The culottes trend has slowly grown on me; they're not quite gauchos (*shudder*) but wider throughout and generally more structured and voluminous... therefore somehow more flattering than the bell flare of gauchos. Maybe I'll shudder at culottes in 10 years too, but so it is with trends. Since this one is fairly difficult to pull off and style, I didn't want to spend too much money.
I found these very long, high-waisted, wide-legged pants (that came with a belt) at Goodwill for $2, and simply cut off about 10" from the bottom and finished with an invisible hem. It was difficult deciding just where to crop them - culottes come in all sorts of lengths nowadays from more of a shorts style to just above the ankle - but there's enough room for me to take them lower or higher it in the future if I want a change.
They're fun to wear, and as you can imagine, super comfortable.
