There’s A New Way To Wear Your Trousers And Boots – And It’s Great For Rainy Days

There was a new nip-tuck making the rounds at last week’s London Fashion Week, but of the strictly non-surgical variety. The buzz is around boots or, to be specific, the street-style trend for tucking your trousers into said boots.

Does't sound new? This isn’t a slimline-jeans-suede-boot situation. That ship has sailed. In 2020, your trousers need to be slightly baggy so that they’re nipped in - hence the term nip-tuck - and puff ever-so-slightly over the top of your boot.

At Alberta Ferretti just yesterday the trend was in full force, while there have been an army of street stylers on the streets of every fashion capital showcasing this styling trick.

Katie Holmes dipped her toe, or make that calf, into the trend at Ulla Johnson’s show at New York Fashion Week, with a pair of balloon-leg jeans tucked into knee-high boots. The Italian influencer Erika Boldrin, meanwhile, proved that the nip-tuck can work with a trouser suit. The result is almost swashbuckling and, with trouser hems safely stashed away, suitable for the worst of Storm Dennis.

Yesterday's Alberta Ferretti show at Milan Fashion Week proved that they've got staying power for next season, with paperbag-waist trousers tucked into slouchy suede boots.

As well as wanting to avoid puddles, the trend is a brilliant way to showcase your boots. ‘It’s all about the boot right now,’ says Aeyde’s co-founder and managing director Luisa Dames. ‘When we buy amazing boots, we want to show them off!’ The brand’s croc-effect Charlie is ‘fun, playful and best worn with your jeans,’ she says.

Let Tiffany Hsu, fashion buying director at Mytheresa.com and aficionado of the nip-tuck, be your guide. She says the technique makes trousers ‘look less serious’ and suggests carrot-leg shapes that are roomy at the thigh, slim at the calf and high on the waist so that your bottom half is naturally elongated. For boots, look for styles that aren’t skin-tight. ‘Isabel Marant does really good mid-length styles with slouch,’ says Tiffany, while, ‘Bottega Veneta’s military boots are my forever-love.’

And if you’re still wondering how all that baggy material stays put? Tiffany has a tip up her sleeve. ‘I fold them nicely and tuck them into knee-high socks.’ Now you know, there’s no excuse not to try the nip-tuck.

SHOP: The Best Nip-Tuck Trouser-Boot Combinations