EDITOR'S WEEKLY PANTS ROUTINE

Seven Days, Seven Pairs. The Editor’s Weekly Pants Routine

Still standing in front of the closet wondering what pants to wear today?

Good news, you’ve come to exactly the right place.

 

We shop too much to still have nothing to wear.

 

Here it is, the editor’s weekly pants routine, seven days and seven ways.

Monday: Starting the Week Straight

 

The sun has risen, the week has started.

Monday requires something to push against, and for me that something always arrives as clothes. Specifically, it starts with ironing a pair of straight-leg trousers. There was a time I grabbed whatever was on top of the pile and ran, but somewhere along the way flattening the creases turned into flattening my own head. Mondays especially, my hand goes straight to straight-leg denim. I picture a woman who is very good at her job and slightly intimidating about it, then try to wear my way into being her. Kate Moss, Dakota Johnson, Nicole Kidman, all doing plain denim that somehow still has a pulse.

 

©vogue.fr, ©GETTY IMAGES

 

The formula: crisp shirt or blouse, jacket or coat over the top, something pointed on your feet, flats or ankle boots. Loose up top, straight through the leg, sharp at the toe, and you’ve arrived as a city woman who has plans.

 

©@alexachung, ©vogue.com

 

Personally I’m in it for the tension. Not the airless cling of a skinny, not the surrender of something slouchy, just the right amount of hold. Clothes you leave the house in should feel like clothes you decided on, which is also the only thing keeping my brain tethered on a day it would very much like to float off.

 

Tuesday Is for RED RED

 

We’re calling it now: red pants are coming for all of us. The thing that kept stopping me in FW26 was red trousers, and full disclosure, I have been hunting red with a slightly unwell intensity for months. I’ve already written about wanting a red bag. My closet is approximately 90% black, so nothing does more work than RED RED, adding color while quietly topping up the fire my saju is apparently missing.

Which is how OUR LEGACY’s bootcut entered my life. Gentle low rise, proper bootcut, perfect. (SS27, so I’m simply going to have to wait, patiently, like an adult. 👉🏻👈🏻)

 

OUR LEGACY SS27, TOM FORD SS27 ©vogue.com, ©fashionsnap.com

 

The cheat code for red pants is black and red.

Everything black on top, red as the only loud thing in the outfit. The color keeps its presence and you avoid looking like you tried unreasonably hard. Black jacket or leather outerwear takes it sharper, black knit or tee takes it to Tuesday.

 

©GETTY IMAGES, ©pinterest

 

Tuesday, we go red.

 

Wednesday: Legs for Days

 

I have a new person I’m copying wholesale: Cosima Gadient, one of the directors at OTTOLINGER.

I like anything that makes legs look longer, and a few weeks ago I was scrolling reels and fell properly in love with the way she dresses. I have screenshotted her outfits so aggressively that the folder is past ten and climbing.

 

(left) The bootcut and high-top combination I would like to steal from her person. ©side-note.com, ©@ottolinger

(left) ©facesmag.com,(right) ©side-note.com

 

How to become her: short on top, high-rise bootcut below, high-tops with a heel or a platform underneath.

 

Wednesday I want to put all that on and stride around the city on the longest legs money can buy. She pours her own taste directly into the brand, and once you know that and go back through the collections, you start wondering whether anyone does a bootcut better. So yes, I’m looking at OTTOLINGER again.

 

OTTOLINGER FW26 ©vogue.com, ©GETTY IMAGES

 

OTTOLINGER describes it plainly: “The Ottolinger woman is loud when she wants to be, quiet when she wants to be and never apologizes for either.” Queen behavior. When the director and the brand are both saying things I like, I end up with the collections open in a tab. 👀

 

Thursday: In Praise of the Split

 

Some days you want exactly one interesting thing happening in your outfit, and Thursday’s answer is split pants. The flare parts just enough to show your shoe with every step, which is the entire point.

MIU MIU did a pile of them this season, and they talked me out of quitting my job. I’ve just cleared a year, so the severance is technically sitting there, but walking out requires more arithmetic than that. Adulthood. Truly. Then these trousers appeared and I quietly agreed to stay a few more months. There’s a lot I have to buy and a lot I want to buy. ❤️🩹💸

 

MIU MIU FW26 ©vogue.com

 

They come in wool and nylon and the two are completely different animals. The wool is soft and tidy, calm next to a knit or a jacket. The nylon is light and goes bright with something sporty. The split lets the hem spill over your shoes so every step adds a tiny bit of rhythm to the outfit. Flats to keep it plain, a heel for the long sharp version. MIU MIU GIRL, it me. 💕

 

©vogue.com

 

The legging-tight split is also tempting. The opening at the hem stretches the leg and makes a very ordinary legging outfit look like a decision. Oversized jacket or a big knit on top and you’ve got comfortable and intentional in the same look.

 

Acne Studios FW26 ©GETTY IMAGES, ©vogue.com

Friday: Cargo Pants, Because I Refuse to Carry a Bag

 

I’m sorry, but is this EDWARD CUMING look not perfect. I want it precisely as shown. The move is the heel against a slouchy, enormous-pocketed utility cargo, and that mismatch has had me lately. Friday evening plans mean I want both hands free and absolutely no bag, so cargos with functional pockets are non-negotiable.

 

©@edward.cuming

 

Khaki and beige cargos in particular are calm, good-looking, and get along with every color in the vicinity. Add a heel and the relaxed thing picks up a little tension. Add a colored bag or accessory and there’s your accent.

 

©@maina

 

With that loose cargo silhouette, pick a top that’s fitted or short enough to show the waist and the proportions handle themselves. A balancing act, basically. Get the hem falling naturally onto the shoe, put one clear color on either the top or the feet but never both, and the whole thing reads considerably tidier.

 

©GETTY IMAGES

 

Mixing something comfortable with something dressed up is a pleasure I am only now properly understanding. I need to wear this out and take an unreasonable number of photos before it gets cold.

 

The Weekend: Dressing for Someone Else

 

Even when it isn’t a date, having plans with someone makes me think about how they dress. I’ll slip a color or a detail into my usual outfit that might sit nicely beside theirs. Choosing clothes with another person in mind is a small joy that happens before you’ve even left the house.

Scrolling paparazzi photos of Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi recently, I thought: ah, so this is what no swag gap means. Both in sunglasses, trouser colors and silhouettes lining up, the whole tone matching without looking matchy. Devastatingly cute. (ㅠㅠ♡)

 

@natjefff | kareyyyyy

 

They’re quiet luxury people so it’s all minimal and clean. The thing I noticed is that they’re both in black trousers constantly. The most basic item anyone owns, and they both go straight-leg to work with those long lean frames. The plainer the piece, the more the fit has to actually match your body and your taste. Know your proportions, find the black trouser that does the most for your leg line.

 

©@deuxmoi

 

Black pants are, let’s be honest, a bottomless pit. I like a wide silhouette with some detail on it, and there’s one I’m currently waiting on, which means visiting the brand site daily like it owes me money. GUCCI FW26 is also stacked with black trousers in every possible silhouette, so go look if you’re even slightly interested. 🖤

 

GUCCI FW26 RTW ©vogue.com, ©@haileybieber

Demna’s black trouser heaven GUCCI FW26 ©vogue.com ©vogue.com

 

Anyway, back to the start. Matching a color or a detail to the mood of the day is genuinely fun. Texting “what’s the dress code today?” before you meet, wondering what the other person is going to turn up in, all of it makes you look forward to it more.

Friendship or love, the good part of a plan starts while you’re still deciding what to wear.

Editor: Kim Nayoung