We’ll show you how to wear culottes in winter, but first: a history lesson.

Did you know the history of culottes is linked to class struggle and female liberation? What we know today as a swishy, skirt-like, cropped trouser actually has quite a nebulous definition, as it’s been used to describe different garments over time. From the late Middle Ages until the early 1800s, culottes were the knee breeches worn by men from the European aristocracy and upper classes. They were so associated with money that, at the time of the French Revolution, revolutionaries of the lower classes were known as “sans-culottes” due to their long trousers. But, if you’re reading this, you’re probably more interested in the feminist history of the garment.

During the Victorian era, split skirts came into use for women for the purpose of horseback riding. (Since trousers for women up until this point were quite scandalous, and in some instances, illegal!) Quite literally skirts split in half, their legs were made up of flowing fabric, a precursor to today’s culottes. The point was that it looked like a skirt, but allowed women more flexibility of movement, particularly when sitting on horseback. The garment was adapted for other activities like cycling, gardening and cleaning, but was not yet mainstream.

In the 1910s, the jupe-culotte (literally meaning skirt-pant in French) was associated with women’s suffrage. In 1911, the doctor and feminist Madeleine Pelletier was quoted in a Vogue article titled The Distracting Jupe-Culotte saying: “Liberty of movement is conducive to liberty of thought.” We also can’t leave out the contribution of Paul Poiret: while his harem pants are slightly different to the culottes we know today, it was one of the first times women in Europe wore trousers as a fashionable garment. Trousers for women also became a bit of a necessity due to the First World War, when women filled the gap in the workforce left by conscripted men.

Then, in the ’20s, the hedonistic flapper mood brought with it a relatively more free attitude to fashion and gender, so it only made sense that culottes grew in popularity as a fashionable garment. Fashion designer Coco Chanel was particularly fond of them, often wearing flowy trousers known as “beach pyjamas” from the late 1910s. Elsa Schiaparelli, another seminal fashion designer of the era, dressed tennis player Lilí Álvarez in culottes in 1931 for Wimbledon, which caused some pearl-clutching at the time.

As the decades progressed, trousers for women became less of a shock and more a normal part of the female wardrobe – due to factors like wartime pragmatism in the 40s and the cultural revolution of the 60s. Fast forward to today, where culottes on women would not raise an eyebrow in the slightest. (Perhaps they’re even something your mum or grandma might wear!)

Culottes are a great way to add movement to your outfit, while being just as practical as traditional trousers – makes sense, considering their history. So, how to wear culottes in winter? As Chanel showed us 100 years ago, they look great in the summer on the French Riviera – but rest assured that they can be styled for the colder months, too.

Ahead, how to wear culottes in winter.

With patterned or colourful tights

Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images

Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

If you’re someone who doesn’t want even a sliver of flesh exposed to the elements in winter (and we don’t blame you) we’d recommend a pair of tights underneath the trousers to offer you some extra protection. Black, opaque, high denier tights are a classic, but you can do better than that. One of the stand-out trends of this year and expected to get even more popular: colourful tights.