Women's Bottoms
Rise comes first on every pair of women's bottoms here. Low, mid or high, stated in the name, from chinos and carpenter pants through to jeans, cargos and cord. That ordering is more useful than it looks, because where a pair sits on the waist decides what can go above it, and the leg shape has very little to do with that. A high rise takes a cropped knit or a shirt tucked in. A low one wants length over the top, and only then is the leg worth thinking about.
Women's Bottoms
Low, Mid and High Rise Jeans, Chinos and Cargos
Rise is the part of a pair of women's bottoms you notice for the rest of the day. A high waist holds everything on one line, which is why it takes a shorter top and why a shirt tucked into it stays where it was put. A mid rise leaves the question open and will take a top of any length. Low sits under all of that and asks for something long enough to cover the gap, which rules out a good deal of what is already hanging up. Women's jeans and women's pants run the same rises across denim and cotton twill.
Wide Leg, Straight, Skinny and Carpenter Shapes
The leg is the enjoyable decision and it comes second. A wide leg in cord moves on its own and wants some substance on the foot underneath it. A straight leg goes with the most and asks the least. A skinny keeps the line close for anything worn over the top, and carpenter and cargo shapes add room and pockets, which changes the proportion above the waist as much as below it. Women's shorts and women's skirts & shorts take the shorter lengths, and women's cargo pants gathers the utility end. None of that can be settled properly until the rise is, which is why it sits at the top of the page.