I feel like the barrel-leg pants silhouette is everywhere. I like it, but when I put it on, I feel like a fashion victim. Am I being overly sensitive? Should I embrace the trend or push back? — Beth, Philadelphia
You are correct in saying this is the year of barrel pants. The term refers to the shape of a leg that curves out from the upper thigh like (yup) a barrel, only to taper at the ankle, creating a bowlegged silhouette — on purpose.
Also known as banana pants or horseshoe pants, they are sort of the pants equivalent of a full skirt, but with a slouchy, not-trying-so-hard ease.
Barrel pants first emerged as a fashion silhouette around the 1920s and have their antecedents in riding pants and work pants, but their current popularity can be traced to 2023 and Pieter Mulier’s introduction of Alaïa barrel jeans in his fall collection. Those pants were joined a few months later by the barrel pants in Phoebe Philo’s first namesake collection. Voilà — phenomenon.
Katie Holmes was a fan. So were Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Julianne Moore. (Barrel pants work at a variety of ages.)
At this point there are barrel jeans at all price points, from brands like Free People, Madewell, Everlane and Old Navy. (Wirecutter recommends Gap’s High Rise Barrel Jeans.) The cut has also filtered out to all kinds of non-jeans on the runways of Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Prabal Gurung, Roksanda and Balenciaga. In fact, it even gave rise to a barrel-adjacent but even more voluminous silhouette this season: balloon pants.
That suggests, to me at least, that barrel pants have moved beyond trend to become part of the collection of basic and essential silhouettes, like skinny jeans, capri pants and palazzos.
Which means that while there may be moments when barrel pants rise and fall in popularity, they will never entirely go away. For you that means that the question should not be whether wearing barrel pants makes you a fashion victim, but what kind of barrel pants are for you.
At a recent book party for “All the Cool Girls Get Fired,” one of the authors, Kristina O’Neill, was modeling one option, wearing black barrel jeans with a black sequined jacket and black flats. Also in the room was Maria Cornejo, the New York designer whose fans include Cindy Sherman and Laura Linney and who was wearing a pair of barrel trousers — of her own design — in black cotton. (Softer materials tend to downplay the barrel-ness of barrel pants for those who are less convinced of the virtues of a lot of material around the thigh.)
Ms. Cornejo told me that she had been making barrel pants for so long that she considered them one of her staples. (She also told me a lot of men bought her versions.) Her favorite way to wear them is with slim boots since the legs are often slightly cropped and a close-to-the-body top to balance the volume on the bottom.
More styling options include a shirt — tucked in, with a belt to emphasize the waist — or a bolero-style jacket, which, again, showcases the waist. Avoid chunky shoes since they will negate the tapering effect, and remember that the top of the pants should fit closely at the rise, rear and stomach.
Otherwise you won’t resemble a barrel (or a banana or even a horseshoe) as much as a blob.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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