When power dressing means wearing the right trousers

For many people, trousers are just something to wear. But for some fashion enthusiasts, trousers are a way to flex their taste and show they are in the know.

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To members of this crowd, like Ms Maddie Bailis, wearing certain trousers is akin to - and may even edge out - carrying "it" bags.

"It's a signifier of understanding a fashion moment, like a handbag," said Ms Bailis, 33, the director of merchandising for the clothing brand Kule in New York.

"Many people have designer bags these days. You can get them in the airport, on The Real Real, you can buy them fake on Canal Street. They don't have the same weight they once carried."

Also, prices for luxury handbags have risen so sharply in recent years that even some of the wealthiest consumers are hesitant to buy them, said Mr Luca Solca, a senior analyst in luxury goods at the research firm Bernstein.

Ms Bailis owns two pairs of trousers that she said are easily recognised by women who closely follow fashion.

They are the Basic trousers from Pleats Please (starting at US$375 or S$505), the line of accordion-like clothing founded by Japanese designer Issey Miyake, and the Tie trousers by Los Angeles designer Brooke Callahan. She previously worked in public relations for the French brand A.P.C.