Style how-to: Culottes and Gauchos for work and play
Elsa Schiaparelli, the italian designer who is credited with the use of shocking pink, coloured zippers on dresses, embroidered shirts, wrapped turbans, pompom-rimmed hats, the “wedge” heel, has also to her credit the creation of the culottes, which she wore in 1931 and shocked everyone. (More on this innovative, bold designer’s story, read here).
Culottes or Gauchos, Gauchos or culottes…???
For general information, let’s clarify the difference between Gauchos and Culottes.
While Culottes are knee-length, divided skirts, Gauchos end slightly mid-calf or just below and don’t look so much like a skirt but cropped pants. However, the terms are used interchangeably and that works just fine.
So Culottes are back and these part skirt, part pants are not only practical but look very chic too. Especially good news for ladies who would like to give their trouser routine a change, so here are some style ideas that you should give a try.
1. For formal workwear: A culotte suit for work wear looks smart when paired with a shirt and jacket. Been seeing some polished versions of these around in CBD. Professional women always face the dilemma of working out how to look powerful without looking too manly. Here is how – Victoria Beckham is a favorite style icon and we love how she does it, slightly androgynous and powerful without loosing the femininity.
2. For business casual: Since work wear in Singapore tends to be business casual, you can choose a basic top and skip the jacket. However, since freezing cold offices are always a concern, swap the jacket for a light cardigan.
3. Smart casual styles: Nothing like a smart pair of culottes paired with a stylish top. Some example below for daytime smart casual inspiration. The cool, smart overall look speaks for itself.
Versatile enough to be worn in the evening, see how these ladies have upped the glamour for a dressy evening look:
4. Casual, relaxed, laid back style ideas: I beleive we could all do with smartening up our casual, weekend wardrobe collection occassionally. Been shopping around for casual, relaxed, pieces but feeling uninspired? Seen below are some trendy ideas to meet your lifestyle needs. When you are going about your daily chores or when you just need to dress a little bit more, to meet the girlfriens for lunch, culottes are perfect.
Inspired enough to buy some? Let’s get you started with some selected pieces below:
Enjoy the trend ! If you would like to find out which one of these styles will suit your body type best, don’t hesitate to drop us a line.