How to Style Black Wide Leg Pants for Spring
- sallyinstpaul
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
Black can be a tough color to style for spring because many of us naturally start to gravitate toward lighter, brighter colors as we move out of the dark depths of winter into the daylight of spring. But since black is an ubiquitous and useful neutral color, you probably have some black clothing that is the right fabric and silhouette to wear in this transition season, so I thought it would be fun to offer some outfit inspiration for wearing black in a spring-friendly and harmonious/intentional way.
For those of us who live in the land of snow and slush, full-length pants are not very easy to wear in the winter, so spring is a great time to pull them out of the closet. With wide leg pants still in the fashion spotlight for spring, I am featuring a pair of black wide leg pants (thrifted Lane Bryant).
I decided to lighten and brighten my black pants by pairing them with fun cheerful print pieces in bright pink and white. Because the white shirt with pink stripes has a softer look to it that could struggle to stand up to the opaque black pants, I draped the brightly colored print mixed bird and dot silk scarf down the edges of the shirt to help bridge the shirt to the pants. It also adds a middle "step" between the light value of the shirt and the dark value of the pants, which is useful for me since my own coloring is low value contrast. High contrast outfits that combine light and dark without a middle value can be overwhelming on me (not that I don't do it sometimes, but I do recognize that adding a middle value "step" in between generally does look better on me). I slicked back my hair (which always darkens its appearance) and added a black DIY t-shirt headband to create a bit of balance with the darker lower half of the outfit because I do like that bookended look.
These are my favorite "black shoes but make them extra" pair with a black-on-black polka dot pattern and bright gold studs that add a lot of interest. (Compared to my other pair of studded shoes, these studs are pretty vicious! I've had to learn not to push the tips of the studs against my skin.) You can see how nicely the fabric of these pants drape in this photo. They have some swishy drama that give me low-key Katherine Hepburn vibes when I wear them.
In addition to the lovely bird print scarf (that effortlessly ties all the colors together), I accessorized with a crystal-accented white pearl necklace and a DIY two-piece layered necklace that I made in bright pink and orange with gold. I started with beads from two Curated Bead Box collections - Sunshine Lollipops and Tree of Life - so I gave my whimsical necklace the name "Lollipops Life." As usual, I added beads from my stash to those in the box, including the howlite hearts in pink and orange; the orange star, bright pink wood bead, and salmon pink drop on the beaded chain; and the drizzled gold magenta bead that is a focal on the shorter necklace. But the clear orange beads with pink paint splatter and the duo-style crackle glass beads in orange and pink definitely set the direction of this creation and its joyful color combination. The colors of the necklace tie in beautifully with the pink and orange in the scarf.
My daily bracelet stack is based on a paper bead bracelet set that I made specifically to coordinate with this scarf, so of course it looks perfect in this outfit and further integrates the black, white, and bright pink (with a bit of orange) color palette. (See the page to bead images in this post.) I added two spacer bead bracelets in gold to match back to the shoe studs and other jewelry I'm wearing. Although mixing metals is very chic and fun, in this outfit I stuck to the gold, in part because I liked how the gold colors relate well to the yellow chests of the sparrows on the scarf, but also because I wanted my outfit to have a warm and sunny look. {stretch bracelet tutorial} {bicone paper bead tutorial} {tube paper bead tutorial}
I made a new pair of earrings to wear with this outfit with that "warm and sunny" vibe in mind. I went through my bright pink beads looking for ones that had a golden aspect or glowing quality, and I got lucky to find four beads that went together well to create a three-beads-on-a-stick-plus-a-dangle style earring. From top to bottom: pink and gold drizzle painted glass, pink mermaid glass, pink and gold glass barrels, and pink starburst Czech glass with an AB (aurora borealis) finish. I was so pleased to find beads that gave me exactly the sunny glowing quality I was looking for to cap off this outfit.
Here are several other examples of how I've worn black wide leg trousers in spring. It's a bit of a Style Over Time mini-post since the outfits go back to 2017!
March went out like a lamb here in Minnesota...which is to say, white and fluffy. First we had a thin layer of wintry mix...
And then snow fell...
And fell a bit more, creating a neutral palette of grey and white with bits of black/dark brown in the environment. Not exactly a "warm and sunny" vibe, is it? And March started out so promisingly, too, with the golden spring warmth of a playful lion cub. But hey, it's Minnesota; we know snow can fall any time until about mid-May so it's not a surprise!
Do you own any black wide leg pants? Do you wear black in spring? What is your favorite color combination with black in the warm months? Did you experience some March Madness in the weather where you live?
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