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today in detail

MistahWong with another spectacular combination.  Note that the blue blazer / great trousers combination has been de-fogeyfied with some spectacular attention to detail.  Amazing texture on the shirt and tie combination, a silver safety pin holding the tie, a beautiful square, and big (2”?) cuffs.  Elegant, classic - but also distinctive and noticable.

Q and Answer: The Pants After Jeans

James writes: Recently I’ve been paying more attention to my clothes and their quality — that meant scrapping a lot of boxy khakis and ill-fitting jeans for a pair of APCs, but I’m looking for more than one pair of “everyday pants.” I feel like khakis make me look like my Dad (I feel like every generation of dudes wants to look as much like their grandfather as they can but as little like their father as they can) and after wearing pants cut for humans everything else feels baggy and awkward. Where can a guy go to get a pair of pants after he’s used to the durability of raw denim?

If you’re talking about a casual wardrobe, the next logical step after a good pair of jeans is a good pair of chinos.  Not all chinos are the triple-pleated monstrosities that you associate with your dad and Frasier Crane.

There are plenty of options these days for chinos with a trim fit.  Above are J. Crew’s “Urban Slim Fit” pants, which come in several colors - we prefer the slightly sandier British Khaki to the standard khaki.  A little more flavor.  They’re about $60 at full price.

My own favorite chinos are ones that I’ve recommended here several times before - the Uniqlo Vintage Chino.  A great fit, some great details, and they’re usually about $35.  If you live in New York, you can go into the store, but if you don’t, they ship, just call them (917-237-8811) and ask for phone orders.  I like that the Uniqlos retain a bit of a military feel - it makes them more useful as a casual pant, rather than as a second-rate substitute for dress pants.

Dockers, feeling the pressure to update their image, have released the K-1.  It’s inspired by WW2 military chinos, but with a dramatically slimmer cut.  I haven’t touched them, but I’ve heard good things from the clothes nerds.  They’re inexpensive as well, at $68.

Everyone seems to agree that Bill’s Khakis are the bee’s knees when it comes to quality in a chino.  Their M3 size isn’t quite as trim (from what we’ve heard) as the J. Crews, for example, but it’s pretty solid.  The price is a bit higher at $135, but the khaki aficionados say Bill’s are worth the scratch, especially if toughness is what you’re after.

Go flat-front, slim-fitting, and possibly with a little bit of military, period detail - like a wider belt loop, a richer color, a heavier twill.  Don’t buy them pre-destroyed.  Start them a bit more formal, and move them towards casual as they wear.  Your goal here should be to rock these as effortlessly as JFK on his boat.  With some good accessories and a nice fit, you’ll look great.  Then, you’ll be ready for some gray flannels.

Q and Answer: How High Should I Wear My Pants?

Alan asks: Where on a man’s waist area should his pant’s
waistband rest? Most all of my pants seem to naturally (and
comfortably) rest a little higher than halfway between the top of the
pelvis bone and the hip joint. Perhaps it depends on the type or style
or cut of pant. Maybe it all comes down to comfort and I should just
play it where it lies. My concern though, as irrational as it may
seem, is that if I wear them too low it’ll look douchey; too high on
the hip and people will take me for a bit of a milquetoast.

Until I can properly consult with a tailor, what’s the word on the
streets, as they say?

It does indeed depend on the pants.

One of the key measurements of a pair of pants is the rise.  That’s the distance between the waistline and the end of the crotch.  It can vary significantly between pant styles - which is why we use inseam (the length of the inside of the leg) rather than outseam (the length from the waistband on the outside of the leg) to indicate pant length.

Over the past twenty years, and particularly in the past ten or so, the waistline of men’s pants has been creeping ever lower, as more and more men have worn their pants in the way they might wear their jeans - well below their waistlines.  The dominance of flat-front pants and the stereotype of the old man with high-waisted pants have fed into this phenomenon as well.

Low-waisted pants have advantages and disadvantages.  They can look cleaner and more contemporary, for one thing.  They can make the torso look longer.  They also make it more difficult to keep one’s pants up, more difficult to keep one’s shirt tucked in a flattering manner, and can create a “no man’s land” between the waist button on a coat and the belt line.  And while they can sit more comfortably below a gut, they also can emphasize said gut.

So: take note of the rise on your pants, and how you look in pants of various styles.  Take note, too, of the fashion world’s preferences, because you’ll be seen through that lense whether you like it or not.

As for where to wear your pants - let the rise tell you.  Your pants are cut so that their crotch is immediately below your crotch.  If they have a longer rise, they’ll be higher at the waist.  If they have a shorter rise, they’ll be lower.

(Above: Tobey Radloff, “The Genuine Nerd”)

Apparently a guy on the Norweigan curling team thought these pants were neat, and got the other guys on the team to buy them.  And then they decided they were their uniform pants.  BRAVO.

If you are on a curling team from Norway, you might as well just wear these pants.  I offer my FULL SUPPORT.

Spotted via our pal Rob Walker of the New York Times.

Q and Answer: Suspenders and Belts

William writes: What are your thoughts on wearing braces/suspenders?  Personally, I love the look, but a suit without a belt makes no sense to me. Is it overkill to wear both?

Particularly for relatively high-waisted pants, I love suspenders (or braces, as they’re known in the UK).  Particularly for those of us with, let us say, ill-defined waists, they can really help keep pants up and shirts down.  I also find them exceedingly comfortable.

A few guidelines:

• Avoid clip-on suspenders, unless you’re a contractor and need help holding up a tool belt.  (In which case, you should definitely get the kind that looks like a measuring tape.)
• Suspenders should be under a coat or vest.  Wearing them (as Andre Benjamin is above) as an accessory should be reserved for skins and people comfortable with sartorial power moves.
• Don’t wear a belt and suspenders, it’ll make you look like a tool.

It’s On Sale

Polo Slim-Fit Corduroy Jeans

These are one of several pants on sale with an additional 20% off at ralphlauren.com - also consider the Slim-Fit Custom Chino, for example.

$31.99 from $89.50 at RalphLauren.com

(via)

It’s On Sale

Vintage Slim Cavalry Twill Trouser

$39.95 from $79.50, Martin + Osa