Not jeans
Other pants for your consideration/inspiration.
This post isn’t meant to be a knock on jeans, I swear. I love jeans. They’re a day-to-day staple for me (I’m wearing them as I type right now.) But lately, the outfits that have been inspiring me have nothing to do with jeans.
If you were to look at my Instagram ‘saves’ from the last few months, what you’d mostly see are sleek trousers, flowy satin pants, and dark-coloured corduroys. I’ve been drawn more to the idea of rotating various pant styles with a basic top. Whereas, my thinking before had always revolved around a pair of jeans and how many different tops I could style with them.
The tricky part, I find, is that wearing bottoms that aren’t jeans (or sweats, or leggings, or any kind of casual pants) can be a bit intimidating. I can’t help but feel like the types of pants I’ve been coveting are a little too dressy and impractical for my day-to-day reality. I work from home, have young kids and am not going out every weekend (unless you count going to my son’s hockey games, which is obviously not someplace to be wearing satin pants, you know?)
So sometimes, it’s a matter of figuring out how to adapt a piece I love to my lifestyle—for example, how can I dress down trousers for everyday—and other times, the ideas remain more aspirational if anything.
Still, it’s nice to feel inspired by a new piece or way of dressing. It forces me to think outside the box of what I typically wear and consciously evolve my personal style, so it doesn’t feel stale or like I’m always wearing the same thing.
At the same, whenever I get the urge to try something new, I’ve been making it a point to ask myself why I’m drawn to a specific piece. Why do I like these pants, and do they suit my personal style? Or is it just that I like how they look on someone else?
These three pant styles are definitely something I could see myself wearing.
Satin pants
Why I love them: They’re classy and elegant and yet, they have a sense of ease about them (as if you can just throw them on, like loungewear.) I admit satin pants aren’t a practical buy for my current life (see reasons above), but am I still obsessed with them? Yes. For now, I’m filing them under aspirational dressing.
How I’d wear them: I love the juxtaposition of pairing something fancy, like satin pants, on the bottom, with athleisure wear, like an oversized crewneck sweater, on top, similar to @wendyswan.
Top picks: I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Vince Satin Bias Pants in Bona for months and occasionally stalk the website to see if they’ve restocked my size. From the reviews I read and comments on other Substack threads, these seem to be the satin pants to invest in because of their high quality and fit. Other worthy mentions include these from Silk Laundry, Reformation and Arket.
Trousers
Why I love them: It took me a while to see trousers (or slacks or dress pants or whatever you want to call them) as anything but office wear. The key for me was finding the right pair that felt relaxed AND the inspiration for how to dress them down. Now that I’ve come around, I can see that a pair of black trousers is as classic and versatile as a pair of well-fitting jeans.
How I’d wear them: I’ve gotten a lot of wear out of my black trousers lately, pairing them with either a navy blue knit (first photo above), a brown crewneck, or a white tank+grey cardigan combo with a brown belt. For footwear, I’ll do boots, ballet flats or sneakers, depending on where I’m going.
Top picks: I know they might be a tad overdone, but I stand by the Wilfred Effortless Pants from Aritzia. They look sharp (without being too formal), are low-maintenance (no wrinkles, machine washable) and comfortable, not to mention a great price-point. I got a black pair in the crepe fabric last year and am now eyeing this dark brown pair in the (Re)ssential fabric.
Corduroy pants
Why I love them: I never thought anything of corduroy pants before, and now they’re all I want. It probably has something to do with the resurgence of CBK fashion-related content and photos like this shaping my perception of corduroys as the kind of pants that cool girls wear.
How I’d wear them: A thin black turtleneck or cream-coloured long-sleeve tee. I’m also very into how @mimixn styles her cords with a red sweater and would consider a buttoned-up cardigan like this.
Top picks: I would definitely go for a wide-leg option in a brown or tan colour. These Citizens of Humanity ones are my favourite, and there are also these ones from the Gap and Everlane.
One last thing
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I agree that for so long I rotated different tops around staple bottoms but I am all about the specialty bottoms now. I’m also loving anything barrel leg!