After nearly a decade of writing about fashion, I've built up a pretty good "in" vs. "out" gut feeling. Nine times out of ten, I can see the downfall of a trend coming and the rise of another from a mile away, long before anyone's really talking about it. But I'm not perfect, and sometimes, I get it wrong. Case in point: When I concluded that split-hem pants were next in line to be dumped from the island.
Four years ago, I was wearing split-hem leggings and jeans on repeat, as was everyone I knew in fashion, and on occasion, I still spot them on the streets of New York City or in a really good Instagram post, but for the most part, the bottoms have been replaced by other, fresher-feeling bottoms, like cigarette jeans or low-rise trousers. I was *this* close to counting them out for good, that is, until I saw how Jennifer Lawrence decided to style a pair of split-hem pants for date night with her husband, Cooke Maroney, in Los Angeles.
WHO: Jennifer Lawrence
For their night out, Lawrence wore an all-brown outfit consisting of her favorite light outerwear option, a leather blazer, brown split-hem pants, and easily the chicest shoe style to wear with them: pointed-toe ankle boots.
Figuring out what shoes to wear with split-hem pants is no easy task, which is likely why the bottoms were seconds away from falling out of fashion's favour before Lawrence swooped in. Because of the high slit up the ankle, you need to find the perfect shoe that will show off the detail without looking awkward. Ankle boots have to have a high enough shaft to avoid a gap between your skin and the top of the shoe. Heels and flats pose the same issue, but worse, because there's so much skin showing, and not in a stylish way. Meanwhile, knee-high boots are often too bulky given the fitted nature of this pants trend. It's a conundrum for sure, but one that's solvable. A pointed-toe ankle boot with a higher shaft elongates the leg and keeps you from running into any weird gapping problems. My favorite pair? Khaite's Nevada boots are an investment for sure, but they are ultimately the only pair of ankle boots you'll ever need. Just saying.
Get Lawrence's split-hem pants look below, pointed-toe ankle boots and all.
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