Take one classic shape...

...and add a stripe.  Hey presto - you have Go Faster trousers.  Just going to throw that out there before someone (looking at you, husband) says it.  

Or are we looking at retro trackie bums?  Who cares?  I am loving these. 

For me, they epitomise classic with a twist.  Perfectly elegant trouser shapes in a sober neutral colour, brought screeching into S/S16 with a side stripe. 

I will be wearing these with a fitted crew neck now and either an oversized coat or blazer.   A suit for the non suit wearer.  I also love the idea of them with a fitted polo neck and longline cardigan.  Throw on sneakers to keep it from being too worky.  The alternative would be to mix it up with a crew neck jumper, ballet flats and a biker jacket. 

Lots of exploring of outfits to still do but seeing as I've completely fallen out of love with jeans (she says wearing a pair today.. duh), I am on a trouser mission.  I'm not sure I'm ever going to fully love a skirt so a cropped wide leg trouser is perhaps the next best option (is it or isn't it a culotte?) and there are some great side striped versions of these around.

So Me+Em brought out a long wide leg version of these last year and I loved them but they didn't love me back.  Too short.  But I do have ridiculous legs and on more normal mammals these would be amazing.

Let's start with the bargain red pair.  I absolutely love these.  Black crew neck jumper, black blazer, white sneakers. 

Side Stripe Man Pant was £128 now £39 Complete bargain.  Please someone else buy them.

Another wide leg pair in this season's colours.  Just adore these.  I will concede these are slightly more wearable and versatile than the red ones.  

Side Stripe Trousers from Me+Em in navy/cream/orange £128  And I do think they need to be this long.  Not M&S stylee length.. swinging round the ankles somewhere.  Please no.





Another pair in the sale from Karen Millen - again wide legs. 

Side Stripe Wide Leg Trouser was £180 now £105  For me - I'm not sure I'd wear these in a smart guise but then I don't really have any occasion for super smart.  They would though make quite a cool change to a more generic office look.  I do also like, I will admit, a beefier looking stripe.  This is a bit "piping" for me.. BUT if want a more subtle look then these are perfect.  




Black/Ecru Sporty Side Stripe wide leg trousers from Next £28



So the styling above isn't exactly working for me, but these below from ASOS, epitomise how I'd want to want them.  They look amazing and if you're not convinced by the idea but want to try, perfect time with these prices. 

ASOS Tweedy Wide Leg trousers were £45 now £13.50 Ok - I will admit these do look slightly like something from Brookside back in the day... But I'm trusting that they're more "tweedy" (as in tweed fabric and not Cheryl) and less Tinhead.



Actually on closer inspection, they're definitely trousers. 




Or this pair. 

ASOS Wide Leg Trouser with side stripe was £40 now £20




Then we also have the tapered look.  These are perfect to wear now.  Perhaps they're more wearable to be honest, on an everyday basis.  White oversized shirt, biker jacket, big scarf and sneakers for now.  Tee and blazer and chelsea boots for when it gets a bit warmer (or now, maybe change tee for crewneck jumper).  The opportunities are numerous.  I'm also thinking white shirt, black skinny scarf, pumps and a blazer for daytime.  Sign me up now.

These from Karen Millen look fantastic.  And what a great great price.  They say dry clean only but they're cotton and elastane so I'm not sure why you couldn't hand wash them?

Side Stripe Trouser from Atelier at Karen Millen were £120 now £45



A similar pair but with a different sort of stripe from Me+Em.  This time in navy.  Do I want black or navy, black or navy.. I think I personally need black as I have very similar in navy (or last year's version from Me+Em but without the stripe.  Tis a tad too far to justify both...). 

Side Stripe Slim Crop Trousers in Navy £118  I will say, I definitely prefer the stripes on these.  Go large or go home.



But there is always the wide leg option.  Now I don't have a wide crop pair in navy and I honestly think in the Spring, we will be living in these (well, I will anyway).  The perfect trousers for when it gets that little bit warmer but you're not quite ready to bare your legs to the world.

Side Stripe Wide Crop Trousers from ME+Em in navy and cream £118




Another pair at Next, this time with a loose cuff at the bottom. 

Side Stripe tapered joggers from Next £22



Tapered again at Issa.  I'm not going to lie.  The top they've teamed this with, scares me. 

Ola Crepe Trousers from Issa at Matches were £450 now £180




Another off white pair for a pretty darn good price and they go in the machine.  Right - these need a black sweater, black jacket and black flats for the day.  Throw on a black shirt, black stilettos and you're off for the evening.  Or a black silky tee for a more dressed down Spring look.

Sportmax Code Side Striped Tailored Trousers were £130 now £65 


So come one - are we in or are we out?  I am going to be on it like a rocket - the perfect not too suity daytime alternative to jeans that aren't a khaki.  It's just which colour and which shape.. The other reason I love these is that they really are the ideal trousers to take you from day to night. 

Moving onto outfits from yesterday and today.
One could be forgiven for thinking I wear a wig, looking at these two photos.  My true hair colour is somewhere between the two of these (not my "real" hair colour.  That's naturally very very dark brown with grey pubes as an unwanted addition.  Yes, on my head....I'd love to say they're just grey hair but they're not.  For want of a better hideous noun, they are purely grey pubes of epic proportions.  A scary but true prospect.  Hence the dye.  Thank the lord for dye).

The Air Force ones are still going down like a bag of sick.  Bothered.  They are so comfortable, it's like wearing slippers.  A collection here of my A/W favourites that I would normally save for "best" but it was a Thursday and I for coffee with friends and to the supermarket.  Zero glamour but I loved my outfit all day.