Apparently wide legged pants are not a petite’s best friend, given that they can make us look smaller…  However I have been digging this piece of clothing lately and can see my wardrobe quickly filling up with several of them culottes and I will explain why!

As you know, I love a bit of sartorial history here on She talks Glam, so while doing my research, I found out that culottes were originally worn by upper-class French gentlemen in Renaissance Europe and they were basically what we call “breeches” in English.

They embodied the aristocracy and their values, to such an extent that during the French Revolution, the working class revolutionaries were called “les sans-culottes” (who wore trousers instead of breeches), pretty much to signify the difference in status quo that this garment represented in society.

The concept of female culottes didn’t appear until the Victorian times, when women sneakily wore floor-length skirts with a discreet slit that allowed them freedom of movement to do gardening and also typically male activities such as bike or back horse riding, without actually looking like men’s clothes.

The first woman to ever wear a divided skirt or culotte in public was the amazing Elsa Schiaparelli in London (1931), creating a lot of controversy amongst the British press (!)

I can’t help but picture the image of scandalised passers-by seeing a woman wearing pants in a world of female modesty and decorum 😀

For this week’s outfit, I decided to style these light chambray culottes with some basic black pieces to let the bottoms do the talking 😉 My uber-worn Zara raffia bag and a vintage silk headscarf with a top knot complete the ensemble for a look 100% summer-approved.

So why are culottes a girl’s best friend in summer? For all these reasons:

   1. They are light and don’t take up much space in your suitcase, perfect for your holidays!
   2. They are comfortable and allow you to move freely while keeping you breezy and fashionable
   3. They have a lot of styling possibilities: think of a silky blouse & ballerinas for a French classy look or boxy tee & white sneakers for a street style punch.
   4. Petites can also wear them: go for high-waisted culottes with a rather straight cut and add a pair of heels for a bit of extra leg length.
   5. They symbolise women’s liberation in a way and they are not your average tight pants, so you will be adding something original to your wardrobe without much effort, really. 

Only way I can get Mr. Vet to appear on a photo

In above pictures, you can see me twirling around in my breezy baby blue culottes, enjoying a hot & windy summer day in Cambridge’s neighbouring village of Fen Ditton –first mentioned on the blog here–, where all the houses have flowers at the front and beautiful pink cottages with thatched roofs simply make for the cutest backdrop.

What are your thoughts on culottes, glamistas? Yay or Nay?

Let me know how you would style them in the comments down below and have an amazing Sunday & week ahead!

Peace&Love

Saida

{Primark Baby blue Culottes} {H&M black top} {Orelia London necklace} {ZARA raffia pomp-pom bag}

{TKMaxx chunky sandals} {Vintage headscarf}