Gaucho Pants Are the Cool New Trouser for This Season

The "flood pant" is back.

gaucho pants
(Image credit: Melodie Jeng)

Cowboy culture has inspired fashion trends that come and go as quickly as tumbleweed, but gaucho pants? They're here for the long haul. First worn by ranchers in the South American lowlands, the wide leg, calf-gracing pants have a distinct style of their very own. Fitted pant loyalists might feel a sense of hesitation about giving the voluminous silhouette a try, but the flattering cinched waist and roomy legs will award a fresh take on existing outfits. They key? Play with proportions. A flood-length pant doesn't have to read Urkel. (Remember Steve?) Try a lightweight gaucho, belted, with a fitted tee for the weekend. Layer a crisp white button-down under a menswear-inspired waistcoat for that interview. It's chic! Bonus: You can showcase your shoes. Pull out your pointed toe flats, the thigh-high boots at the back of your closet, even pop on tights underneath. Whether you lean towards a casual aesthetic or prefer ladylike appeal, there's a gaucho pant for every day of the week.

Sara Holzman
Style Director

Sara Holzman is the Style Director for Marie Claire, where she's worked alongside the publication for eight years in various roles, ensuring the brand's fashion content continues to inform, inspire, and shape the conversation about fashion's ever-evolving landscape. With a degree from the Missouri School of Journalism, Sara is responsible for overseeing a diverse fashion content mix, from emerging and legacy designer profiles to reported features on the influence of social media on style and seasonal and micro trends across the world's fashion epicenters in New York, Milan, and Paris. Before joining Marie Claire, Sara held fashion roles at Conde Nast's Lucky Magazine and Self Magazine and was a style and travel contributor to Equinox's Furthermore website. Over her decade of experience in the fashion industry, Sara has helped guide each brand's style point of view, working alongside veteran photographers and stylists to bring editorial and celebrity photo shoots to fruition from start to finish. Sara currently lives in New York City. When she's not penning about fashion or travel, she’s at the farmer’s market, on a run, working to perfect her roasted chicken recipe, or spending time with her husband, dog, and cat. Follow her along at @sarajonewyork