We have a lot to unpack here in a short amount of time. We have to cover time and perception, the power of a crease, pants, and more pants stuff. Let’s get right to it.
I used to think that the chinos above were a nice balance between slim and wide. However, I feel like they look a bit too tapered these days. This is interesting to me for a few reasons, but the most interesting is that I am now gaining the ability to see how trends from the 2010’s influenced my style. It takes a little bit of time in between the past and the present to be able to recognize these trends. It’s really interesting when it becomes apparent.
Let’s move on to the power of the crease. I was going to show the image above and let it speak for itself, but to clarify these are the exact same pair of pants. I think they look too tapered on the left, but don’t look bad on the right. The Wallabees are effecting the drape, but I also think that they are highlighting the leg opening issue. Now I am not going to throw these chinos out. They aren’t that bad. I will probably just wear them casually with no crease, but I am on the hunt for new work chinos.
The hunt for new work chinos has been going on for a short while. Not too long ago I posted about J.Crew’s classic fit. While I liked these I found them a touch too voluminous. The crease did help clean this up a bit, but I knew they weren’t the ones. I recently picked up a pair of the new J.Crew straight fit (see here). They are a little trimmer than the classic fit, but they still have a decent rise (J.Crew says a size 32 has a 12.25″ rise), and leg width (8″). These run closer to tts unlike the classic fit which run a full size large. I have only worn them twice, but these might be the ones for me. I will probably size up from these 29″ waist that I am wearing here which have a 11″ rise to a 30″ waist to get another 1/2 inch of rise. Before I go all in on these I need to wear them out a few more times and then try out some JD M1’s soon
Before I hear it in the comment section let me set the record straight. I actually think that the classic fit looks a touch better than the straight fit in these pics above. However, I think it’s more to do with the photography and you guessed it, the crease. I should have done a non-creased classic fit pic to show just how wide they really are and a creased pic of the straight fit, but I ran out of time. Also, don’t be fooled. The rise is almost identical in both pairs. I will have to follow up with more pics.
Before I head out there is one last thing I wanted to touch on which is body shape. Body shape is going to play a major role in what pants works for you. Your torso to leg ratio, height, weight, and for me my bowed legs will all inform what rise, inseam, and leg width work best. For example my bowed legs can make pants looks slimmer than they are by the way they cause my pants to drape. Especially if I am standing with my knees locked and then I have to factor in my larger than normal calves too. All that to be say that pants fit is very personal on multiple levels. That’s it for now, but I am sure there will be more pants talk in the near future.
