In the past few years, we turned a corner with pants. The skinny jeans and leggings that dominated the decade before are being phased out, with trends swinging in the opposite direction. From celebrities to InStyle editors, loose pants with ultra-wide legs became the dominant style — but according to Queer Eye and Next in Fashion’s Tan France, there’s a skinny jean-meets-wide-leg middle ground that offers that same comfort we’ve grown to love, but with a slightly more flattering feature.

“If you’re wearing a wide leg, you’re making a choice to alter your proportions and make yourself look shorter,” said France, explaining that the wide legs can overwhelm shorter bodies. The alternative he recommends? A tapered leg, because, “when there’s even just the slightest bit of a taper…it tricks the eye, [making] that person’s legs look slightly longer.” While roomier legs don’t need to get tossed — “if that’s the look you’re going for, great” — France recommends incorporating a few pairs of the more tailored, leg-elongating trend into your wardrobe for spring. 

To try out this eye-tricking trend, we found nine picks from shopper-favorite brands, including Nordstrom, Everlane, and Amazon starting at just $40. 

Upgrade your denim collection with this pair of tapered-leg Lee jeans you can grab on Amazon for just $40. This pair features a loose fit throughout the hips and thighs — still providing that roominess many of us have grown accustomed to in this wide-leg era — and starts to narrow again as the leg moves down. One Amazon shopper who deemed these “comfortable and flattering” wrote that, “it’s so nice to find baggy yet tapered jeans,” adding that, “they fit just as well today as when Lee first released this style in the late ‘80s.”

Shop now: $40; amazon.com

Or grab this shopper-loved, half-off pair from Everlane, which boasts more than 1,000 perfect ratings. The light wash is timeless and casual and the 100-percent cotton fabrication gives these jeans softness and long-lasting shape. “These jeans are magnificent,” wrote one customer, who noted that, “they don’t stretch out, they don’t get baggy, and they don’t ride up or down.” Another wrote that these “fit like a glove” while one other called them, “the most flattering.”

Shop now: $54 (Originally $108); everlane.com

Whether you need something a bit more dressed-up or just wanting a pop of color, this pair of pleated, tapered trousers from J.Crew is an excellent choice. The brand’s Essential Pant is available in four colors: two classics, black and off-white, as well as vibrant lemon yellow and bold orangey-red. Shoppers love that they can, “be dressed up or down.” “I wore it to a semi formal event with a fancy top and heels and then to run errands with a t-shirt and flats,” wrote one, while another was pleased that, “they were long enough to wear with a heel but works with flats too.”

Shop now: $125 (Originally $158); jcrew.com

Whether you’re looking to add length to your leg or simply wanting to give your closet a refresh, grab the pants style Tan France has deemed one of spring’s hottest trends today. 

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