5 Tips for Dressing up Culottes

Culottes or wide leg pants are a trend that seems to be sticking around. I love their comfortable baggyness and relaxed vibe, but sometimes I find the shape easily takes a turn for casual. Today I thought I'd share a couple of strategies I have to 'formal up' the look when styling culottes.

1. Tuck

Tucking your top into your culottes cinches the look in at the waist and helps balance out the bagginess of the pants.

2. Think About the Top

A top that shows a little more skin or is on the tighter side can be good in this situation to again balance out the baggy bottom half. Something like a strappy singlet or a knit that is fitted in the arms can be good depending what the weather is like.

3. Bag lady

A nice bag is an easy way to top off an outfit. Something on the smaller side adds some classiness to the look, saying more of "I'm going out" than "I'm running some errands".

4. Heels

Heels are a sure-fire way to excise casual from the equation, and I think simple black strappy heels are even better. Heels also work well with cropped pants as they tend to give the illusion of shortening you, so a bit of a heel can help cancel out this effect.

5. Red Lipstick

Want to look more glamorous? Add a red lip. Done.

Culottes - Zara // Singlet- Cotton On // Sunglasses - Molly N // Shoes c/o The Warehouse //Bag - Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC // Lips - Nars lip pencil in 'Cruella' // Nails - Bourjois 1s in 'Bleu Water'

Do you have a pair of culottes? How do you like to style them?