I have noticed some sites call them culottes (if they are cropped), some sites call them Palazzo Pants and some just plain old wide leg. Whatever you choose to call them, I think they can be quite flattering on women our age. Let’s take a look at Wide Leg Pants for Women over 50 and discuss their history.
According to Wikipedia “Palazzo pants are long women’s pants cut with a loose, extremely wide leg that flares out from the waist”. “Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body, can refer to split skirts, historical men’s breeches, or women’s underpants.” Palazzo pants for women first became a popular trend in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The style was reminiscent of the wide-legged cuffed pants worn by some women fond of avant-garde fashions in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly actresses such as Katherine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, and Marlena Dietrich.
Thanks to their flattering silhouette, these pants are great for women of all ages, heights and body shapes. Diane Keaton has rocked the look for years. Wide leg pants have been the signature of both Diane Keaton and Meg Ryan. Jane Fonda often sports a slimmer version and Helen Mirren has often been spotted in more of a palazzo look.
Can ordinary over 50-year-olds pull it off? Sure we can. Thanks to their flattering silhouette, these pants are great for women of all ages, heights, and body shapes. They accentuate your waist and can hide a multitude of lower body sins, creating the illusion of an hourglass figure. If you are in your twenties or thirties you might be able to pull off the “pooled pant” look. For our age group, they should just skim the ground, unless they are cropped.
Our late friend, stylist, and mentor Brenda Kinsel was an ace at styling “well anything. We miss her so. Here she is styling wide leg pants to perfection. You can read about how she styled wide leg pants here
If you weren’t lucky enough to know Brenda and you want to learn more about styling anything bookmark her website.
Brenda would often highlight an outfit she spotted on someone on the street in her anatomy of an outfit series. Like this chic lady she noticed at an antique fair. You can read that post here.
My friend Elizabeth (aka the Contessa) wouldn’t think of wearing anything but a wide-leg pant, and she wears them well. She is quite tall so she has no trouble pulling off a totally voluminous look on the top and bottom. I would look like a “tank” in this.
Linda V Wright is rarely seen in anything but a wide-cut pant. She just oozes style. Here she has a crisp white shirt (a trademark of her shop Crimson in Paris)tied at the waist with her signature wide leg pant.
Here she pairs an unexpected combo, suede, and linen and belts the pants to accentuate the waist.
Beth Djalili from Style at a Certain Age rocks an Audrey Hebpurnesque look in black and white. I love the look of the cropped pant with the lace-up sandals. I have a pair on order.
For the upcoming summer, loose-fitting breathable clothes can strike the perfect balance between style and comfort. Balance out the loose fitting pants with a short jacket like Jennifer from a Well Styled Life did here.
Or with a body-hugging shirt with linen pants can be much cooler than a restrictive pair of shorts in a heavier weight. I am wearing my favorite CP Shades Wendy Pant here with the JP and Mattie shirt from Sundance, now only available in blue, and my favorite mules from Artemis Design Co. You can find the links and details to this post here.
These pants are also great belted like this. For spring to summer, I prefer flat sandals or closed-toe mules as I did above. Here I am wearing my favorite linen pant the Wendy from CP Shades, thanks to Ebay, I now have them in practically every color known to man thanks Elizabeth. You can purchase them in white here, on the CP Shades website, or at one of your favorite local boutiques. This seller on Ebay has several colors at good prices.
If you can still wear heels like Eugenia from Age of Grace, this would be a great look for a summer wedding. If not a pair of dressy sandals would do the trick as well. This is a signature look for Eugenia. You can get many more ideas from her blog or her instagram here.
On one of my recent Sunday Favorites posts with my outfit of the week featured these gorgeous J Crew wide-leg pants, that have been a reader favorite.
Here is a round up of my favorite wide-leg pants at all price points. I will feature one pair in my outfit of the week on Sunday, and another in an upcoming fashion post with Jennifer and Sarah.
SHOP WIDE LEG PANTS FOR WOMEN OVER 50
You can also find the Eileen Fisher linen crop pants on Ebay here.
The beauty of being “a certain age” is that we can wear whatever we feel comfortable and stylish in. I have been wearing wide leg pants on this blog since 2018. I am happy that they are once again considered stylish. They have always been comfortable.
Thanks for reading Wide Leg Pants for Women Over 50. If you are looking for some fall/winter options you might also enjoy my post Fall Fashion the Knitwear Trend. Why have I been wearing them since at least 2018? Because they are comfortable! Do you have any favorites that you have tried? If so please share. You might also enjoy my post How to Stay Stylish in a Heatwave here.
I do think wide leg pants are classics. It’s confusing when others say there are not. The higher waist is what’s tricky for me. Being that I’m short waisted they hit up under my arms.
Hi Robyn
I agree that they are classics, and even though I have the opposite problem (long-waisted), I don’t like the waist too high either.
Hi Cindy,
Loved this post. Your style is so inspirational! One of my favorite outfits here is the lavender button down with jeans…and the accessories..perfection!
Brenda was also an wonderful inspiration. Thanks for keeping her part of the conversation.
Hi Marie
Thank you so much we need to remember Brenda in our conversations. We did all learn so much from her.
I truly miss Brenda’s fun and colorful style and her amazing writing. She really inspired this old dog to feel like I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. You do as well!!
I love wide-leg pants but lean toward the “slim wide” in a more substantial fabric like twill. They allow for air flow in the summer (I said no to shorts looooong ago) but manage to corral the jiggle, if you know what I mean.
God luck with the big move! Can’t wait to see what you create in the new place.
Hi Sarah
Brenda was wonderful, wasn’t she? I am so glad I was able to find those old photos. She lives on through her writings.
Wonderful read. And great pics of all the various types of wide leg pants. I do love them. I remember having a sewing pattern back in the early 90s and I must have made about 6 pairs with it! Oh how I wish I’d never thrown that pattern out!
Hi Sarah
You look fabulous in wide legs especially the lantern style. That style is not flattering on me as it makes me look all one size big!! I have learned so much from you. I am so glad we met virtually. Hopefully one day we can meet in person.
I love and wear wide leg pants…Have worn them for years, not only for comfort, but I find them a style that sets me apart.
Thank you for your story!
Hi Felica
I have rekindled a love affair with them as well. For one thing they are comfy!
Have always loved this style of pant. Very flattering and so easy to style up, not to mention THE most comfortable pant, especially in a linen fabric!
Hi Cheryl
I do love the Wendy pant. They also have the Jenn which I also love from a few years back. I see they have resurrected it. Some of you might prefer it. It has more of a classic wide leg. I picked up a couple pairs of those last year and love them as well. They come off much more casual.
I’m weighing in late (not supposed to be a pun) but I loved this topic! I feel “me” in linen but have had a harder time finding in the last few years. I have hung onto 3 pair of wide leg pants that I felt sure would be in fashion again so you’ve encouraged me to wear. I want to try the CPshades you mention. There’s the old expression that fashion just repeats itself and also, styles change to make sales. This was a great topic and thank you for helping drive the any width goes, whatever one feels comfortable in mantra.
Hi Wren
The beauty of being our age is we are no longer a slave to fashion. Sure, we want to be stylish, but we are free to dictate what that is. I have had a couple of linen cotton cropped pants with slits from Anthro that I have worn to death. I have picked them up on Ebay when I have seen them. I wore them to Roundtop a few years ago in the heat and received so many compliments. At that time they were not supposedly in style!
I’m tall and lean but have to be skinny for wide legs to look good on me. Sorry, but I think most women are fooling themselves when they say they look good in wide leg pants.
Hi Brenda
I think it all depends on the waist, at least for me personally. I could never wear the high waisted paper bag look. They would make me look huge. I do love the Wendy pant even if they don’t look good on me !!
I’ve got the Target striped ones in the basket but notice they don’t come in for a week. Since I’m 5’3” the stripes should help elongate me a bit. And airy sandals. We shall see! Today it was 91 degrees so suddenly loose legs seem appropriate.
Hi Leslie
They are so comfortable in the heat. I wish I had them a couple of years ago when I had to went to Hotlanta and then three weeks later to Florida for a family emergency.
Cindy,
You gave some beautiful examples of the style and I loved all of them. The thing is as I’ve aged my tummy doesn’t appear to be flat anymore. In fact it looks a little like I’m possibly two or three months pregnant. At my age that would be a miracle. Haha. so I will stick to the slim leg and tunic look for now. There are some lovely outfits in this post.
xo,
Karen
Ha! I have the same problem at the moment. Slim leg and tunic all the way!!
Oh what a loss is Brenda, right Cindy? She trained me when I became an AICI image consultant some years ago. I loved her books and soaked up all her knowledge. With any trend that makes a comeback, it’s all in HOW you wear it, not your age. I’d have to kiss a lot of frogs to make these work for me, but I know with heels and the right cut it could happen! Brenda would want us to keep trying to tweak our “style recipes” with things like these pants!
Hi Karen
I think of her often, she was such an inspiration. I did not know her girls though I met her partner who was a wonderful man. I can only imagine what a loss it is for them. So true about the comeback! I just kringe when people say if you wore it once, you can’t wear it again. In my lifetime I have seen some trends three times. Your words “its all in how you wear it” ring true. She certainly would want us to keep tweaking our “style recipes”. I hope she can hear all of your kind words. I know it would make her smile.
Love them., but only at full length. In my opinion they are a closet staple, my favorites are the ones in flowy fabrics .
Back in the days, I called them palazzo’s , whenever I find myself at an occasion when the attire calls for a a cocktail dress, my choice has been always a pair of palazzo’s with a tailored top as I don’t look my best on short dresses.
I find that the cropped ones don’t look very flattering on short women.
I think you are right Liana. I am neither short or tall, but do have short legs. Sometimes cropped hit me at my ankle. I also completely agree with the no cocktail dresses please! I was burned at a young age and no one wants to see my legs. Tailored tops a definite must to pull it off. I so enjoy your contributions always spot on!!
Thank God wider leg pants are coming back. 10-15 years of those dreadful “skinny jeans” has been the worst! If your legs aren’t skinny, in my opinion you shouldn’t wear skinny pants. Mine are thick and I feel much more graceful in straight or wider leg trousers. I’ve always worn basic Eileen Fisher straight-leg trousers, plus Bryn Walker linen pants in a variety of styles, Oh My Gauze cotton gauze pants for the hottest summer days, etc.
WIDE LEG PANT IS MY FAVORITE EVEN ON SHORT LADIES!BRENDA’s GAL AT THE FLEA MARKET YOU CAN TELL IS PETITE!
THERE IS A “FEAR” AMONGST tiny women for wearing the longer lengths I read all the time!Then I see a petite woman Sarah London STYLE wearing it and its AMAZING!!WIsh MORE WOMEN WOULD STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX.
EBAY ALWAYS HAS SMALL SIZES……….I don’t think I can wear the MEDIUM IN CP SHADES!
THEY HAVE THE NEW PINK WENDY PANT IN A MEDIUM!I SO WANT TO TRY THOSE!
OFF I GO TO THEIR SITE TO SEE THE SIZE RANGE…………..
GREAT CONVERSATION ON THE BLOG TODAY!
THIS IS WHAT BLOGGING IS ALL ABOUT!
A big yes to the well cut linen ( Beth Djalili style goals she looks awesome) but a big,big,big no to high waisted, wide legged pants in general, jeans in particular. They just look awful.. The looser, flowy linen actually IMHO looks best cut with a wider leg but denim especially with those ridiculous high rises…ugh MOM JEANS.:( If denim pants are baggy at the top it looks costume ( Diane Keaton) and if it’s very tight à la the ‘70’s ( any recent jean ad with a narrow hipped 6’ tall androgynous model)No, just no. Cut and tailoring is EVERYTHING to the vertically challenged, short waisted older body. That said I have seen some super cute wide legged linen with paper bag waist coming out of Target. My best wide leg linen pants are old EF’s that I bought on sale at Nordstrom. I wear them at just the ankle and I don’t feel like a stump. The top does need to be minimal but I’ve seen narrower tunics worn well over wider legged linen. I am going to check out the eBay site.
I’ll spend money on the linen wide legs because I see them as classic, the rest, no.
You guys are really keeping me entertained while I am working! OMG we need to write an entire post on NO TO MOM JEANS!! We were the foolish mom’s that wore them. Did they look good on anyone? I don’t think so. Yes to the narrower tunics as well. I like that look especially if you have a bit of height.
How nice of you to mention to mention Brenda Kinsel. I so miss her…she was appointment reading for me for years. I sprang for a CP shades rayon brocade pant in a gold/ tan mix .from Ebay Will pile the turquoise on!
Hi Susan
Sounds like a great idea to me. I buy most of my clothes on Ebay. Who doesn’t love a bargain. My dad was such a bargain hunter that his bargains weren’t bargains anymore if that makes any sense. He would drive to Georgia to buy carpet for one of his projects and probably save 50 cents. Hopefull I am not that bad. When he was still alive there was nothing he liked better than a trip to the dollar store!
I miss Brenda’s blog so much – I followed her for years and read nearly every book she had. What a great loss. But gratefully, she posted about you, so I got to find another stylish lady to get advice from.
Wide leg pants are usually my uniform for summer. Its’ funny, don’t normally wear them in the winter. I love a good wide leg, usually printed pant with a solid color top. Last year I discovered wearing them with a long tunic, slit on both sides ala the fashion of some beautiful Indian ladies I’ve seen. Not as in cultural appropriation, but the silhouette is feminine and graceful looking – and refreshing comfortable and cool in the hot summer.
Hi Kathleen
I do too. I am going to continue to look into her archives when I post about something she was so knowledgeable about. Let’s keep her spirit alive here. She would be so happy to know that she influences us all in death as well. She was quite a lady. Funny story…a few days before she died she called and asked me about the app I told her about that you could “iron” your clothes in pictures. It is supposed to be for wrinkles on your face, but works much better for clothes!
FYI I don’t wear them in winter either. I think the breezy look and feel of a linen wide leg in summer is just better. Keep the discussion going this is hilarious!!
Cindy, you look “Marvelous” in wide leg pants😍
Hi Linda
I have to be careful that they are simple because I am not tall or thin. Thank you though!!
I love wide leg pants for the flattering, elegant look and the swish (also love maxi dresses for the same reasons). However, I don’t like dirty hems or the severe leg-shortening effect of crops so I have recently fallen in love with thin cotton harem pants – loose in the leg but gathered at the ankle. I live in California so no one is bothered by a 60+ woman in harem pants. 🙂
Hi Terry
I love that lantern look as well. As I just mentioned above they are not flattering on me, unfortunately. If you follow Sarahlondonstyle.com, she wears them so well.
Wide legs are my jam because they fit my body architecture! (no high waist pants here) Not for everyone for sure. Thanks for the detailed write up. Now, off to shop. 🛍
Hi Kandy
I think they fit mine as well in linen for summer.
I think they look fab on everyone, especially you Cindy and of course, the Contessa. I’m not so sure they would look that great on my height-challenged frame. While all of you look like graceful willows, I’m afraid that I would look like a tree stump. Have a wonderful week, dear Cindy. Good luck with the moves. As you well know, moving ain’t for sissies.
No thanks. Trying to not look like a clown. I think a lot of older women should stick with the classics and stop trying to look so trendy. Starts to look ridiculous IMHO but hey I’m in the Midwest!
Ha!! The classics are always good. We all should wear what we feel best in!
I have been a fan of wide leg pants of all sorts for many years and would even wear them when skinnies were everywhere. They just feel so much more elegant. I had better stock up now while they are ‘back in fasion’. I miss Brenda as well.
On one of the hilarious Holderness videos a group of designers are asking, “How can we make pants look uglier?” Wide legged, high waisted pants are displayed. Dresses are long, floral printed and shapeless – “Just like the Oregon Trail days!” Sad, unflattering trends in my opinion.
Hi Lynn
Ha! We all have the styles we loathe, don’t we? That’s what I love about our community here. We all know what we love and don’t!
I was pleased to see you mentioned Brenda Kinsella. Thank you for this informative post!
Hi Jayne
I think of Brenda so often. I did not know her but for a few years but I certainly enjoyed her zest for life and her knowledge. I hope her posts remain infinitely, we can all learn so much from them.
I followed Brenda from her first book…40 Over 40 & was heartbroken when she passed. I’ve gifted her books to so many women reminding them that”you are worth full price”!
Hi Vivian
I am so thrilled so many of you have commented on Brenda. I sent a note to her daughters. I hope they can see all of the lovely comments.
you need not pull them off when you are over 50 but you have to be tall. On petite women it looks a bit odd.
Hi Mumbai
I guess it all depends on the length of your legs. I am only 5’4 but very long waisted so dresses never fit me properly. I am not a fan of the severe high waist and pleated look but I do love the CP shades Wendy and many others.
I looked at the size small of the CP shades linen pants on the Ebay link you shared. It says the waist is 24”. I have t haven’t had that waist size in many years. 😊 Can you share what size you buy, and do they run really small in the waist? I usually buy a size 6 in most things and I’m 5’ tall. I always look forward to your posts, both home design and fashion. 😊
Thank you for mentioning Brenda Kinsella in your blog today. I miss her blog so much.
She was so creative and positive.
You look so awesome in the linen pants. This is a great roundup!