trousers

Puddle pants: possibly the best nickname for a cut of trousers since Alexander McQueen brought us his low-slung bumsters.

Where’s the puddle? It’s created by the trouser hems that are left extra-long to pool on the floor. Perhaps not the trouser of choice when it’s raining, but otherwise a clear win for those of us who were not blessed with giraffe-like proportions: this is one style of trouser that will never need the hems taking-up.

And contrary to popular belief, baggy trousers won’t make you look shorter. You just need to get the proportions right, but we’ll get to that later.

So, why puddle pants now? Because they are the polar opposite of all that’s been before – the tight and skinny, the chunkily cropped. Although fairly classic in style, these baggy trousers come with intentional extra length, and because of that they do look altogether new. And at first, also slightly wrong.

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Take Balenciaga’s super-baggy low crotch jeans: hems scrape the floor and they’re so thoroughly oversized it’s a wonder they stay up. With a nod to the 90s, they fall low on the hips, and their bagginess is such that they resemble an A-line skirt.

But it’s a look that’s bound to grow on you, as new fashions tend to do. Bootlegs, skinny cuts, mom jeans – what starts as a fashion challenge soon morphs into everyday normal when you see it worn frequently. Of course, the fashionistas are undaunted. Puddle pants have been swiftly adopted.