Trousers: the long and short of the springtime staples

No longer is it just long or short, straight or boot-cut, oh no, this season has pegs, harems, skinnies, wide-legs and many lengths of crops. Sally White, of White Boutique in Narberth, explains how to wear this season’s trouser trends.

Peg
Peg trousers are a really fashion forward look and look great with a tucked in vest and the cropped biker jackets that are around this season.
Long-legged ladies may find this look easier to pull off, but teaming them with teaming them with a big wedged heel will elongate your legs.
These could be great for a funky wedding but best on an evening out for dinner or drinks, or team with a buttoned up shirt for a sophisticated office look.

Harem
The return of harem pants has filled many with dread, and they’re notoriously difficult to pull off, but get it right by teaming your harems with long layering and vest tops.
Because these trousers are baggy it gives the illusion of covering up your bum, but beware, harems can actually make a big bum appear, well, even bigger.
Wear this for dinner or on a night out with high wedges or brightly coloured heels and tribal jewellery.

Wide leg
Wide leg trousers are a style classic and can look very fashion forward depending on how you wear them, everyone can do this look.
For a practical yet elegant combo team your wide leg trousers with lots of layering and fitted tops. All shapes and ages look great in smart, wide leg trousers because you don’t long or skinny legs.
These are a great shape to wear to weddings, team them with sky-high heels and little, nipped in blazer.

Skinny
Anyone can pull off skinnies – as long as you’re wearing them in the right way! Petites can get away with a fitted tee , but if you’re a pear shape, team them with a fitted tunic.
Skinnies are great with wedges if you don’t have long legs, but wear them with ballet flats or flip flops for a casual look.
Casual skinnies are great for shopping, but smarten them up with a silk tunic and cropped jacket for an evening out.

Cropped
Fitted capri crops are fab with flats and the new clam digger length is a great shape, but beware of trousers cropped at the ankle – they’ll only make you look short and stumpy.
Do the classic Audrey Hepburn and wear them with ballet flats and a stripy tee or fitted ¾ length sleeve top. Crops just below the knee will make littler ladies appear taller.
Crops are great for lunch dates as they’re more casual, but smartened up with accessories for a summery office outfit.

Tackling the ‘Primark Effect’

Cheap clothes are being rapidly bought and binned, adding to already brimming dumps. How can we fight it?

75% of binned clothing could still be worn with pride, if not recycled

I’ve been seriously pondering the way bargain buys have been slated this week for adding to the mountain of clothes we sling in the bin. They’re calling it the ‘Primark effect’ and it’s something I’ve never really considered before. To be honest, the only reason I read the news story was because it mentioned the bargain giant.

The term has been coined to describe the way we buy clothes at rock-bottom prices then chuck them out not long after. Reading it sitting near a bin containing a pair of my old ‘work-trousers’ just made the guilt even worse.

Whether it’s down to the quality of bargain frocks not being up to scratch, rapidly changing fashion racking up masses of out-of-date cast-offs, or simply because we can’t be bothered to do anything else with our old stuff, the amount of clothes sent to rubbish dumps has increased by 30% since the late 1990s.

UK-based recycling website Reuzesays we throw away one million tonnes of material every year, which will have taken 1.5 billion gallons of oil to make. In other words, the clothing business is one of the most unsustainable industries around and it’s kind of our fault. While we’re binning all our unwanted gladrags, charity shops are screaming out for new stock, Freecycling is booming, swap shops (or swishing parties )are the new house parties and clothing customisation is no longer just for HobbyCraft fanatics.There’s so much that can be done with the threads we no longer need that it seems ludicrous to throw them in with the rubbish.

Here are just a few of my own suggestions, but I’m sure there are plenty more ideas out there, so let me know what you’re doing with your old kit.

Donate them to a charity shop.

Whether it’s Cancer Research, British Red Cross, Oxfam, Save The Children or any other, charity shops are always looking for people to donate clothes for stock. Fear not if you don’t know of one near you: there’s an online database of all UK charity shops. The only hard part is remembering to do it.

Revamp your oldies

If there’s a T-shirt, dress, jumper etc. that’s a great print but no longer wearable, you could just give it a makeover and transform it into something else – a new vest, bag or cushion cover, perhaps? I know it’s a bit arts and crafts but hey, it’s all the rage now to customise your clothes and the possibilities are endless.

Car Boot Sale

This may be a recession but even if it wasn’t, when don’t you need an extra buck or two? Yes, you’d probably have to get up very early, and no, it’s not the best if it rains. But, weather permitting, car boot sales are actually more fun than you might think and all manner of people come searching for odds and ends that you may be about to bin. CarBootJunction  has listings of all the car boot pitches in the UK, along with pitch fees and contact details to help you to get yours organised.