A kick in the pants

Let the deprogramming begin.

After years of telling women how their butts looked best in low-rise, boot-cut bottoms, the fashion industry is hoping to convince consumers that baggy pleated pants and peg-leg jeans are the new-new thing.

It's not an easy sell, despite how chic Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, and Sienna Miller look running around London in them.

''We're still going through an adjustment period," says Tina Burgos, co-owner and women's buyer at Stel's on Newbury Street. ''I'm trying to get my clients out of boot-leg jeans and into straight-leg jeans. That's progressing faster than pleated pants."

Burgos says her shop carried a pair of pleated cotton voile pants from the Imitation of Christ line last season, similar to the ones Paltrow was photographed wearing, and they sold ''pretty well," but she says she has to explain that the trousers are not cut like the baggies their mothers wore in the 1980s.

The pants still fall below the natural waist, and they're fuller in the hips and seat. ''So they're a little bit more comfortable to wear today," Burgos says. ''But for spring of next year, not only did I see pleats, I saw very high-waisted pants, which is going to be nearly impossible here in Boston. . . . I'm not saying Boston doesn't have that fashion set, but it's going to take a long time."

Regardless, she tells those who come in looking for boot-cut pants that it's time to reevaluate the look: ''To me it almost looks like you're being weighed down, like you're wearing anchors."

Stel's is selling a lot of tapered pants, however. ''The tapered jeans phenomenon has more to do with Kate Moss and Sienna Miller than anything else," Burgos says. ''It just creates a really nice, clean, long leg, and people are ready to move on from really low-waisted, very stretchy boot-leg pants."

HOW TO WEAR PEG-LEG STYLES

Leah Eckelberger , owner of Jean Therapy in Kenmore Square, says women of all sizes are wearing tapered jeans , but those with less than perfect figures might consider more classic straight-leg styles that can be cuffed and worn with ballerina flats or tucked into boots.

Buy a dark denim wash because it's slenderizing.

Pair the skinny bottoms with an oversize cardigan.

Tuck the pants into knee-high boots of similar color; if the boots are brown, for example, go with a dirty wash.

Wear them slouched at the ankle with a pair of super-tall stilettos. ''It's very Helmut Lang to do that," Eckelberger says. ''It's a sexy, sexy '80s look. It's so cutting edge. You don't want to look like your teenage daughter. This is sophisticated. It's more polished, more tailored."

HOW TO WEAR PLEATED PANTS

Clair Windsor, creative director of Gretta Luxe in Wellesley and Boston, says anyone from a size 0 to 12 can pull off the look, with a few tips in mind:

Slouchy menswear-inspired trousers look best with a top that is not too tight and not too billowy. It's all about proportion. ''It's not sloppy or oversized," Windsor says. ''It's not trying to hide anything."

Wear a skinny belt.

Heels help balance the width of the pants with height.