In the past few years, we’ve moved from the low-waisted skinny jeans that have dominated street fashion to several alternatives. Most of these new silhouettes are high-waisted, usually cropped in length and sometimes wider legged.

You don’t need to rush out and replace all your pants but as you buy new pants, I recommend moving towards these new silhouettes for a modern, fresh look. Here are some examples:

High-waisted skinny cropped pants

This is the easiest pant to incorporate into your wardrobe if you have many tops and shoes that go with low-waisted skinny jeans. You can half-tuck your shirts to add waist definition and wear the same shoes with these new pants.

High-waisted straight crop pants

The straight cropped pants are a great alternative to the wider flare pants (see below), especially for petites. Clients love this look for work as it is modern but not too trendy. You may need to wear a heel to offset the shortening of the leg-line.

High-waisted wide crop pants

Now we’re entering more adventurous territory with the high-waisted wide crop pants. It’s important to keep the waist defined by tucking in shirt or wearing cropped blouse/top. Women of all shapes and sizes can wear this look but you have to be ok with the flowy, bulky nature of the leg.

High-waisted culottes

Culottes are even shorter than the wide crops shown above (often knee length or calf length). Usually worn in summer this is a great alternative to shorts. They can be challenging to transition to colder weather but you can pair with tall boots and tights to stay warm.

In upcoming posts I’ll describe how to modernize your shoes and tops to match this new pant silhouette – stay tuned!