Capris are acquiring a new legion of fans, thanks to Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner — but some still hate the trend

Trending 4 days ago

Capri pants — those truncated trousers past seen connected Carrie Bradshaw during nan original tally of “Sex and nan City” — are back. 

The favorites of Hollywood fable Audrey Hepburn person acquired a caller legion of fans, who prize them for their easy summertime vibes.

Celebrities Kendall Jenner, Anne Hathaway and Emily Ratajkowski person each stepped retired successful calf-length leggings recently, and Hailey Bieber was spotted successful a polka-dotted pair. Nearly each marque offers its type of nan style, from Gap to Reformation to Jacquemus, whose stretchy capris unit for $790.

Julie Matos, 48, owns 3 pairs of capris — and swears by them. Emmy Park for N.Y.Post
Hollywood fable Audrey Hepburn often favored capris. Bettmann Archive
Hailey Bieber wears attention-grabbing polka-dot capris during a sojourn to New York recently. GC Images

Those trending now harken backmost to nan streamlined midcentury styles — sleek, achromatic and often successful stretchier materials. 

But nan pants person their haters, chiefly millennials who lived done capris’ past heyday successful nan early 2000s — erstwhile they were fundamentally shortened versions of nan era’s low-rise pants, often pinch tacky embellishments for illustration sparkly embroidery aliases cargo pockets.

‘I dislike [capri] leggings pinch nan fury of 1,001 suns!’

“They look awesome connected Audrey Hepburn … but I dislike nan thought of them connected myself pinch nan fury of a 1000 suns,” Elisa Mala, a millennial recreation writer who lives successful Staten Island and did not want to springiness her age, precocious told The Post.

“And I dislike [capri] leggings pinch nan fury of 1,001 suns!” she added.

Becca Lyn, a 42-year-old registered caregiver who lives successful Chelsea, told The Post: “When I look astatine pictures of myself successful capris from erstwhile they [were] successful fashion, I person only heavy regret.”

“I find it very upsetting,” said Megan Reynolds, an editor astatine Dwell and writer of nan caller book “Like: A History of nan World’s Most Hated and Misunderstood Word.” 

Kendall Jenner strolls done Paris wearing capris successful June. BACKGRID
Angela Betancourt, 43, brought a pinkish brace of capris retired from her closet recently. Joe Buglewicz for NY Post
Betancourt was thrilled to observe they still fit. Joe Buglewicz for NY Post

“At my age, which is 42, nan truth that they’re coming backmost makes maine consciousness old,” she told The Post. “I besides ne'er thought they were flattering connected anybody.”

Even men person beardown opinions. 

“The capri sound flatters almost nary one,” said Robert Ossant, manner historiographer and co-author of nan forthcoming “The Art of Couture Embroidery.” 

“It’s nan sartorial balanced of breakup-bangs,” he added, questioning nan declare that they were “back” astatine all.

“Brands for illustration to push nan other of immoderate is trending — successful this case, wide limb pants — to make consumers move their full wardrobe up,” he said. “I will add, supermodels successful nan southbound of France propulsion it off, and that’s nan main logic capri pants still clasp immoderate appeal.”

Sometimes called pedal pushers, toreador pants aliases clam diggers, capris emerged successful nan 1940s. A German designer named Sonja de Lennart claimed she invented nan style, but while she whitethorn person fixed capris their name, Daniel James Cole, an adjunct professor astatine nan Fashion Institute of Technology and co-author of nan book “The History of Modern Fashion,” told The Post that they were successful nan ether.

Celebrities specified arsenic Katharine Hepburn and Amelia Earhart helped push nan thought of women successful pants successful nan 1930s. But during World War II, American women ditched their dresses en masse, suiting up successful jeans aliases coveralls to activity successful nan factories while nan men fought successful Europe.

Capris, Cole said, were a consequence to nan postwar hyper-feminine styles of Christian Dior — a measurement for gals to still don trousers without appearing excessively threatening to nan men returning from nan front.

“They were sometimes without nan slits [at nan bottom]. They were sometimes pinch immoderate benignant of item down towards nan hem of them. But it was an overarching inclination coming into nan ’50s,” Cole said.

Marilyn Monroe poses successful capris for a image wrong her LA dressing room. Getty Images
Mary Tyler Moore shows disconnected fashionable capris arsenic she films a segment pinch Dick Van Dyke successful his eponymous sitcom successful 1961. CBS via Getty Images
Emily Ratajkowski rocks capri pants and a achromatic décolletage overgarment successful New York City. Christopher Peterson / SplashNews.com

And they exploded erstwhile Hollywood stars for illustration Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly adopted them.

Hepburn made nan pants her signature, donning them successful her Oscar-winning move arsenic a rebellious princess successful 1953’s “Roman Holiday” and again arsenic a beatnik bookseller-turned-model successful 1957’s “Funny Face.” In 1961, Mary Tyler Moore subverted nan domiciled of nan subservient TV housewife erstwhile she appeared connected “The Dick Van Dyke Show” successful a knit turtleneck, ballet flats and achromatic capris — topped disconnected pinch her insouciant flipped hairdo.

“They were a awesome of youth,” Cole said, and younger cultures would resuscitate them passim nan decades, from post-punkers for illustration nan B-52s successful nan 1980s to popular stars for illustration Britney Spears successful nan precocious 1990s.

It was that youthful mien that led 23-year-old manner student Emma Bennett to precocious acquisition a brace of achromatic and achromatic polka-dotted pedal pushers from web retailer Cider.

“I was decidedly going for a ’60s vibe erstwhile I sewage them,” nan Parsons student told The Post, adding that she was inspired by Elle Fanning’s bohemian ensembles successful nan 2024 Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” 

Fashion student Emma Bennett bought a brace of achromatic and achromatic polka-dotted capris to get a “’60s vibe,” she told The Post. Emmy Park for N.Y.Post

“Something pinch that movie really captivated me,” she said. “I thought astir it for weeks and weeks aft watching it. I thought getting much apparel that could look for illustration they were from nan ’60s would make maine person to it.”

Forty-eight-year-old stylist Julie Matos, who owns 3 pairs, has loved them since she was a kid.

“I retrieve going connected a shopping travel pinch nan Girl Scouts erstwhile I was young and buying my first brace astatine Macy’s,” nan Chinatown resident recalled to The Post. 

Matos shows disconnected a brace of achromatic capri pants she owns. Emmy Park for N.Y.Post

She precocious dug retired a brace of Ports 1961 capris she had bought complete a decade ago. She has since purchased 2 much pairs, including a “sexy, fun” sheer action pinch lace trim.

“I fig I tin show my legs a small more,” she said. “Like, ‘Look, I’m 48, and I’m still bringing it.’”

Toronto-based writer Isabel Slone, who chronicles her manner obsessions connected her newsletter Freak Palace, said that a period ago, she was “gripped by this feverish desire to ain capri pants — specifically a brace of vintage Emilio Pucci leggings.”

Matos has 3 pairs of capris successful her manner lineup. Emmy Park for N.Y.Post
“I fig I tin show my legs a small more,” Matos said. Emmy Park for N.Y.Post

“I instantly saw myself wearing them pinch a baggy, oversized, button-down apical and possibly a headscarf,” said nan 35-year-old.

“It’s difficult to deliberation of a much glamorous image than nan 1 of Marilyn Monroe wearing pedal pushers pinch a tight sweater and a scarf tied astir her head,” she said. “It’s an image that contains this nonchalant elegance and authenticity that I deliberation a batch of group are striving for today.”

Angela Betancourt, 43, initially balked erstwhile she heard capris were trending erstwhile again. The communications exec often wore them successful her 20s, until she saw a image of herself successful them. 

“I looked really weird,” nan Springfield, Massachusetts, mom recalled. “The photograph did not lucifer astatine each nan image I had successful my caput of really I looked.” 

She sewage free of each her capris, isolated from for a pinkish linen brace pinch embroidered lace trim that she scored connected waste astatine Bloomingdale’s astir 2 decades ago.

Angela Betancourt is re-embracing a brace of capri pants from 2 decades ago. Joe Buglewicz for NY Post

“I paid $125, which was a batch of money astatine nan time, but they were conscionable really unique,” she told The Post.

This summer, pinch nan silhouette trending erstwhile again, Betancourt took nan pinkish pants retired of her closet.

She was amazed that they not only fit, but that she loved them.

“I had truthful overmuch nosy wearing them,” she said.

“It’s funny: nan past clip I wore capris, ‘Sex and nan City’ was on, and now my girls are back, and I’m wearing capris again,” she said. “It conscionable feels right.”