Women's Pants

Rise and leg line together decide how a pair of women's pants reads, and they are worth settling before anything else. Leggings and skinny pants stay against the leg the whole way down, while straight cut pairs hold a single width from hip to hem. Cropped styles stop the leg short above the ankle to show it. Wide leg, bootcut and flared pants all open out instead, the last two only below the knee.

The cloth and the waistband then set the tone. Jeans run from rigid denim that moulds with wear to stretch weaves that give from the first hour; dress pants take suiting and hold a pressed line, with tapered pairs narrowing quietly toward the hem. Sweatpants and joggers use a drawcord or elastic waist, utility pants add patch and cargo pockets, and cotton twill, ponte and crepe cover most of the ground between.