What are Palazzo Pants?
If you’ve stepped into a women’s clothing store lately, you’ve almost certainly seen palazzo pants. Whether or not you knew what they were called is a different story. Palazzo pants are loose, wide-legged pants. These pants are very similar to other wide- legged pant styles—like culottes, gauchos, and bell bottoms—but they have their own unique characteristics that distinguish them from similar wide-legged styles. Palazzo pants are extremely wide, and many palazzo styles are easy to mistake for a skirt when you’re standing still because of their loose fit and lightweight, flowy material. These loose-fitting pants come in many different lengths. Some palazzo pants extend down to your ankles like a maxi skirt, while others are cropped at your mid-calf or knee.
Palazzo pants are virtually the best of both worlds in terms of comfort and style. Because of their loose fit and lightweight material, palazzo pants are extremely comfortable and breathable. However, they are also very versatile, stylish pants and are currently topping the trend charts in women’s fashion. Every woman should have at least one pair of palazzo pants in her wardrobe for those lazy days when you want to look stylish and not overly casual but can’t fathom wrenching on a pair of jeans. If you don’t own palazzo pants yet, check out this guide to learn more about this life-saving pant style that will likely become your favorite, go-to pants in your wardrobe.
Different Types of Palazzo Pants
There are many different types of palazzo pants. These different styles increase the versatility of these wide-legged pants and allow you to rock them in a wide variety of situations. Some of the most popular types of palazzo pants are detailed below to help you discover the perfect style for you.
Dressy Palazzo Pants
Palazzo pants are well-known casual attire because they are so comfortable and simple, but some styles are dressy enough to wear to a professional office meeting or even a wedding.
Dressy palazzo pants are usually full-length. They tend to be more fitted than casual palazzo pant styles, especially around your waist, hips, and backside. Many dressy palazzo pant styles are also structured or pleated to create a more professional look that doesn’t appear quite as laid-back and casual as super flowy, loose-fitting styles.
Printed Palazzo Pants
Printed palazzo pants add whimsical style to any look. Palazzo pants come in countless different patterns and prints, ranging from neutral geometric prints to wild patterns filled with bright colors.
You’ll be glad to have a pair or two of printed palazzo pants in your wardrobe on dreary days when you want to wear something comfortable and casual that instantly brightens up your look.
Palazzo Capri Pants
While full-length palazzo pants are the most popular type of palazzo pants, palazzo capri pants are stylish and flattering as well.
Cropped palazzo capri pants usually extend to either just below your knee or to your mid-calf rather than all the way down past your ankles. These cropped pants tend to look more casual than full-length palazzo pants. They are the perfect, comfortable and stylish wardrobe choice for laid-back everyday wear.
Palazzo Pant Suits
Palazzo pant suits are a comfortable, stylish alternative to traditional pant suits. They are usually more structured and form-fitting than classic, loose palazzo pants.
However, the wide-leg fit and lightweight material of palazzo pant suits makes these pant suit styles more comfortable and less uptight than traditional pant suits without disrupting their professional finish.
Plus Size Palazzo Pants
Palazzo pants are flattering for every body type, shape, and size. These pants are stretchy and loose-fitting, so they’re ultra-comfortable and flattering for every figure.
High-waisted palazzo pants are especially flattering for plus size women. The high waistband and loose fit of these pants helps conceal any imperfections around your midsection and eliminate visible love handles or tummy pooch.
What to Wear with Palazzo Pants
Tops to Wear with Palazzo Pants
1. Add Interest with Outerwear
The right outerwear can add interest and balance to your look and transform it from casual to professional or boring to ultra-trendy.
Try pairing a cropped leather jacket with a crop top and solid-colored high-waisted palazzo pants for a bold, trendy finish. Wear a fitted blazer with a solid blouse tucked into neutral, structured palazzo pants to professionalize your look and make it instantly office-appropriate. Or, rock a denim vest or jacket with a solid crop top and patterned palazzo pants for a trendy look with a laid-back, boho vibe.
2. Keep it Classic in a Basic White Tee
Palazzo pants with a basic white tee doesn’t have to be a boring look. In fact, you can create an extremely flattering, trendy look with this simple, comfortable pairing as long as you style it right.
Tuck a fitted white tee into high-waisted palazzo pants and cinch a belt around your waist, or wear a cropped white tee to maintain a balanced, streamlined finish. Choose palazzo pants in a bright color or eye-catching pattern to add more interest to your look. Pair this outfit with simple, flat sandals and a long, simple pendant necklace to create a cute and flirty look that’s perfect for casual, everyday wear.
3. Play with Patterns and Textures
The patterns and textures of the clothes you wear can make or break your look. Play around with patterns and textures to add interest and style to your palazzo pants and ensure that your outfit never looks boring.
Try pairing bright, patterned palazzo pants with a plain white lace crop top for a flirty, feminine finish that is stylish and eye-catching without looking too over the top. Or, wear a form-fitting top with a geometric print—think stripes or polka dots—with palazzo pants in a bright, solid color for a cheerful, whimsical look.
4. Crop It
Wearing a crop top is the best way to keep your look balanced and give it a streamlined finish. Because they have such a loose fit, palazzo pants paired with full-length tops tend to create an unflattering, top-heavy look.
Pairing a crop top with palazzo pants accentuates your curves and flatters your figure. It breaks up your outfit into two parts that look sleek and streamlined instead of shapeless and bulky.
5. Make it Monochrome
Styling a monochrome outfit can be very intimidating, as it’s easy to miss the mark and end up with a frumpy, shapeless look instead of a sleek, streamlined finish.
Create a successful, trendy monochrome look with neutral—think white, black, olive, or nude—high-waisted palazzo pants and a loose short-sleeved blouse or form-fitting sleeveless crop top in the same neutral shade. Tuck your blouse into the waistband of your pants, or position your crop top an inch or two above your waistband to maintain a balanced finish for your look. Also, choose palazzo pants with a built-in fabric belt to emphasize your curves and avoid looking shapeless.
Shoes to Wear with Palazzo Pants
1. Dress Up in Slim Heels
If you want to create a professional look with your palazzo pants, try pairing them with slim heels like stilettos. These wide-legged pants are already designed to make your legs appear longer, and adding stiletto heels only serves to add more length for a sexy, leggier look. Plus, the slim style of stilettos balances out the wide legs of palazzo pants and eliminates the risk of a bulky look.
Your stilettos don’t have to be extremely high to get the elevated look you want. In fact, if you’re wearing cropped palazzo pants that show off your shoes, keep your stiletto heels to a max height of 3” to avoid an awkward, off-balance finish.
2. Stay Comfortable in Blocky Wedges
Stilettos aren’t for everyone. If you want to look leggy but don’t want to deal with the discomfort of slim heels, pair your palazzo pants with cute, blocky wedges instead. Wedges add the same height to your look, but are much more comfortable for all-day wear.
Wedges look best with floor-length palazzo pants with very wide legs or palazzo pants cropped at your mid-calf. If your pants are long and fitted, they can cling to your wedges and create an awkward, bulky look. A cropped length or ultra-wide fit help solve this problem.
3. Play Peek-a-Boo with Peep Toe Shoes
When you’re wearing palazzo pants, peep toe shoes add instant balance to your look. Peep toe styles pair well with ankle-length palazzo pants that show off a glimpse of your shoes underneath because they add balance to your look and prevent a bulky finish.
Mules and short, chunky heels are some of the best peep toe styles to wear with palazzo pants. Rock peep toe heels for a more professional look that counteracts the casual finish of cropped palazzo pants, or slip on peep toe mules for comfortable, casual everyday wear.
4. Add Balance with Flat Sandals
Flat sandals are the ideal shoes to pair with cropped palazzo pants for a casual, stylish summertime look.
When you wear heels or boots with mid-calf or knee-length palazzo pants, you risk looking bulky or off-balance or drawing too much attention to your bottom half. Trendy flat sandals are the perfect subtle, stylish accessory to pair with cropped palazzo pant styles for a balanced, laid-back finish.
How to Wear Palazzo Pants in Winter
The lightweight material of palazzo pants doesn’t mean you can’t wear them in the winter. These ultra-comfortable wide-legged pants double as cozy, trendy winter wear during the chilliest months of the year.
On extremely cold days, try pairing your palazzo pants with a long pea coat. This pairing creates a stylish, professional look that you can wear anywhere from an office meeting to a lunch out with friends. Avoid chunky, tall boots. Instead, pair this outfit with ankle boots for warmth and added style. Cinch a belt around your waist to emphasize your curves and avoid looking shapeless.
When it’s not super chilly outside, opt for a cropped turtleneck and closed-toed flats instead. The cropped turtleneck will balance out your look without coming off as overly bulky, and the flat sandals add an instant casual, laid-back finish.
What to Wear with Palazzo Pants to a Wedding
While you might think of palazzo pants as strictly casual, lazy-day wear, you can dress them up enough to pass them off as stylish, dressy wedding attire.
Pair structured, full-length palazzo pants in a solid, bright color with a dressy, cropped blouse for a cheerful, trendy wedding-ready look. Wear chunky heels to flatter your figure and add length to your legs. Dress up and interest to this look with finishing touches like dangly earrings and a stylish, patterned clutch.
How to Wear Palazzo Pants to a Festival
Palazzo pants are a classic when it comes to festival wear. They’re comfortable, ultra- trendy, and have a laid-back, hippy vibe that fits right in at modern music festivals where boho style is always celebrated.
If there’s anywhere to rock patterned palazzo pants, it’s at a music festival. Embrace your inner hippy in full-length flared palazzo pants with bright colors and psychedelic prints. Balance out your patterned pants with a cropped, solid lace brassiere top for a sexy, streamlined, feminine finish. When it comes to festival wear, accessories are key. Pair your outfit with trendy, strappy flat sandals and a long beaded or pendant necklace to add interest and laid-back, boho style that ensures your look is really festival-ready.