Capri Pants
Fashion Influence — how style shapes, and is shaped by, the people who wear it
Capris split the difference between shorts and trousers: a cropped leg ending somewhere between knee and ankle. This guide covers the length range and where the style is worn.
Capri Pants - a bit shorter than typical long pants.
Capris are a type of pant. In fact, they are a type of cropped pant.
Capri pants are pants that are longer than shorts but are not as long as full length trousers. The pant leg fabric will come down to between knee and calf or ankle length. This style of pant will typically be a length to reach near the top of the ankle, but the leg length varies by brand, manufacturer, or other stylistic factors. Capris are widely popular with people in many countries; especially in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Capris' acceptance in the United States was influenced by the 1960s television series The Dick Van Dyke Show. The character Laura Petrie, the young housewife played by Mary Tyler Moore, caused a fashion sensation. At the time, she actually created a mild amount of controversy by wearing snug-fitting capri pants during the show's run.
Capri pants have been worn by women but have also been part of the menswear market from time to time.
By the mid 1960s, capri-style cargo pants became popular among some teenage boys. A good example was Luke Halpin who was a superstar teen actor of that era. Luke Halpin wore men’s capri pants in some episodes of the popular Flipper TV series.
After a drop in popularity during the 1970s through the 1990s, capris returned to favor in the late 1990s. Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal wore capri pants in the majority of his matches before 2009. This helped bring the pant back into the main stream for some men.
This type of pant sometimes goes by other names. They are occasionally referenced as three quarter pants, crop pants, pedal pushers, clam-diggers, floods, highwaters, culottes, or toreador pants. Some of these may have technical differences, but the words are often used interchangeably (possibly inappropriately).
You may also want to learn about chinos and khakis.
Learn more about different types of pants such as yoga pants which come in the capri style.
You may want to also learn about cropped pants.
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Getting the Capri Length Right
Because the capri leg can end anywhere between the knee and the ankle, the exact stopping point decides how the pant looks. A leg that ends at the widest part of the calf tends to cut the leg visually at its broadest point; a leg that ends just below the calf, or slimmer and closer to the ankle, usually reads as more streamlined. Fit through the leg matters for the same reason: a close, tapered capri keeps the cropped proportion clean, while a wide cropped leg moves toward culotte territory — a related but different garment.
Footwear completes the proportion. Flat sandals, loafers and low sneakers keep the casual, warm-weather character the style is known for; a heel lengthens the visible leg and dresses the same pant up. That flexibility — one cropped pant, several registers — explains why capris are widely popular in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Common Questions
What are capri pants?
A type of cropped pant: longer than shorts but not as long as full-length trousers. The leg fabric comes down to between knee and calf or ankle length, typically reaching near the top of the ankle, though length varies by brand and style.
Are capris pants or shorts?
Pants. They are a cropped trouser, made on a trouser pattern with a shorter leg — not an elongated short.
Who wears capri pants?
They are widely popular in many countries, especially in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, as warm-weather wear that covers more than shorts.