How To Style Bell Bottoms

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First of all, I LOVE bell bottoms. Always have. Always will. I love love love the late 60s and 70s.

I was born in the 70s (yea, whatever) but I was too young to fully experience the whimsy and freedom that that decade brought to our society. I missed the peace and protest, love not war of that generation but I certainly drank the essence of it that’s for sure and I’ve held it close to my heart and soul my whole life. Give me white daisies, avocado greens, splash me with bubblegum pinks and sunny bright yellows and that’s where you’ll find me time and time again. Same with the bellbottoms every time.

I think that bells are so flattering on pretty much anyone. My biggest hassle and gripe about them are that most people have the hardest time with the length. It’s an honest issue and unless you’re Cher everyone is gonna have a little hem and ha a little bit until it’s right. Not everybody gets a hem job but you will thank yourself for doing so. This is a look that can make a little gummy bear like myself and a little lady look long and lean, and if you are just naturally long and lean you should be wearing them if you’re not already. I’m cereal, crispy! When it hits and sits just right. Oh yes you are tall and proud even if you’re not.

Don’t get it twisted, it’s always about the shoes.

This is a whole vibe and I have owned at least one pair for the better part of my life. I am that chickie that loves a little flare and not just in the cut of my jeans. Traditionally and up until this generation of operation lounge my least excited way to work this look was ultra-casual and with sneakers. I guess as a shorty salad dodger, I thought why would I miss the opportunity to visually elongate my 5-foot 2.5 inch frame. I have been proven wrong and I needed to be. It’s not my go to with this style and in my ever-doubting opinion a little wood heel of almost any type of boot or shoe is the end all be all! Footwear is important it literally makes or breaks any bottom.

Fit for days.

I always loved a good denim bell that hits just above the back of your heel no matter what kind of footwear and that’s how I learned to indulge this look with multiple inseam lengths. Heels or flats it’s always a good rule of thumb to have the correct length. It’s a pretty forgiving silhouette and most things go. I will stand by the fact that nobody likes a bunch of fabric at the bottom of your pants. Nobody needs to look like the morning after a Rave by the river. It’s just messy. Hem it baby.

Work, you better work it girl.

Gosh my mother used to kill it with those bells. Her with just a little teeny tiny top with cute cap sleeves bearing all midriff and cleavage along with her high waisted bells. I swear I look at pictures of her back then and it’s like I don’t even really know her. I bet she had fun before I came along lol. Ah you go Mom, it’s really cute to see those images of her confident she didn’t seem to carry any insecurities about her body. No shame, just smiling away standing strong. We should all try to find that self-esteem within us. We don’t have the same innocence that those liberating times had. Gone forever.

Style style style your heart out.

If there is one word that would ever describe my style it’s Bohemian, and I was born into it. In my closet of Free People shame I have a pair for every day of the week and them some. Black denim ultra-flares, cozy blue denim stretchy bells in fact two pairs one with a 30-inch inseam the other with a 32, dreamy black and white florals, velvety renaissance florals, black suedes along with blue distressed and high waisted, and no I’m not talking about your reaction to weed. Bell bottoms here, bell bottoms there.

So many options how do you wear them?

I love me a good beat-up band tee and my favorite is a Fleetwod Mac tee in black, with my black see me coming ultra-flare with a leather jacket and a good cowboy boot. C’mon let’s be glad the boots are back but this is a really bad ass classic no style you have all the style in the world look. Got it? It’s that you can’t tell if you’re rolling home from last night’s party or heading out to tonight’s party look. Three things that’s it; top, bottom, shoes oh and a pair of hoops and you literally look effortlessly cool. This is the look that took the hippie right out it. Jimmy Paige wore it best or was it Jimi Hendrix either way Steven Tyler owned it and it rarely let him down. I didn’t! Really.

Let’s talk about boho. Let’s talk about my favorite color pallet and a flowy top with some blue jean bells. This is by far by favorite way to sway through life. Color of denim is endless it doesn’t matter what your preference is here. Light, dark, distressed or colored it’s all a winner. Wear it just as the fashion Gods intended. Get out your Swedish Hasbeens clogs in natural and that adorable baby dollish top with bright intentional flowers. If your style is more of a tunic, yes girl do it and if it’s more of tank with a kimono made of silk yes please! Fly like the wind and have fun. Give me the rugged heritage of a good jean and smack me with contraction of silks and satins and I will give you that card no questions asked. Don’t underestimate the power of our cotton and cashmere my friends. When the briskness of fall hits us turn to that boyfriend v-neck in solid black. This is a boyfriend that has never and will never betray you just like those Frye boots you slipped on with it. Engineer or campus, these boots were made for the sweet little bell bottoms.

Some of my favs are beautiful little florals and prints. I always feel like if you’re going with an ultra fem bottom your top should be a little played down. If you can’t tell by now that my pull is always with the contrast. I love a good pattern with a denim shirt or a plain tee and denim jacket if its day look pair with sandals or night with a good little bootie. If the material is a bit more structured you can totally get away with a taller boot, but if it’s a little more delicate and flowy opt for a shorter boot. You don’t want the top of your boot kicking out your pant leg. Kinda weird.

I can go on and on about bell bottoms, they are special to my heart. I wore my favorite yellow pair as a kid on my birthday, repurposed jeans and turned them into bell bottoms for a Carol King lip sync in high school, wore them in my twenties on Wednesday night disco nights when people used to dance when we went out and they were totally in style and truth be told I never stopped gliding through the decades in these babes. Don’t take it too seriously, and you can tell me that I don’t know what I’m even talking about. After all you know what makes you feel beautiful so go on girl give it a whirl.