I sometimes watch those “fashion for women over 50” videos on YouTube. They’re very clickbaity with titles like “Avoid these styles that are instantly aging you.” A few weeks ago, I watched a video (below) where an influencer around my age called Angela Masson said to avoid capri pants. She conceded that they’re great for hot weather, but pointed out that it’s more fashionable to wear something like a t-shirt dress or sundress. She made a great point that dresses are both easier to wear and style than capris. After watching that I stopped wearing capris, especially my jean capris because they’re kind of dippy and I wasn’t sold on them anyway. They cut your leg off in a weird way and they can look too “cutesy.” Maybe I can break out my capris again though, because they’re said to be back in for summer. Emma Stone and Reese Witherspoon have been wearing them recently. The timeless fashion icon of our hearts, Princess Diana, wore capris and that’s all the convincing I need. I read this article on Today and am quoting them, but multiple fashion blogs like Refinery and Who What Wear have articles on the great capri comeback.
The last time I wore capri pants, it was the early 2000s and I was a gawky teenager (shamelessly) strutting down the halls of my high school. Fast forward to summer 2024: what’s old is new again. From the streets of New York City to high fashion runways, capri pants have made a bold resurgence this season, but what’s the reasoning behind this new (and improved) fad?
According to celebrity stylist and bestselling author of Dressing Up: Pip’s Truly Fashionable Tale Samantha Brown, “many models and influencers have been sporting capri pants for the last few months which has trickled down to mainstream shoppers,” she explains. “Predictably, capri pants are flattering on models with long and lean body types. They are difficult to style as the cropped length and tight fit tends to cut off the line of your legs,” she shares.
Liz Teich, who is the fashion stylist behind The New York Stylist, says it’s no surprise capris are back as more and more nostalgic trends are at the forefront of fashion. “While capris felt dated for a bit, we’re seeing a lot of the styles from the late ’90s to early 2000s pop up again, so it’s only natural that they’re making a comeback as well,” Teich suggests.
Unlike this author, as I’ve admitted I wore capri pants up until recently. They’re easy and less hot than full length jeans (and I sometimes still wear skinnies, but I’ve cut way back I swear). There’s definitely a difference between capri jeans and linen capris or legging capris. Jeans are less forgiving, style-wise, and clam digger jeans can look goofy. Everyone should wear what they want, but I want to look in style somewhat and not seem clueless. Also there’s a difference between what a celebrity can get away with and how the rest of us can dress. One hill I will die on, though, is that cargo pant capris are very rarely flattering.
I’m linking these cargo capris to their Amazon listing but I don’t cosign them!
These are a little nicer looking in that they’re more athleisure.
I also dig these wide-legged capris, but I’m not rushing out to buy any of these, you know? If I want to wear capris I’ll make due with what’s already in my wardrobe.
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