My Ideal Fall Style Formula Is a Little Off-Trend

As someone who denounced cropped pants exactly one year ago, it is with a traitorous heart that I proclaim myself back on the bandwagon. My hiatus has been confirmed temporary.

If you remain taken with long hems, you’re in good company; they’re still elbowing their way into the popular consciousness via runways and influencers and will likely cement their coup this winter. But I don’t intend to be a part of it—at least not religiously. And that’s not because I’m anti-puddle hems, necessarily; I’ve just realized through trial and error that they don’t align with my style (crisp, boyish, neat), which is only getting increasingly nitpicky and specific, to my relief. I think the fatigue I felt for cropped pants last fall had less to do with the length and more to do with how unimaginative all the styling was beginning to feel. The near-ubiquitous vintage Levi’s. The capris moonlighting as cropped skinnies. The wide-legs verging on culottes. (All perfectly fine if they still give you a good feeling.)

The crops I want today feel distinct. The pants aren’t short because some tired designer heard that’s what’s in; they’re short because they’re tidy, tailored, and so comfort-oriented they wouldn’t dream of bothering you by sweeping along the rat playground known as the New York City subway platform. They’re also a little oversized (comfort again) and they’re best paired with something like a blazer or a tailored coat to underline the tone of boy-who’s-grown-slightly-out-of-his-church clothes. Something like this:

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Effort[less]

A post shared by Paul (@paulbinam_) on Jun 7, 2019 at 10:43am PDT

Or maybe this:

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Corduroy Tailoring #MargaretHowell

A post shared by Margaret Howell (@margarethowellltd) on Sep 20, 2019 at 4:01am PDT

And even this (although this crop is a little too generous for my taste):

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Try Again !!!!!