Written by Sasha
Genderbending, Androgynous, Men’s Inspired, whatever you want to call it, it’s obviously a big trend these days. Some people can pull the look off flawlessly but I’ve yet to fully embrace it because I’m still not sure how I feel about looking like I may or may not have a dick.

A lot of people are split down the middle on the trend and the heated debate seems to stem mostly from the pleated pant. (Lainey says many of you have been emailing her about it after seeing them on Carey Mulligan, Drew Barrymore, and Sienna Miller) This is how to work them best.

Fit is where most people go wrong. These pants are meant to be worn on the loose side, but how loose is the question. Take a look at Sienna Miller in the soft pink pair below.
Coupled with that white cable knit sweater, please, she looks adorable. The secret is finding a pair that falls seamlessly off your frame.

Another thing that makes these pants work is the fabric. Sienna’s are on the stiffer side, which I think holds shape better. If you go for a more flimsy fabric it starts bunching together in the front giving the impression that you just took dump in your crotch. I will get to an example of this soon.

The amount of pleating is important too. Sienna’s are pretty minimal and so are Drew Barrymore’s. Once you start getting into heavy pleating though it ends up looking more like draping which gets you a first class ticket to gunts-ville.

So here’s my take. I think women with curves, who actually have hips and an ass, should steer clear. Not everything is for us. My justification is as follows: these pants are shaped in such a way that they should give you some room in the pelvic region but then start to slim down as soon as they hit your thighs. So if you actually HAVE a figure, the fabric starts catching on sh-t and it just looks like you have a mad case of thigh chafe. Which is happening here on the lower half of Jennifer Lopez’s jumpsuit and Rihanna's man-pants. Both these women have bangin’ bodies and are a size 2/4, so if doesn’t work on them really we should all just say f-ck it.

Now one other option is to just buy a larger size but then you’re just wearing big pants which I feel misses the point. But by all means, baggy pants are always an option.

To tell the truth, I’ve bought a couple of pairs and they don’t look great on me. Still, for some tweaked reason, I believe with enough searching I’ll find the right ones. I have my eyes on a pair by a Canadian company, Dace - look book picture below. These might just do the trick. Fingers crossed.

If you don’t have the time or effort to search but still want to do the whole suiting trend then skip over the pleated pants and aim for a dress pant. The look still has the same effect. I recommend these black cropped trousers from the Gap. They suck everything in, the quality is great and the price is sweet. Click here to see see or below.

And don’t be expecting any dudes to get boners over this look, it just ain’t gonna happen. But that’s also one of the reasons I’m into this trend. I like that fact that women are dressing more for themselves and less for the cock. Another bonus, it’s a really good option when you’re having a chunky day.

Thanks again for all your emails and keep the style questions coming!


Photos from Wenn.com