Are Capri Pants Still In Style This Year?
Let’s chat about one of my least favorite garments when summer clothes hit the shelves. Are capri pants still in style this year? The answer depends on who you ask. Many brands still make and market them to midlife women and some women are snapping them up.
So what’s the problem with capri pants? In a word, their length. They are notoriously unflattering and hard to wear stylishly. So let’s dig into this and see how women can wear them in a flattering way.
What Are Capri Pants?
Capri pants are casual, lightweight pants that typically fall between the knee and ankle, most often ending mid-calf. They usually have slim legs and often have useless drawstrings or buttons at the bottom. Capris have gotten such a bad reputation of late that brands now call them everything from skimmers to pedal pushers to crops. Crops differ from capris with a wider leg and are usually almost to the ankle.
Capris exploded on the fashion scene in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Who doesn’t remember them worn by Mary Tyler Moore, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn?
Do Capri Pants Make You Look Older?
They’re certainly not as popular as they once were and will never be a modern way of dressing. If you wear them in the wrong length and in a dated print, they will make you look out of touch and older. You won’t find brands marketing capri pants to women in their 30s and 40s, so by wearing them, you instantly date yourself. Jean capris tend to look most modern. Just beware of their length.
What’s The Best Length For Capris?
Capri pants look most flattering when they stop just below or above the widest part of your calf where your leg indents. Ones that end mid-calf make your legs look shorter and thicker. An inch, one way or the other, can make all the difference in how flattering capri pants can be. For women who need additional leg coverage for varicose veins, opt for longer ones that fall below the calf.
What Shoes Look Best With Capris
Avoid clunky sneakers or heavy shoes with capri pants. They look best with a sandal, low heels, and a lower vamp shoe. Flats can make you feel dumpy, so look for a shoe or sandal with some height, whether it be a flatform, platform, wedge, or low heel. Nude shoes are a great option because they elongate the look of your leg by blending with your skin. Ankle straps should be avoided because they further chop up the look of your leg.
How to wear capri pants
If you adore capri pants and they’re an important part of your summer wardrobe, choose ones that don’t chop your leg at the widest part. The best length for capri pants is below the calf, where your leg begins to narrow to the ankle, or above the calf, where it narrows below the knee. Wear them with lightweight tops and blouses that you can half-tuck or end at upper hip length. Keep jewelry simple and in a smaller scale so it doesn’t overpower the casual vibe.
Who Should Avoid Wearing Capri Pants
Since they shorten the look of your leg, women with long torsos and short legs should avoid them. Petite women will need an even shorter top with capris to avoid cutting their bodies in half. Since they shorten the look of your leg, they’re often best avoided by shorter women. Women with heavy legs should tread carefully with capris because they make them look heavier.
Are you a fan of capri pants, and how do you wear yours?
In my opinion, capris are not flattering period. There are other (better) alternatives for the summer months. Maxi skits, and dresses, ankle pants, summer dresses, wide leg pants and shorts. White jeans are a summer staple for me. I also bought some linen blend pants that are a jogger style. Cool and more flattering than capris. But to each his own
I love them!!! Living in Florida, with the heat and humidity, there is no way I am going to wear a pair of regular length jeans. I wear the Capri jeans. They are very flattering on me and 90% of the women here wear them. I don’t care what anyone says!
I’m right there with you and others Cindy. I’m 68, athletic with nice-looking legs. Capris are fun, and easy to style. I feel good in them and have never thought I looked matronly, and certainly not dowdy, in them–in fact, they can be styled in such an upbeat way that the look feels fresh. Many elements go into making your style more youthful (hair style, jewelry, shoes) so go with what you feel comfortable and confident in.
I recently ditched (donated) my collection of jean capris that fell just below my knee. Not flattering with my heavy (15”) “shapely” calves. I’m 5’5” and have opted for cropped which fall just above or at my ankle.
Jennifer, what about classic sneakers such as Easy Spirit Ap1? I have a pair of white leather ones that work well with no show socks and ankle pants.
I wear white sneakers with ankle pants often. Just be sure the pants don’t get caught on the top of the shoe.
No, no, no to capri pants. They make you look out of style and matronly. If you have to go shorter, do ankle length.
I left capris behind and have instead bought cropped. I think the capris made me look bigger, whereas the cropped are more thinning. I also don’t want to look dated. I don’t follow all trends but this is one that is beneficial.
Here we go again. Something a person likes and wants to wear is off-limits because it makes her look “old” and “dumpy.” I thought fashion “rules” weren’t our master anymore. Ladies, if you like your capris and they help with a problem like veins, don’t chuck them all in the trash because some fadish “rule” says to. I wonder if a one-inch adjustment to a hem is going to fool people into thinking I’m not really old. I am.
These aren’t rules, Kay, they are proportion suggestions. One inch difference in the length of anything won’t effect how old one looks, but it can have an impact on how flattering it looks….regardless of age. It’s all about personal preference and wearing what makes you feel confident.
If someone is confident in her capris, then why question her? The use of words like “dumpy” and “matronly” offend me, quite frankly.
My comments aren’t questioning a woman’s desire to wear capri pants. I’m offering advice on proportion. Dumpy and matronly offends most women, you’re certainly not alone there.
The premise of this post is to help women understand the most visually flattering length to wear them. I don’t wear them but if you do, it’s nice to wear them in a way that helps you look your best.
I also don’t wear shorts, but I’ll share the most flattering way to wear them.
That’s what I do.
I’m 5’3″. I did not know that my children made great fun of a pair of knit capris that I wore frequently in the 90’s. The pants were also loud and the wrong colors for me. So no, don’t do capris, but ankle length pants seem OK. It’s interesting to note that Mary Tyler Moore, Grace Kelly and even Audrey Hepburn who was 5’7″ were all taller, thin women.
Great observation. They were very slim and tall
I bought two pair of what I call capris this season for cooler days. I am 5’2” tall and the petite comes just below my knee so they cover my knee replacement scar and actually fall in the narrow place above my calf. They are white and a pair of tan so are neutral. I wear with a simple Madewell tee or a rayon top with flutter cap sleeves. I am 78 but still have a nice figure all except my waist has thickened so no tucked in tops for me anymore. My husband likes the look and his opinion matters still to me. It gets very hot here in south Colorado front range mountains and very dry. Young women are barely covered top and bottom here and that has never been a look for me. I wear Bermuda shorts most days. I love the look of the floaty linen wide leg pants you wore on Tuesday Jennifer, but I am just too short to carry them off. Crops are full length on me which I prefer to elongate me short slim legs.
I have held onto some favorite slim capris and enjoy wearing them on occasion although I now prefer the wide leg versions. In the 50’s my elderly neighbor would wear pedal pushers with low-heeled pumps when working in her yard. No casual tennis shoes or sandals for her! I will now start taking careful notice of the length of my capris which are cooler than crops and more attractive (to my eye) than shorts.