Bored with your jeans? Tired of track pants? Want something fresh and fun to give your spring outfit rotation a little boost? You may be in need of a pair of capri pants, the vintage-inspired, beyond-adorable pants that can take even the simplest outfit up a notch or two. These cropped pants may be just the thing to break out of a seasonal styling rut and inspire your next GRWM video.

Capri pants have been somewhat divisive through time, as their mid-calf length can be trickier than a true ankle pant or a knee-length short, for example, but once you figure out how to make capris work for you, you’ll wonder how you ever styled an outfit without them!

Ahead, learn about the birth of the capri pant, how the pant has evolved over the decades, and the best ways to style capri pants today.

The History of Capri Pants

If it feels like capri pants have been around forever, you may be surprised to know that they didn’t catch on for women until the 1950s and 1960s thanks to celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, who often wore the short pants in their films and more casually. With their influence, capris became a go-to for everyday style. That’s how we got the trendy capris we know and love today: slim fit and cropped under the knees.

Though there are many, many terms for calf- or ankle-length pants, capri pants typically hit just below the knee or mid-calf. They may also be called pedal pushers or clam diggers. While there is some wiggle room in the definition of a capri pant these days, “a true capri hits mid-calf,” clarifies stylist Julie Matos. “Anything longer is an ankle pant, anything shorter leans into a Bermuda. Cropped pants are more of a general category, but capris are very specific, and that’s why they can either look incredibly chic or slightly off. It all comes down to proportion.” The silhouette, length, and how you style them all make a big difference.

Paramount Pictures/Getty Images

Baron/Getty Images

Capris had another big moment in the spotlight in the ’90s and early 2000s, popping up on musicians like Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera and appearing on popular TV shows like Friends and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. “The early 2000s brought capris back in a more casual way,” Matos shares; stars were fans of almost every iteration of the capri, from the classic Audrey style to sportier interpretations to cargo capris.