Puddle Pants Are a New Kate Middleton-Approved Trend, but We’re Not Sure How to Feel

What are puddle pants, you ask? As the name suggests, they’re pants that puddle around your ankles. It’s a style petite gals have likely been intimately acquainted with for years, whether they wanted to be or not. But luckily for anyone who hates hemming their trousers, fabric pooled around the ankles is now considered chic rather than sloppy.

And we have to admit, Middleton looks great in her black Jigsaw trousers that drape ever so elegantly over her pointy-toe pumps. She somehow manages to make them look posh rather than careless. In fact, lots of celebs—including J.Lo, Bella Hadid, Zoe Kravitz and Chrissy Teigen—have been spotted rocking puddle pants in the months after KMiddy wore hers. And Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been wearing them for years, proving one doesn’t need to be tall to pull off this trend.

That said, how practical is it, really, to have your hems dragging along the ground? The risk of getting them caught up in or under your heels and becoming a tripping factor is pretty high. PureWow editor Chelsea Candelario, who stands 5-feet tall, recently tested the style for a few events in NYC and decided the two keys to making this tricky trend work are shoe choice and hem length.

“Choosing the right shoe is definitely key to rocking this style for short gals like me so we don’t end up dragging the fabric all day or, worse, tripping,” she says. “The first time I tried it, I had on sneakers and it wasn’t too bad at the end of the day. I can’t wait for fall so I can wear them with boots, too.”

As for length, Chelsea suggests looking for styles that hit right at the very end of your shoe so you can get the puddle effect without risking the material getting caught under your heel. “I was lucky to find a pair that hits just centimeters away from my sole, which gave me more relief that I wouldn’t trip or drag the hem on the ground.”

We 100 percent agree with her assessment. For footwear, because there is now excess fabric around your feet to contend with, we don’t recommend wearing stilettos or anything that might get caught up in all that material. Pointy-toe shoes, like ankle boots or ballet flats, are probably your best bet. They’ll poke out from under the hem, giving shape to your legs, and are unlikely to trip you up. Platforms are also a great (and trendy) option because they allow the material to gather at the top of your foot but not drape all the way to the ground. But you can also rock a lug-sole Chelsea boot or loafer if that’s more your style.

Now that you’re well versed in pulling off this somewhat tricky trend, here are nine pairs of chic Kate Middleton-approved puddle pants to shop and wear this fall.