You are staring at your closet, trying to pick out an outfit for your best friend’s 17th birthday at the local skating rink. You want to look cute (quirky even), but all you can find are skinny jeans and joggers. Then you remember your college sister left some of her old clothes behind but, unfortunately, all you can raid is stuff from her hippie or BOHO chic phase. You settle with a pair of brown corduroy bell bottoms and surprisingly, everyone at the party loves them. You get compliments from strangers and even a cute worker’s number without trying any harder than you would if you put on your Hollister high rise jeans. 

Considering we wake up around 5:30 a.m. each morning, it is not a surprise students lean towards leggings and comfortable jeans when it is time to choose their pants over something more unique or “funky.”

My main issue with basic bottoms is that it does not take any effort to produce an outfit. If the pant is plain enough, it can go with any top and shoes, making it look like you lack a sense of style.

A funky pant is anything that produces a unique silhouette, has an abnormal material or a fun pattern. An outfit can be improved by simply buying a pair of jeans that varies from the normal blue or black skinny, while still maintaining the level of comfort as normal jeans.

Jeans are the most popular bottom in America due to their comfort and ease of wear. The pants are easy to customize with a little bit of paint or sewing machine. There are lots of options for more interesting jeans that will spice up any outfit in stores, but if you are looking for something more affordable, jeans are an easy material to modify. 

An on and off trend online is painting the back pocket of your jeans with acrylic paint. If you like a challenge, you can build upon this trend to make it your own. For example, painting stripes, flames or anything else along the whole pant. Bleaching on different designs is another option if you are working with dark wash.

Pleated front pants are one of the trends for 2020. Although they look a bit like business attire, pleated pants can be made casual with a t-shirt or sneakers while still looking more put together than joggers or leggings. Since the trend is new, pleated-front pants will still be easy to find in thrift stores before they start popping up in fast-fashion chains like Forever 21.

The draw to patterned shirts or tops over funky pants is getting boring. If you are someone who likes a short get-ready time but still want to look nice, investing in more interesting pants is an easy way to make it look like you tried harder, because anything is better than leggings.