How to Style Culottes?

Skirts or dresses are the first choice for many beauty-conscious ladies when going out. But maybe you have discovered that sometimes wearing a skirt makes it difficult for you to move. Especially, some slim-fitting skirts will hinder activities such as moving heavy luggage and running to a certain extent.

This way, the chances of wearing skirts are greatly reduced. What should we do? Do not worry anymore! You can choose culottes instead of skirts on certain occasion! Even if you have never tried culottes, you must know that they are pants that are like skirts. So they can satisfy your demand of wearing beautiful skirts at the same time of providing you with convenience while moving and travelling. Maybe you are not very familiar with them, but it doesn’t matter. In this blog today, we will tell you the ways of wearing culottes in a stylish way.

Culottes are in somewhere between wide-leg pants and skirts. Or to put it more simply, they are the phrase at the beginning: pants that look like skirts. To others, you appear to be wearing a skirt. But only you know that this so-called "skirt" has two legs. Others will only notice this when you walk, and when you are still, the culottes look almost the same as skirts.

Culottes were invented in the 16th century. The word “ culottes” comes from French, meaning “shorts”. From the meaning of this word we can know that originally, culottes were much shorter than what we see now, with almost the length of shorts which are above the knees. And as we all know, hundreds of years ago, women could only wear dresses and had no access to all kinds of pants. Therefore, culottes, a kind of fashion item now loved by women, could only be worn by men at that time.

Culottes gradually entered women's wardrobes with the rise of the feminist movement in the 20th century. Women began to make their mark in sports that have long been dominated by men, such as cycling and horseback riding, but it is very inconvenient to do these sports in a dress. Therefore, they urgently need a kind of clothing that is comfortable to wear and can provide convenience for doing sports. It was at this time that culottes entered the field of vision of women, and became a transition from the skirts to pants. In the 1930s, the famous designer Elsa Schiaparelli made culottes for tennis player and famous feminist Lily de Alvarez, in which she caused a sensation at the Wimbledon tournament. After that, culottes disappeared from people’s views for a while, but they have become popular again since the 1990s.

The reason why culottes are so popular is that they have no age limit to a large extent. Women of all ages will look very elegant in them. You can also create different fashion styles with your culottes. Nowadays, the length of culottes has become more diverse. The more common culottes on the market are no longer above the knee like hundreds of years ago, but are now similar to capris or cropped pants in length.

In comparison, culottes are already a kind of versatile garment. They also have a modifying effect on the body shape. However, the premise is that you have to choose the skirt pants that suit you. So, for women with different figure shapes and different needs, how should they choose suitable skirts and pants?

Tall, slender, long-legged girls and women will suit trousers of any style and any length. While ladies with thicker legs or petite figures need to be more careful when choosing bottoms. If you are a petite lady, try to choose high-waisted culottes. They will help to visually lengthen your legs. But don't choose culottes that are too long because they will make your legs look shorter. And for women with plump figures or thicker legs, it is better to choose loose culottes rather than tight ones to modify their figure flaws.

Your choices are also closely related to the season and weather. In summer, choose culottes made of linen, chiffon or silk to keep cool. While in winter, the fabrics such as wool, tweed or denim are better choices to keep warm.

The patterns of culottes also matter. Solid color culottes are already very elegant and fashionable items. But for ladies with thicker legs, they can choose dark colored culottes with vertical stripes, as this helps to make their legs look slimmer.

If your calves are thick, then it is recommended that you choose flared culottes, because flared culottes can easily cover up the calf lines that you are not satisfied with. There are other details for your reference. For example, if you prefer a flowy style, you can choose a culottes covered with tulle. If you like the sweet style, you can choose among culottes with lace.

The occasion you are going to attend will also influence your choice of culottes. For commuting, it is better for you to choose longer culottes, at least not too short ones. However, there is no such requirement on casual occasions. It is also better not to wear culottes with overly fancy patterns when commuting. Darker and simple-style culottes will make you look more reliable and professional, making them more suitable for commuting.

Culottes have long been considered versatile, not only because they are compatible with a wide variety of figure shapes and can go well with nearly all types of tops, but also because they are suitable for many different occasions. But, can you wear culottes on all occasions? Are there any occasions that are not suitable for wearing culottes? In this section, we will take a closer look at the occasions suitable for wearing culottes.

Going on a vacation. Compared to skirts, a prominent advantage of culottes is that they are suitable for travel. In addition, wide and flowing culottes are perfect for wearing on the beach while on vacation. When the sea breeze blows, your culottes will flutter in the wind, which will be very elegant in the photos.

A banquet or a party. Do you have the experience of can not enjoy yourself completely because you were wearing a skirt? What if you want to have fun while keeping elegant? Culottes are exactly your answer! For a party, just choose culottes in casual style, and enjoy yourself!

Commuting. Maybe you are wondering whether culottes are suitable for formal occasions. There is nothing wrong with wearing culottes for commuting. But on more formal occasions such as a business conference, culottes seem to be too casual. And even for commute, do not choose too colorful culottes with too fancy patterns.

Shopping. When shopping, we need to walk for a long time, so skirts may be inconvenient. Culottes combine the beauty of skirts with the comfort of pants, which is both convenient for walking and fashionable.

Outdoor sports. In the last century, culottes entered women's wardrobes largely to facilitate women's sports. And as we mentioned above, the first woman who caused a huge response by wearing culottes was also an athlete. So even now the aesthetic value of culottes has surpassed its practical value, we need to remember that culottes are good choices for outdoor sports such as riding bikes or playing tennis.

It could be said that culottes are very friendly to newcomers of clothes matching, since it is not easy to make a mistake when matching tops with culottes. But if you are too busy to consider over your culottes outfits, we are willing to provide you with several ideas for reference.

A batwing sleeve shirt + a pair of culottes
Despite the opinions of many fashion experts saying that loose clothing must be paired with slim-fitting clothing, we recommend the combination of a batwing sleeve shirt with a pair of culottes. The combination of two loose-fitting garments creates a relaxed and elegant feeling more easily.

A long leather coat + a pair of culottes
If culottes represent elegance, then long leather jackets symbolize sophistication and unrestrainedness. So the two styles are very complementary. If you think culottes are too gentle and tender, balance them with a cool leather coat.

A denim jacket + a pair of denim culottes
Similar to culottes, denim jackets are also very versatile. This outfit is very casual and suitable for shopping or commuting. However, it is better to choose different colors for the denim jacket and denim culottes to create a sense of layering, otherwise your outfit will look like the upper and lower body are merged together.

A plaid jacket + a pair of pleated culottes
If you prefer the classic style, then plaid patterns and pleats are both elements that you can consider. A pair of pleated culottes are exactly like a pleated skirt, which enhance your charm. Together with a plaid jacket, this outfit is classic and eye-catching enough no matter which occasion you are.