Living in the city has continued to amaze me with the variety of street style vibes that I encounter daily. Sometimes I wish my eyes could be my camera to capture the split second shot of those killer heels or stunning purse in that moment for my own style inspiration! It is in that literal blink of an eye in passing with a complete stranger I can’t help but admit that I love when someone’s look is the most infinite hashtag, dare I say…#onpoint.
The reason why I bring these moments up is when I was recently strolling in downtown DC about to come up to a crosswalk, a girl zoomed by me on her vintage bike with the oh so cute basket in front. She was sporting a hybrid look of urban chic one would say. Did I mention she was looking fierce! It was like I had the snapshot of a Vogue cover page with the title, “City Girl on the Go!” right before my eyes! Then the next thought in my mind was, “Wait, how is she able to ride her bike into work so flawlessly in those skinny ankle cut pants?” If I had even attempted to wear those pants bike or no bike I would either be gasping for air because the buttons are so uncomfortable or be a total sweaty mess since these adorable pants looked like they did not have that much give in this warm weather. Literally, I was ready to give this girl a praise hands emoji for making this work!
I continued the contemplation in my head as I started to cross the street. I began to adjust my purse strap, mind you it was overflowing with not only my laptop, but also my gym clothes for after work. I glared at the athletic leggings in my bag and started to think,” Now these…these are the only pants I could wear on that bike!” Little did I know, I was completely wrong!
Flash forward a couple of days later, I was cleaning out my closet and came across these black, ankle cut, drawstring pants with pockets on the sides. Where had these been hiding! As I slipped them on I thought I would need to do the “pants dance.” You know the one that we all do when putting on a pair of pants or jeans that have not been worn in quite some time. Almost like the Hokey Pokey, but in a severely awkward way. Surprisingly no dance party was needed! With the perfect addition of the drawstring these lil babies just slipped right on. Before I knew it the next day I was able to pair these pants with a casual short sleeved printed top and flats and I was good to go to the office!
Like living in any city you can also get sucked into the world of the “suit and tie” culture in the workplace. My key to finding this common ground of a happy medium lies in the very basic feature of these pants, the drawstring and the polyester/spandex material. With these two details I am able to combine style and functionality. The drawstring gave me the comfort in the waist area and the polyester gives the professional appearance. The little bit of spandex in the mix gives me flexibility so the pant does not lose its shape during the day. Now I can say that I can be that girl on that bike wearing these long lost pants and feel flawless while not jeopardizing comfort!
Similar to this look I came across a pair of drawstring pants on the website Betabrand in the women’s pants section! As you can see from the photos this look can also pair perfect with heels and a blazer, simply stunning. Betabrand has perfected that happy medium look for going from the boardroom to the yoga studio. Their looks are so transitional!
Photo credit: Ellen Boryan
