Women’s workwear and tailored pants have a long and varied history - after all, they’re the original office staple. While the work we do might have changed, the style has prevailed, seeing the invention of everything from the internet to AI without so much as a hiccup in its popularity.
Uncomplicated, comfortable, tailored pants aren’t restrictive and complement a day spent sitting behind a desk just as effortlessly as one rushing between meetings, locations, and appointments. They’ve been partnered with everything from classic cotton shirts and blazers to patterned blouses, athleisure hoodies, camis, and cropped jackets. Their appeal is universal for exactly these reasons, even more so when you’re preparing for a day in the office.
Proving they always have a role to play in women’s office wear, we’ve taken a look at how tailored pants slot into every aspect of your working life, both in and outside the office.
THE INTERVIEW
Whether you’re the interviewer or interviewee, presentation is key and finding the right balance between casual and professional that ensures you always feel authentically yourself is easier said than done.
Designed in a quartet of different silhouettes, the tailored work pants in our Ponte Lab satisfy any penchant. Look to our Slim Crop to break up a head-to-toe tonal look, while creating more definition, and pair it with leather loafers. Alternatively, our Kick Flare Pant creates a more relaxed air, falling fluidly down to your footwear of choice from the elasticated waistband - if office dress codes permit, slip them on with low-top sneakers to continue the aesthetic. With the same comfortable waist, the Crop Kick Flare Pant swaps the previous style’s full-length silhouette for a shorter one that highlights the narrowest part of your ankle.
An open shirt styled over a T-shirt or the matching swing top introduces a relaxed ease to your look.
THE PRESENTATION
It’s been weeks in the planning and now the day has arrived. Whether you’re a presentation professional or it’s a quarterly event you dread with more vehemence than a trip to the dentist, the same sartorial priority remains: freedom of movement.
The key to work pants that complement an important presentation is a wide-leg silhouette with somewhere to put your hands - whether you’re nervous or not, it always helps to create an air of effortless confidence. Our Italian Pinstripe Wide-Leg Pant is exactly that. It’s suspended from a high waist above pockets that have been cleverly positioned in front of the side seams to avoid adding bulk at your hips while introducing a relaxed practicality to your overall look.
Ensuring all heights are catered to, the deep hems can be lengthened or shortened up to five centimetres without losing the dramatic silhouette or dragging the cuffs on the floor. Nodding to traditional tailoring without any tightness, it heroes Italian wool-blend tailoring accompanied by a pinstripe pattern.
Play with prints by styling the pair with a patterned blouse or striped shirt and to save you from feeling restricted or having to remove any layers halfway through your presentation, leave the coordinating blazer behind at your desk.
THE AWAY DAY
Whether you’re decamping to a different city or somewhere in the countryside for your office’s away day, combine casual comfort with tailoring so your look is neither overly formal nor underdressed.
Celebrating a wide-leg silhouette and flannel tailoring with a fluid drape, our Italian Flannel High-Waisted Wide-Leg Pant finds that elusive balance. Falling to deep hems that can be lengthened or shortened to accommodate your height and suspended from a high waistband fitted with both wide and thinner belt loops, it’s designed to complement your changing style penchants.
Championing a different cut but celebrating the same easy aesthetic, our Fluid Wide-Leg Tapered Pant looks just as at home with soft, oversized knitwear as it does neat, structured tailoring and cropped military-inspired jackets styled with low block-heeled sandals or loafers.
Both of these styles can be dressed up with a blazer during the day and when the afternoon approaches and you can adopt a more casual approach, be sported with only a classic T-shirt, long-sleeved top or knit.
THE LUNCH MEETING
Have two words ever caused such a kerfuffle in our sartorial choices than “lunch” and “meeting”?
Relaxing the polish of women’s tailored pants, our Exaggerated Tapered Chino championing a soft taupe hue is crafted from cotton-blend tailoring woven with comfortable stretch to ensure the pair doesn’t become restrictive through the course of your meal (or meeting). For a contemporary twist on the classic suit, team it with a shirt half tucked into the high waistband and loosely tie a knit at your shoulders to create a casual finish.
BOARDROOM TO BAR
This one is for anyone who’s received a last-minute invite to drinks or dinner when they’re at their desk and have instantly been filled with dread. Not because they don’t want to go but because they don’t have any time to nip home for a quick outfit change. After all, what do you wear for a day at the office followed by drinks or dinner without appearing overly dressy or too casual for either?
This is when a tailored trouser that can hold its own with casual pieces and more elevated ones comes to the fore. Build your look around these types of pants and effortlessly transition between the two.
Let's start with our Leather Combat Pant. Combining a neat structure with details taken from the utility staple, it’s crafted from by-product leather and features flatteringly positioned pockets designed to keep your hips free from bulk. Styled with a lace-trimmed cami and blazer, it’s the perfect partner to long days that stretch out into lingering evenings.
Alternatively, our Fluid Wool Tapered Pant takes a more classic approach to the tailored pant. Suspended from a high-rise waistband and shaped to a dramatic wide-leg silhouette, it’s a clean, pared-back base to your choice of tops and jackets.
Piece your day look together from a mix of styles; start with the one you’ll be celebrating when the end of your working day rolls around topped with an open shirt or oversized knit and tailored jacket to ensure your ensemble looks at home in both boardroom and bar settings.
