It’s not just skirt hems that are shrinking. The return of Y2K nostalgia a few seasons ago resurrected a once-beloved wardrobe staple: the capri pant. As the Southern Hemisphere settles into winter, an unusually mild season is making it easier to bare a little skin, with capri pants emerging as a practical yet stylish option. Meanwhile, as European summer gains momentum, linen iterations of the cropped pants are proving to be the perfect warm-weather fashion piece.
The last time capri pants were out in full force, Carrie Bradshaw was still a sex columnist and Marissa Cooper was alive and well. They weren't as slim as the iterations beloved by 50s and 60s screen queens Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. Rather, they came in technical fabric with bobbly drawstrings, knickerbockers, denim and – if you were a Disney child star, a little mini skirt layered over the top.
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Now, the nostalgia is there, but in an updated way. As we've witnessed with names like Devon Lee Carlson and Anaa Saber. you can take it full Y2K kitsch, with leather disc belts and pointed mules, or you can lean into a cleaner look with a funnel neck jacket and ballet flats. The point is, capri pants are an easy sell for people who still refer to pants-and-a-nice-top as their formula for getting dressed.
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The origins of capri pants
German fashion designer, Sonja de Lennart, is credited with inventing capri pants back in 1945, after she wore a pair of trousers on a beach in, yes, Capri and got them soaked, thus modifying them to be shorter and fitted. Her first collection, comprising of capri pants, was subsequently named after the Italian island as it represented peace, freedom and good times after six years of war.
Shop the trend
Camilla and Marc Capri Pants
Mode Mischief Gigi Capri Pants
Somebodee Bloomer Pants
Chloé Capri Jeans
Maison Essentiele Tailored Capri Pants
Faithfull Linen Capri Pants
Viktoria & Woods Lace Capri Pants
Reformation Capri Pants
Wynn Hamlyn Utility Pants
POSSE Capri Pants
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