My Style | Hudson’s Bay Design Lab stars in “The Return of the Culotte”

My Style | Hudson’s Bay Design Lab stars in “The Return of the Culotte”

Let me tell you a story about my Hudson’s Bay Design Lab pleated culottes. Once upon a time, before the dawn of Lycra, athletic apparel looked more like something you’d ironically wear on date night or the first day of school. One such item of antiquated sportswear, the culotte, by virtue of having two legs, was automatically considered workout gear back in the early 1900s. You could ride a horse in them, go swimming, walk the old-school, manually cranked treadmill; play Lacrosse, tennis – you name it. They really were the predecessor of the yoga pant, as tenuous as that lineage appears at first glance.

Nowadays, the culotte feels much more dressed up. We wouldn’t dare wear a pair of culottes with anything other than a heel (unless you’re me, who has learned to stop worrying and love my cankles). And I found this great pair by Hudson’s Bay Design Lab that have a sufficiently wide leg, which will make your (c)ankles appear slender, and hence, you might just get away with a flatform oxford.

I also love the culotte because I can mount a horse without pulling a Britney.

You see, those kinds of wardrobe malfunctions didn’t happen back in the day. Of course, Elsa Schiaparelli devised her “divided skirt” in the 1930s to give women the allure of femininity, and at the same time, the ability to do a cartwheel on demand without forfeiting our morality.

The culotte is intimidating and interesting all at once; a garment with a history rooted in functionality is now an exciting, if not superfluous item in every fashion girl’s closet. If you try to assign a purpose to the culotte other than an aesthetic one, it loses all value. I paired my culottes with a mesh varsity sweater, also from Hudson’s Bay Design Lab, completing the prêt-à-tennis (but never actually partaking in a match) look. “I could play tennis in this outfit,” is precisely the message I want to evoke, as opposed to: “I am going to play tennis therefore, I’m wearing my culottes.” The difference lies in a half-eaten buttered croissant and a protein shake.

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Hudson’s Bay Design Lab culottes // Hudson’s Bay Design Lab varsity mesh sweater //

 

 

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