Unpopular opinion: Your pants should be little and your shirt should be big

Michael Rider had many influences to contend with ahead of his Celine debut. The new creative director distilled the essence of predecessors Phoebe Philo and Hedi Slimane and the musings of his prior workplace, Polo Ralph Lauren, into one unified ethos. The result blends the iconic super-skinny silhouette of Slimane with the intellectual volume of Philo and the preppy structure of Lauren. The result was a choose-your-own-adventure array of silhouettes—at its most reductive, a matrix of big and little shirts, big and little pants.

Of those four volume quadrants, one in particular feels somewhere between fresh and uncouth—the perfect combo—for 2025: oversize military jackets and twisted blazers paired with jeggings and cigarette pants. Whittle that down to a simplest formula and you have: big shirt, little pants.
 

Left: An oversize military jacket with skintight jeggings—big top, little pants. Right: A slim, fitted jacket with ankle-length exaggerated culottes—little top, big pants

For the uninitiated, 2024 saw the rise of a viral TikTok sound asking the question, “Are you little shirt, big pants? Are you big shirt, big pants? Are you big shirt, little pants? Are you in little shirt, little pants?” The resounding consensus, indicative of the era’s trends, seems to be little shirt, big pants. One TikTok of a young woman proclaims, “Maturity is realising that little-shirt, big-pants will always be the best combo.” The “baddie” silhouette, favoured by both Gen Z and Kim Possible, has become a caricature of itself and fodder for memes and Reddit threads alike. But I think we’re giving its foil an unfair shake.

An oversized bomber and clingy capris at Chloé—big top, little pants.

In fact, the combination of something big on top and slim on the bottom is one I’ve seen a few times in this between-seasons fashion moment we’re hovering over on the calendar. Chloé just released a Resort 2026 lookbook in which creative director Chemena Kamali’s modern take on boho chic meets ’80s power-suit separates dictates looks with exaggerated bomber jackets and slim knee-grazing capris—big shirt, little pants. For Prada men’s Spring 2026, Mrs. Prada and Raf Simons paired big car coats with clingy joggers and oversized blouses with nothing. After all, the tiniest pant is no pant at all.

A boxy blouse and bare legs at Prada—big top, no pants, which is a cousin to big top, little pants

As is the case with most everything in fashion, the difference in silhouettes is stuck on the inevitable pendulum, oscillating between poles every few years. The ’90s hip-hop and R&B scene preferred shrunken tees and baggy cargos. The 2010s skewed in the opposite direction, pairing tunics with leggings and babydoll tops with skinny jeans. The latter has admittedly not aged well, but hear me out: There are so many better ways to do this.

Princess Diana layered an oversized blazer over a sweatshirt for a supersize effect and paired them with peg-leg denim—big top, little pants

I think of icons like Mrs. Prada and her favoured uniform of a boxy sweater and slinky skirt or pants. Audrey Hepburn in a raincoat and cigarette pants in Funny Face. Julia Roberts in an oversized blazer and straight-leg denim in Pretty Woman. Princess Diana in a sweatshirt, jeans, and boots. Early Calvin Klein runway looks of big leather blazers, clingy pants, and brogues. The list goes on.

A structured leather blazer over cigarette pants that hug the model’s legs at an old Calvin Klein runway collection—big top, little pants

I love an oversized blouse with slim (but admittedly not skinny) trousers or leggings. A super short babydoll dress with nothing underneath. And I am fully willing to admit that I am 100 per cent biased because I think these shapes look best on me. It’s a chicken-or-the-egg sort of preference; does the fact that the silhouette looks better on my body make me like it more? Or does my liking it make me think it looks better on my body? I’m not really sure—and that’s okay; so says personal style.

A big raincoat over super slim cigarette pants worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face—big top, little pants

Not every trend is for you, I admit, as someone who has felt misunderstood in the little shirt, big pants era. Perhaps you can take the wackiest, most subversive thing, like Rider’s supersize, asymmetrical bomber jacket, and slot it into your daily rotation. Or maybe you’re more comfortable with one of his simple LBDs. As evidenced by even this single Celine collection, there’s something, big or little, top or bottom, for everyone.

Lead image: Getty Images 

This article originally appeared on Harper'sBazaar.com


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