There are a lot of differing opinions out there about ankle pants.
Let me start by saying I may actually be in the minority here. I don’t believe an ankle pant should be close to capris-length (just below the knee), but I also don’t believe the ankle pant should sit just at/above the ankle because if you are taller than 5’5 it makes you look like you accidentally bought your pants a smidge too short.
So here are my rules on how to buy and style ankle pants with the realization it is very different based on where you are wearing them.
1. Office ankle pants?
My answer is yes. I have a pair of navy and black ankle pants I wear to the office. I pair them with an untucked blouse, narrow blazer, and heels (not platforms, don’t make your feet look clunky in an ankle pant). You can also pair them with structured ballet flats, ala Audrey Hepburn, with a pretty blouse and scarf.
I love these looks:
2. Other places for ankle pants?
You can go from a brunch to date night with an ankle pant depending on styling. For brunch think of a pretty blouse or simple sweater, cool necklace/scarf and strappy sandals or adorable flats. For date night, pair high heeled sandals with a sexy blouse, and add a sweater or moto jacket to throw over it in case it’s cool.
3. Where should you buy ankle pants now?
These are my favorite and they are less than $100 – the moonbeam color is gorgeous and they’re skinny but not too skinny and they fall straight down rather than taper:
These are definitely not for work but they would be a fun look for weekends:
I love how these are narrow and give you a good benchmark for how to shop for shapes and style:
I’m not an only Nordstrom girl so here are a couple of other options. I looked at several places but some have very “long” ankle pants (like Ann Taylor) which don’t fit my rule to look like you were intentional about buying them cropped, but these from The Limited might work if you’re tall (otherwise they’d be too long):
My girlfriend sent me these, and I’m ambivalent. They are the right length but they look like they may taper; narrowing pants can be a bad look on a body with slim ankles but not super slim middle. You can’t beat the price at Target though:
4. Can everyone wear ankle pants?
More of you can wear ankle pants than you’d think. However, these pants are not universally flattering. One, if you are short, ankle pants make you look shorter. Two, if you have thicker ankles, these can serve to amplify their look. Other than those two categories, others should be willing to give ankle pants a try and play with the styling that flatters your figure the most. The key is to focus on your footwear since it will be highlighted in a much more significant way than with your typical pants or jean pairing.
So, what’s your take on ankle pants? Do you wear them to work? At all?
Photos courtesy of Corporette, Teach4TheHeart, EveryDayFashion, Redbook, BridgetteRaes, WhoWhatWear