Finally after dragging it’s heels, Fall has arrived. I have been waiting for that moment when I could wear my black leather jacket and my lace-up boots. The cool crisp air pumps me up and I feel the excitement of something ending and the patient winter wait for something new. This state is a pleasant alternative to being overwhelmed and feeling overheated with too much work. It is hard to believe the semester is half over and it is only now getting to the point where a jacket or a coat is needed. It is time to get out the winter wardrobe.

I can now wear my beautiful wide leg wool pants that swing when I walk and give me a swagger that matches my newfound energy. I think these kind of pants, unlike skinny pants, really must be called trousers. Trousers brings to mind beautiful tailoring, languid and lovely draping and seem somehow provocative because of gender bending connotations. I am reminded of strong women, like Coco Chanel, Sarah Bernhardt and Kathrine Hepburn, who wore the trousers literally and figuratively with great individuality, rebelliousness and personal flair. Trousers have an interesting historical relationship with women.

I am in a trousers mood, I feel a need to be energetic, comfortable and strong as I gear up for the next half of the academic year and more exciting adventures of Accidental Icon. But I also want to feel feminine, romantic and free. The perfect compromise is the wide leg pant/trouser. Particularly popular on the Fall 2015 runways, they can be worn everywhere and dressed up or down. I have to say I am more than a little enamored with the way Dries Van Noten does them in his Fall 2015 collection.There is of course no one who does the wide leg trouser like the Japanese designers I love. And I will leave you with a quote that suggests the reason why.

“For me, a woman who is absorbed in her work, who does not care about gaining one’s favor, strong yet subtle at the same time, is essentially more seductive. The more she hides and abandons her femininity, the more it emerges from the very heart of her existence. A pair of brilliantly cut cotton trousers can be more beautiful than a gorgeous silk gown.”

— Yohji Yamamoto

How do you “wear the pants” when it comes to your personal style?