Eclectic Trousers

Fall's wild and wacky printed pants

A girl cannot live without her pants each season. Whether it’s her most comfortable pair of boyfriend jeans or her simple yet chic drainpipe trousers for work, a pair of pants is and always will be our best friends. Trousers allow us to move and their main function is their practicality. But why not turn things around and try something different this upcoming fall by wearing them in a super loud and outrageous print? Throw function out the window – let’s just embrace the fact that we love anything that is exciting to look at. When the weather turns drab and we’re feeling kind of gloomy, nothing shakes our spirits alive more than a wild print that keeps the eye moving.

At Dries van Noten, trousers were all the rage. Some were baggy at the top and low-slung, some were boxy and straight, and some were pin-thin at the bottom. The most notable trousers were in sleek silhouettes and covered in light-reflecting fabrics that felt hypnotic and 3D. The prints and textures were somewhat like looking through a kaleidoscope; definitely unexpected and far from boring.

Rachel Comey had a pair in a similar style, but it was covered in a repeating wallpaper pattern amped up in an electric hue. She even had a cropped length version of these trousers that flowed freely around the ankles. When going for a cropped trouser, choose a silky fabric so that it drapes softly and whimsically. And because the length is shorter, there is a little less fabric to work with, which means you can go doubly wild with the prints; the crazier, the better.

Make your trousers the center of attention! Don’t be afraid to mix prints and create eclectic pattern combinations. Loose fit trousers covered in a vintage chevron pattern look amazing paired with a flirty floral blouse. Slim cut trousers in light-reflecting, space-age fabrics are out of this world. To make them look more avant-garde chic than robotic space machine, wear them with a mixed watercolor hued tank top.

These combinations may not make sense, but that is exactly the point. Nonsensicalness is the theory behind the genius of the patterned trouser. Just pick a print that catches your eye and wear it! It shows that you have experimental guts, and this means a lot in the fashion world. Patterned trousers are already outrageous on their own; so why not go all the way with this trend?

Published June 21, 2010 on LVCMag.com