Learn me: pants

1988RedT2 said:

Duke said:

Whatever you get, make sure it's at least 95% cotton.  Polyester is Satan's fabric.

 

Quoted for truth. 

This time of year, consider searching for and buying a nice pair of 100% wool slacks.  They look great and last forever.  But dry clean only.

 

For dress/office work slacks, wool is excellent and the fact that they're dry clean only doesn't seem to impact the budget because I can wear them about 10 times before I notice any funk. Pregnant wife tested and approved too - and she's smelling EVERYTHING right now. I wear Kirkland wool slacks, but hesitate to recommend them because I've noticed they're not as generously cut in the thigh's as they used to be. 

Wool is basically my favorite thing.

Wool socks

Wool hat

Wool quarter zip

But I don't think Wool works for my pants. We can't dry clean, and I wear super bright colored long sleeve shirts always, so I need (I think) pretty boring khaki colored pants.

I can vouch for Saddlebred by Belk's.  When they switch seasons the  brand is sometimes insanely cheap. Polos, pants, button shirts hold their color and don't shrink.

Due to a new venture I brought Dickies for the first time. They fit weird, and the inside lining on the pants is white, so while I'm wearing black I can get a white ring around my waist because they can roll over my belt. Looking for a wider belt to avoid that.

The0retical said:

Haggar Clothing co, preferably in your nearest outlet mall for the extra percentage off.

+1 came to post this.  I have to dress business casual and always preferred dockers khakis but then I tried on some of Haggars offerings (at the outlet mall...def dont pay full price) and I've never gone back, by far the most comfortable dress pants I've found and they hold up well.

I bought Haggar way back when I started and returned them. They fit weird, too baggy I think.

I have had good luck with Old Navy Slim fit khakis but that is only if you like slimmer fitting pants.

For years and years I've worn Docker's khakis for work. Been through more pairs than I can count, honestly. They are fine, but I recently picked up a couple pairs of Duluth Fire Hose cargo pants, and I don't know if I'll ever go back. Seemingly very durable, but soft and forgiving, as well. The older I get, the more crap I seem to need to carry around, and these have pockets galore, so I'm set there. The only downsides are that they aren't quite as dressy looking with all the pockets, and they are also pretty expensive. But Duluth runs a lot of sales, and if they last like they seem like they will, it'll be worth it in the long run.

It's been a couple years since I've added any to my closet, but I always had good luck with Jos. A Bank.  Before Men's Wearhouse bought them, they'd run the buy 1 get eleventybillion things for $Texas sales and I'd grab a handful of suits and shirts.  Don't trust their on-line alterations, have it done in store but you can get the amount of break that is most comfortable for you.  They can also sew in the buttons for suspenders if that's your thing.  Other than having one of their shirts wear holes in the creases of the arms in a very bizarre fashion, I've found their things to hold up very well.  I'm sure it's store-dependent, but they usually have a good staff that will dress you instead of you having to try to figure out what you look good in.  It's a little dressier than what most people call "business casual", but a good pair of dress pants, freshly shined shoes, and a French-cuff shirt with subtle-but-nice cufflinks will set you just a little bit apart from the crowd.

I had no idea wearing pants was this complicated ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pete

NOHOME said:

I had no idea wearing pants was this complicated ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Don't get me started about everyone switching to only 5 beltloops

Another vote for Duluth here. They make a style of the fire hose pants called Foreman's or something to that effect which implies a bit more formality. They look dressy enough and still hold up to doing real work, which suits my role perfectly. Also, the crotch gusset was a game changer for me, since blowing the crotch out is by far the most common failure mode on my pants (I blame slim fit and driving low cars for this.)  Pricey, but in my experience worth it. Watch for 30% off sales, especially this time of year. 

I recently switched from Khakis to slightly more formal dress pants when doing business conventions where sportcoats are de riguer. I found some light weight, no-iron, polyester dress pants that are as comfortable as pajamas. They have a stretch waistband and silicone grippers in the waist that keep your shirt tucked in. They are amazing. Haggar, I think, bought at Kohls.

Day to day in the lab I'm in jeans - whatever I find that fits well whenever I'm buying. Only thing I can say is Levi's never fit me right.

Oh, and I almost refuse to buy button up shirts or jeans anymore that don't have some stretch. So much more comfortable and they don't have to look like mom jeans anymore to get it.

I work in dialysis, so wet all the time, bleach is a thing too, bending, lifting, khaki is mandatory, i wear Wrangler khaki denim "jeans" and fit in fine at meetings with big wigs

I agree on wool for pants.  Do you have a local outlet mall?  Check the Polo store. I've got some killer deals on really nice dress pants from there over the years.

More importantly what job do you have that needs pants these days?  I mean in automotive it's jeans everywhere, even VP's.  I honestly think jeans look better, neater and more professional than dockers, Khakis etc.  Jeans, a dress shirt and sport coat look so much better than the old Dilbert regiment of Khakis and a polo shirt.  

This is completely unhelpful, but all I could think of when I read the thread title was this scene:

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

NOHOME said:

I had no idea wearing pants was this complicated ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Don't get me started about everyone switching to only 5 beltloops

Seriously this bugs me as well. 

carhartt slacks hold up for me in the lab and they are dresy enough for an oficce in the right areas of the country. They are indestructible in a office environment. I were the electrtion pants to work most days when I am doing something dirty and I have had mine for years with zero issues. 

wearymicrobe said:

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

NOHOME said:

I had no idea wearing pants was this complicated ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Don't get me started about everyone switching to only 5 beltloops

Seriously this bugs me as well. 

carhartt slacks hold up for me in the lab and they are dresy enough for an oficce in the right areas of the country. They are indestructible in a office environment. I were the electrtion pants to work most days when I am doing something dirty and I have had mine for years with zero issues. 

 

Damn, me too.  I'll pay an extra couple of bucks gladly for the $0.01 in material and $0.01 in labor to add them.

Plain Pocket Corduroys from JC Penney's.  Wait - that was 1980. 
 

I find a brand and stick with it - Savane found at K&B now only online at Kohl's.  

I love my big black Dickies...  Cargo for me, please.

Seriously, at this point all of my pants are Dickies. I just hit Amazon and reorder my last when I wear out a pair (welding/grinding slag will eventually do them in).

ultraclyde said:

I found some light weight, no-iron, polyester dress pants that are as comfortable as pajamas. They have a stretch waistband and silicone grippers in the waist that keep your shirt tucked in. They are amazing. Haggar, I think, bought at Kohls.

I have the same ones from kohl's and find them comfortable. They seem to hold up well, can be washed at home, and dont need to be ironed.

I've been getting them as replacements when  my dockers wear out. I'm in a holding out on buying anymore until I get down to the next lower size. 

I've been wearing no-iron Dockers for well over 20 years now.  I think I get 3-4 years or more out of a pair- I really don't pay attention, as my wife magically replaces them when they wear out.  I got some new ones that should finish my career.  

edit- funny that we went from shirt and tie 28 years ago, to business casual, to now jeans and tennis shoes for professional engineers.  I've always been more comfortable in the relaxed fit Dockers for my work, so I'm slightly old school.

Johnboyjjb said:

I really like Kuhl pants. The relaxed fit work with my thighs and calves.

I'll second these. But I don't think they're nice enough looking for OP.

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Wrangler cargo khakis every day for work for the last 3 years. Havent ripped a set yet. Durable, stain resistant, 19 bucks a pair, comfortable, and enough pockets for my leatherman, flashlight and spare mag.

This is me just about every day. I buy the rip stop version. Even to church on Sundays. 

I get 3-5 years out of them. They never rip, but they do start to get a little thin. 

I buy these Levi tech pants they sell at Target. I destroy them, I go get another pair. They're the comfiest things I've found, and I've just accepted a pants budget of like 100$ a year.