Knickerbockers galore

You either love them or hate them, but no one can deny the current popularity of knickerbockers, otherwise known as plus fours. The rather aristocratic, gentrified culottes seem to be taking over city life. No longer only associated with country gents and rounds of golf in St. Andrew's, knickerbockers are throwing the fashion conscious for a loop.

Plus fours were first introduced in the 1920's, and were designed to make manoeuvring around a golf course less taxing. The term 'knickerbocker' is really a dead give away as to their size. They are basically the size of standard 'knickers', with four inches added at the bottom. They were obviously designed with practicality in mind, but now the fashion set has adopted the look and all of a sudden it's all about aesthetics.

A wide range of shops and brands, from high street's TopShop to up-market brand Marni, are offering various versions of the culottes. They work best paired with knits, tweeds and ropes of pearls to give it that certain "okay yah" feel.