Hot Pants

Hillary Clinton uses it to make a power point, but pants still make for a sexy wear

Hillary Clinton uses it to make a power point, but pants still make for a sexy wear

If there was ever a woman in need of retail therapy, we’re guessing it’s Hillary Rodham Clinton. She’s up, down, a shoo-in, a lost cause—lordy, the mere mortals among us would’ve blown a gasket by now and run fleeing to the nearest mall. If only she had the time. One glimpse of the racks and tears would well up all over again. Just look, Hil. All those pants. It’s not exactly a state secret—the US senator and presidential hopeful is pro-trouser. She looks good in them. If they happen to convey some sort of subliminal message about power, all the better.

Women who wear pants can move at an energetic pace while sending “a subtle message of a woman not bound by society-imposed constraints,” says LaVelle Olexa, a senior vice-president, Lord & Taylor. OK. Impressive.

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But some pants offer something much more basic, says Jasmine H. Chang, executive fashion editor, O, The Oprah Magazine. “Pants worn with a heel— it’s dead-on sexy,” she says.

Now we’re talking. Consumers have plenty of pants to choose from this year. There are kicky capris, edgy skinny pants and—trouser of the moment—slouchy, wide-legged, high-waisted pants inspired by menswear but unmistakably feminine.

“They give a woman a sense of strength, they’re innately comfortable, and there’s something elegant about the wider-legged pant,” says Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at Nordstrom. Think of the style icons who first wore them—Hepburn, Harlow, Dietrich. The fluidity “softens the masculine edge that a trouser can sometimes have,” he says. “It’s not the Annie Hall androgynous thing,” Andrews says. “The word trousers evokes masculinity, but we’re not talking dressing like men,” he says. It’s hard to believe that plain old pants once caused a major ruckus.

Hollywood types wore them, But set foot in a school, church or office, and women were expected to show some leg (calves only, please). That had changed by 1976, when Edith Bunker walked downstairs in a pantsuit on an episode of the TV show, All in the Family. Archie freaked. No wife of his, blah, blah, blah. Edith didn’t listen. Trouser acceptance was upon us.

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A year later, Annie Hall hit theatres, and Diane Keaton’s swashbuckling way with a blazer and trousers was all the rage. Today, Andrews likes the combo of a full pant with a ruched or pleated top, a hipbone-length jacket emphasising the waist, heels—small feminine details that balance the look. For women unsure of the wide leg, there are always flat-front, slimmer cuts, says Chang.

And don’t forget Banana Republic, the go-to place for “the working woman’s pant” and a great source for petites, she says. Chang notes: “To keep your legs crossed all the time—not my thing.”
-Joseph V. Amodio (LAT-WP)