywhere from high street to high end. Here are some of our faves out there right now… click the images to shop.