39 is fine: A Whole Cul-otte-a love….

Yes, I partly wanted to write this so I could use that headline…

So, summer is ‘here’ as they say. The heat’s rising, and with it the hemlines. But mine are firmly swinging around my calf - yep, my trouser of choice this season is Culottes.

The Boyfriend said recently that he heard a phrase along the lines of ‘If you can remember a fashion the first time around, you shouldn’t wear it the second.’ Well, soz, but while I can recall a 90s teenage life filled with Culottes (and even before, perhaps, around 8 or 9), I am embracing them twenty years on.

The thing with culottes is, they are a perfect item for a lady in her late 30s who is not a conservative dresser but needs some stability, some reassurance from her wardrobe.

It’s too hot for jeans, too sticky for shorts (and they’re an office no-no, too, of course) and I have lots of dresses that are too short to wear without leggings or cut off tights. Peg-leg trousers make me look even more like I have a mum tum (and I’m not a mum). But Culottes? They’re juuuuust right.

I’ve bought three pairs this month… oops. Including a tropical print pair tho! I mean, come on, TROPICAL! Actual WHAM and LILT in trouser form, no?

So why do I love Culottes so much? Well, as a woman approaching 40, because that has to be the underlying theme with my posts, I am getting a bit sick of wearing the clothes I THINK I should wear, not the ones I want to.

I don’t want to disappear into a world of non-trendiness as I age, but I am getting keener on clothes that feel comfortable but aren’t all tight and annoying around the non-mum-mum-tum.

And at the same time I’m trying to phase out leggings a little bit because I think I’ve come to rely on leggings even more than freelance TV of choice Homes under the Hammer. Leggings are an item of wonder, but there has to be something else. And Culottes is my something else. The bridge between trousers and shorts for the 39-year-old sometimes office-going lady.

And here’s why I love them so:

They all have elasticated waistbands around the back – which means you can get a size smaller than normal (Eg I can wear a 14 pair of Culottes instead of a 16 trouser). Instant weight loss success!

They're mostly £20-£30 a pair (and you can get them in Asda for £12!! I know! Weekly shop AND Culottes! Check out ASDA’s swimwear too, tis budget and v cute and lovely. Does big cups too.)

Culottes work with sandals, low heels AND trainers - versatile! Dress up, dress down, never a frown. (I should sell that line to a Culottes manufacturer.)

Culottes totally ward off the dreaded thigh chafe.

Culottes stop any embarrassing exposure issues when getting out of cabs/a gust of summer wind takes you by surprise/you trip over your sandal and go flying. They are the darling of the summer picnic - the elastic means you can eat pork pies a plenty, while you can sit however you want and not show anyone your (granny) pants.

And best of all.... Culottes mean you only have to shave your leg halfway up the calf. Win-win-win.

#Culottes #Culotte #trousers #leggings #fashion #officeworkwear #officeoutfits #officefashion #clothing