The long and short of it

When I was younger, it always seemed a little strange to me that fashion rotates in 20 year cycles. Nevertheless, it's something I've trained myself to accept, expect and even predict over the years.

However every time a new revival trend comes around, I find myself filled with trepidation. It's happened countless times over the years - leather trousers, flatforms, nude lipsticks and double denim. Some of which, I've managed to bite the proverbial bullet and get on board with, whilst others have been banished to the deepest depths of wardrobe Siberia.

However, the culotte is one revival trend that's managed to escape my judgement. I neither love them, nor hate them. Truth be told, up until now I've found the trend a little, well.. meh.

Which is especially strange considering how completely obsessed I was with them as a child. Spurred on by my culotte-loving mother, I would wear them with absolutely everything. Including, a matching waistcoat and fishnet tights...

I digress.

To cut a long story short, culottes haven't really been on my radar; for the right or wrong reasons, until one night in September...

A couple of weeks ago, I was scouring the internet for some last minute essentials. I was about to set off for a few days in Lisbon and was after some pieces that would fare well in the Portuguese sunshine, but that would transition nicely into my autumn wardrobe once I was back on home soil.

It was then that I discovered the culotte short. Light and airy. Smart and sartorial. I could team them with t-shirts and sandals whilst exploring the winding streets of Lisbon and with blazers and loafers once back in the watery English sunshine.

Never one to do things by halves, I ended up picking up three pairs. A loose, silky pair from Zara, a structured denim pair and a tailored, green pair from ASOS.

And I'm glad I did. They proved to be the perfect addition to my suitcase. Cool and comfortable, yet smart and stylish. Here's I styled them during my break away...