Cheryl Shops

If you are of a certain age like I am, khaki pants (or chinos—they're pretty much the same thing) probably played a prominent role in your adolescent wardrobe, thanks to the Gap. I haven't owned a pair since their peak in the late '90s, but I've started to see them pop up on some of my favorite bloggers over the last several months and thus was influenced to buy a pair (see, it happens to me too). Silhouettes have changed a bit in the last 25 years—we've gone from bootcut to skinny to wide leg to straight—but the pair I went for is pretty timeless: high-waisted, wide-legged, and pretty darn flattering if I do say so myself. Here's how I'm wearing my wide-leg khaki pants. 

So while chinos are technically made of cotton, this pair is a viscose/polyester blend, which makes them more fluid and works better with the cut. They're actually quite high-waisted, and the inseam is super long, which reminded me of the '90s, when I had to hem every pair of pants I bought. I did hem these myself because I figured I'd be wearing them mostly with flats and sneakers—this 42-year-old can't do a 4-inch heel anymore—à la Diane Keaton. And speaking of one of my style icons, I originally wanted an Annie Hall-style pair with front pleats, like I featured in my fall trend report, but it turns out front pleats are just as unflattering on me now as they were in the '90s, hence why I went with this flat-front pair. My one quibble is that the fabric wrinkles quite a bit, but I can deal with wrinkles in my face, so might as well embrace them in my clothes as well. I'm wearing a size 6 and found them to run a bit big, but that may just be the silhouette, plus it's an excuse to wear a cute belt. 

Speaking of which, I was also influenced to buy this belt by Brooklyn Blonde, who's one of my favorite bloggers. It's by Isabel Marant and it's fairly reasonable considering what her clothes cost but also kind of pricey in that it's just a very long piece of leather. That said, I absolutely love wearing it with high-waisted pants and jeans because it draws attention to the waist in a flattering way; I'm going to try it over a coatigan next. The one thing about this belt is that it runs very, very small—I'm normally a size 6 and I'm in a large here; it comes in up to XL, but hopefully she'll modify her sizes going forward. 

On my upper half, I'm wearing a very '90s-inspired ribbed baby cardigan from last year (I wore it here for a holiday party—remember those?), and it's so cropped that I normally struggle finding the right bottoms to wear with it, but since these trousers are so high-rise, the proportions are just right. This sweater is sadly sold out, but I've linked several very similar styles below. I had planned on wearing a different jacket with this outfit, but it looked a little too Annie Hall and hence my trusty Banana Republic black leather jacket was just right. I do kind of feel like I walked out of a Banana Republic ad circa 1994, but I think it works—it's retro and yet timeless. You last saw this jacket 7 ways and, well, here's yet another way to wear it! 

Speaking of things I wear all the time, these A.P.C. bag and Golden Goose sneakers (both last seen with Spanx) are them. What can I say that I haven't already said about these two? They literally go with everything, and while they don't quite fit with the '90s vibe of this look (maybe my Coach bag and Converse All-Stars would have been a better choice?), they do help it feel more modern and less costumey. And they just feel like me, so what more could I ask for? 

OUTFIT DETAILS: Banana Republic moto jacket | Naadam sweater (similar here or budget version here) | Mango pants | Isabel Marant Lecce belt | A.P.C. sac demi-lune | Golden Goose Superstar sneakers