Cult Love: Crushing on Culottes

We’ve fallen for these West Coast hipsters.

Coast to coast. Californian bohemia is crashing on our shores and turning us all into modern ladies of the Canyon. This new wave of dressing is rewriting all the rules we knew about the chaos of boho. Sienna Miller in paisley peasant skirts and jangly coin belts are style throwbacks we’d like to forget. Instead, this recent incantation is taking its cue from the artist-in-the-studio vibe – still equally 70s but with a polished back-to-basics edge. An un-boring uniform so refined it’s trend-proof, and yet can positively take you from the farmer’s market to an evening wine tasting without a hitch.

Unlike past echoes of the floaty band groupie, for this next elevation of boho, crafty does not necessarily mean DIY. You can look to strong female icons like Patti Smith, Diane Keaton (as Annie Hall) or Joan Didion for better insight of where this all began.

Its roots are with the women who liked to play around in menswear but to truly understand this West Coast phenomena, it’s better to begin with the wardrobe item that created all this hype.

Shop the look

Images thanks to @racheljames__ via Instagram

The once-cringed-at culotte has been metamorphosed into the coolest kicks around. AKA the sailor-pant. Despite their odd silhouette on-hanger, once worn, these high-rise, cropped wide-leg pants are hard not to love. With total figure-flattering power: tight around the butt in a non-invasive way and relaxed everywhere else. Seasonally transient given the adaptable nature of the cut and styled best with a simple white tee or tank. We’ve spotted them hurled on the hips of 21st century celebs like Dakota Johnson who wears them in khaki and Suki Waterhouse who does it in denim. But it’s really the deep creep on So Cal Insta-girls like forever muse @allylwalsh and model @abriellestedman that get us crushing. Their look is earthy, hella chill yet sophisticated AF.