A Detailed Guide to Building a Foundational Wardrobe for F/W24: Pants
Tops were settled last week, let's work our way down to what will shield our legs from the chilly fall breeze. Might even...have...a few...shorts?
My brain is fried and I don’t have a witty intro. I just think we should wear good pants and stop wearing skinny fit entirely. IDK buy yourself something nice this week.
THIS WILL BE POSTED EVERY WEEK AS A RE-UP. IF YOU READ A PREVIOUS PART OF THIS SERIES, SKIP ALONG:
If my memory serves me right, back in the days of Four Pins (RIP) there was a segment called…errrrr…Sliding Scale (?) where they’re choose a topic like ‘White Sneakers’ and then give you 5 options in different price ranges for you to choose from. This was really cool at the time since a lot of us were just wandering into menswear and it allowed us to see what was out there, and more importantly, what we could afford. This series is going to re-up that idea by offering you three options in different categories, going from $ to $$$ in the hopes that we can cover all the financial bases.
One preface I’d like to mention before we jump into tops is that none of my options will consider the fact that you can thrift a lot of these things yourself, or scour eBay or Poshmark or Grailed. Although a great option for many of us, the biggest issue with second-hand sites is that you don’t always have the ease of sizing / availability at hand. These posts will try to offer options that will be in stock, with consistent size charts, that won’t have sweat stains on them. In some cases (like when we get to jeans) you might find that the best options might actually be thrifted, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for while digging through bins. Regardless, if you’re willing, go and see what options you can find on those sites; I am typing this as I wear $500 engineer boots that I lowballed some dude on Poshmark for $50…so…we are not above thrifting here at Threadspace.
Second preface is that I’m offering some classic versions of these things. There are some truly insane, creative, weird offerings for pants and shorts but you will not find those here. This series is for basics that can build you a foundational wardrobe; those other pieces come into play down the road once you’ve amassed a good starting point. No flashy designs. No visible logos. No (real) colors. You can buy these offerings at 20 and they’ll still look good as you turn 30. Longevity is the name of the game here.
Third preface — THIS IS A LONG POST. I’ve added dividers so you can skip ahead to whatever items you need some recs for. I’ve dumped my heart and soul into this. Appreciate it or else.
Ok. Let’s begin.
Pants: I am a firm believer that the bottom-half of our outfits should always be long pants, not shorts. I am not a shorts wearer, even in the summer. It just feels wrong. No one should have to see my legs, and giving how poor hygiene is amongst men in general, no one wants to see your ashy knees and ankles. Maybe we should do post on skincare first? Like before you wear shorts we have to check out what the situation is from knee down. Anyways — pants. So many options and I’m going to try my best to give you a wide net of options. Per usual, it’s a $ / /$ post. Here we go.
Jeans: I think every good wardrobe needs to start with jeans. If you take into account last week’s post on tops, we started with t-shirts; if you get a good white t-shirt and good pair of blue jeans, you’ve got a solid outfit right there already. When it comes to jeans, the entry level jean (which is nuts for being a $ price point) is the Levi’s 501. I think for $75-100, you cannot beat this pair of jeans. They’ll age wonderfully and they go with everything. I’d suggest a blue pair and a black pair as you’ll get so much range from those two colors alone. If you’re nervous about committing to that price point, GAP has an insane selection of jeans since it’s been under a new creative direction. Stick to the straight fit for sub-$100 and you’ll be good to go.
For the $$ choices, you’d be hard pressed to find better jeans than Madewell Mens and J Crew. Madewell’s 1991 Straight Jean comes in at $138, or $148 for the unwashed color and these seem to mimic those vintage 90’s jeans perfectly, from fit to wash. J Crew’s Classic Jean is also $148, and since they’re sister brands means the deciding factor might come down to overall style. Madewell leans a little more casual, maybe ‘younger’ although that’s a poor word, and J Crew leans a little more formal, for more classic looks. Neither choice will fail you, and I’ve heard great things about people keeping their jeans from these brands around for jeans.
Now for $$$…we are in the depths boy (and girls). The denim game can be expensive, especially once you start hearing the words ‘japanese’ or ‘raw’ or ‘selvedge.’ You are going to be shocked and maybe even disgusted at what I’m about to present to you but I’d implore you to consider that the prices are reflective of the quality — you might wear these jeans for the next +10 years. First, the 3Sixteen CS-222xs jeans are the perfect entry point into the selvedge denim game. At 12 oz it’s hefty, but not unbreakable to wear into the warmer months. Alternatively, I love what orSlow 105 90’s Jeans, they look and feel like the jeans your dad wore in the 90’s, and at 13.5 oz they’re a littttttle heftier than the previous jeans. If neither of these options work for you, or if you’re looking for more options, I recommend peeping the Self Edge site to see the mass amount of denim that they stock. They have a variety of brands from niche brands like Samurai and Mister Freedom to more recognizable names like Iron Heart and 3Sixteen. Look at their sizing and read the descriptions carefully; some jeans will give in and stretch a little, others will stretch a lot, and some will shrink as they wash so you need to know allllll the details ahead of time.
FINAL NOTE: eBay is a goldmine for vintage denim. I’ve seen people score classic Levi’s 501’s from the 90’s for (literally) $7. It does take a little bit of work to find a pair that fits you, and you need to know your measurements as well, but you’re likely to find a steal if you’re patient. Thrift stores are good too, but a lot of the ones I’ve went to have already adjusted their prices to reflect the vintage market too you might be paying a lot.
Chinos/Trousers: Although there are differences between chinos and trousers, most people use the term interchangeably; for the sake of this article not becoming a longer mess than it has to, they’re…fancy pants. Fancy-ish pants. When we get to suits we’ll talk about nice trousers but otherwise, you’re looking for chinos. Some sites might even call them khakis…no consistency. Lucky for you, most trousers are garbage and not worth the price. But there are some that you can sneak into your rotation for a nice night out / a day at the office. In terms of color, stick to black, tan and navy. MAYBE brown.
J Crew has been having solid chinos for years now, even if they weren’t always as cool as they are now. I’d stick with the classic, but I also own the giant fit and love how weird they are, and both are $98. If you want something that’s a little more out there or gorpy, Gramicci’s Relaxed Fit Trouser is $105 and it comes with an elasticized waistband; good for work and play baby.
Let’s say you want to spend a little more $$…two brands that I’m really excited about right now are Universal Works and NN07; both are making classic designs but updated for 2024. The Black Aston Trouser from Universal Works is a little slimmer than anything else I recommended, but I think if you’re on the slimmer side you might be able to pull it off. $180 isn’t cheap, but on their own site it’s closer too $233 so this is the rare moment where ssense has the cheaper price. NN07’s Theo 1420 Trouser is such a solid choice in terms of something that you can dress down / dress up; they describe it as ‘…a cross between chinos and formal dress styles.’ They are $240, but the come in a gorgeous brown and that might be worth the premium. Stop being broke.
For the $$$ options we’re going Japanese baby!…well…okay like one is imported fabric from Japan and the other is actually Japanese. Todd Snyder is no amateur when it comes to trousers and chinos, and these Japanese Relaxed Fit Selvedge Chinos are a love letter to pants with cotton coming straight from the Kuroki Mill in Japan. I mean, for $298 you’d better get some premium materials. Alternatively for an eye-watering $335 you can cop the swaggiest of pants in the form of the Khaki Officer Trousers from Engineered Garments. They’re perfectly loose and would pair so well with a small t-shirt, you know with the small shirt / big pants look everyone likes to wear? In all seriousness, although the price is steep, EG is known for their quality and attention too details. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a nerdier pair of pants. No girl will care about these, but I’ll care about them. Love you.
Shorts: Look, I’m not a shorts guy. I’ve tried and it just doesn’t work on my frame. But this is a good thing (I think) because I’m giving you recs for shorts that I’d consider wearing. You can trust someone that’s hesitant to wear shorts recommending shorts because that means I’m giving you the best possible options so you don’t look like a dork.
There is only one option in the $ category and that’s the long-standing undefeated king: the Patagonia Baggies. For $65 (and in every color imaginable) you can hike, run, swim, and even brunch in these bad boys. This is the unifying thread in the shorts world, it’s the overlap between frat-turned-finance bro and menswear nerd.
The Highland Shorts from Manresa are my $$ choice. These shorts hit all the right points: $105, corduroy, have ‘pockets all over the place,’ and come in brown. I know that I’d sweat through these in the summer but I’m still really curious. I actually can’t even recommend a better short than these, even in the $$$ range — PLEASE do not spend more than $105 on shorts.
Sweatpants: CAUTION! THIS IS NOT MY PREFERRED PANT OPTION! I AM RARELY WEARING SWEATS! AND I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ANY ESSENTIALS SWEATS AS WEARABLE! IF YOU WEAR ESSENTIALS YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY A LOSER WITH POOR TASTE AND QUESTIONABLE MORALS!
I’m going for the chaotic, sort-of ironic choice: The Russell Closed Bottom Sweatpants (with no pockets). Now I get it, the no pockets thing is insane but here’s my thinking: no pockets is impractical, and thus, it’ll minimize your time wearing sweats in public. When you’re at home, you don’t need pockets. And when you go out, you should’t go out wearing sweatpants. So force yourself to be better and cop these for $20 + the cost of life of the poor Bangladesh kids that made these in a sweatshop.
If you absolutely need to wear sweatpants out, at least opt for a good choice. The Basics Sweatpants from Bare Knuckles do in fact have pockets (yay?) and look great because literally every Tik Tok dude has been wearing them. At this point I don’t know if having an army of Tik Tok guys wearing your stuff is the best strategy but money is money baby, and if it takes a few videos from handsome guys to help you move product I am all for it. Oh, and they’re $140.
Misc additions:
Double knees/workwear pants: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” should be the description for the Dickies 874 Pant. The fact that they’ve gone unchanged for so long and that you can cop them from Home Depot ˆ that they’re still $30 is impressive (and questionable). I don’t see why you’d want to buy anything else when these exist. You can man up a little and opt to wear some Carhartt Double Knees for $60, but those take forever to break in, and look too bad when they’re new. Maybe go spent +$100 on Grailed for a worn in pair so you can look the part without having to do the work.
You can also opt for a more fun variation like these Gramicci Double Knee Trousers. At $195 you can go buy six pairs of Dickies and still have a little leftover for a coffee…but…these come in corduroy. Is corduroy wore the $165 premium? I think it might be.
PDSkinny Jeans: These Amiri Skinny Jeans are on sale.
NEXT WEEK WE TALK FOOTWEAR BABY!