Slim trousers with hems just above the ankle are prominent in Spring 2013 designer collections (Prada is my favorite for this look). Above is a gorgeous slim black suit from Dior.
The current issue of In Style Magazine features the slim cropped trouser in silk prints. The trousers look hip and comfortable.
Emma Roberts looks great. I have concerns my legs will be shortened visually with the ankle hem line, but I want to try the look. I started with a black/red/gray patterned silk. Since the silk was thin, I decided the trousers should be underlined with fusible interfacing. Here I fused black interfacing to all trouser panels and marked as needed with white tracing paper.
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| Black fusi-knit interfacing applied to wrong side |
It would be uncomfortable to have the interfacing resting on my skin so I lined the trousers. The interfacing and lining add significantly to the material costs, but what really bothered me was the additional time required for the project. No wonder these trousers are so expensive in stores! I could have constructed three pairs of stretch cotton trousers in the same amount of time.
Here I am matching the pattern across the fronts, side hip yokes, backs, and waistbands.
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| Right Front, Left Front, Left Hip Yoke, and Left Back all matched |
The pants are constructed but for the hem and they hang beautifully. I could sit for hours and these trousers would not wrinkle or crease due to the interfacing. It is time to hem the pants. Here are the trousers with the right leg cropped above the ankle and the left leg just at the ankle.
I'm not particularly happy with either length; I don't look my best. FYI I am 5'7" without shoes. I still like the pants and love the fabric. I decided to lengthen the left leg length one additional inch which is how I normally wear my pants. A longer jacket or different shoes are not bad ideas either. I'm not sorry I tried the cropped look because it's good to challenge your thinking and try new designs. However, I will never ever bother with the look again for the rest of my years! Here are the trousers restyled with a more casual knit top and mirror flats. I feel more comfortable with these coordinates.
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| restyled |
The pants are my own design but if you wish to try a similar pattern, McCall's has a new design with contrast side inset panels.
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| View B has contrast waistband and side panels |
Yes, it usually does take 3X as long to do it right, but they will wear so much better, and last so much longer.
ReplyDeleteThey are very, very cute, and just wouldn't be the same if they looked crumpled.
I wasn't a big believer in using a fusible underlining until I started looking at RTW and now I totally love how it makes fabrics more substantial.