COMPLETE GUIDE TO MEN'S CASUAL PANTS

After several weeks of talking to you about new creators, it was time to return for a day to a more general article. Having already covered many subjects that you will easily find in the best of or in our different categories, the choice was not easy! Finally, we agreed on the men's casual pants. The piece as basic as it is advanced, versatile and sometimes difficult to tune. How to choose the right pants? What material? What budget? What do I really need? Don't worry marcel, we tell you right after!

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HISTORY OF MEN'S CASUAL PANTS

If we find traces of men casual pants everywhere through the ages (in different forms of course), the port becomes more advanced with the domestication of the horse. Yes, you will understand, it is again a trend born of a necessity (try to make the horse in short pants… it does not seem funny). When did it all start? Around 1850 from what we can read here and there, as for the reverse, it was Edouard vii who popularized it in 1909!

The name meanwhile, comes to us from far beyond and serves as always to democratize the thing. Indeed, the word “pants” comes from Venice, whose inhabitants were called pants(because of the worship they gave to saint Pantalone). The word enters the french language with the commedia dell'arte and his character of a stingy old man wearing long pants and called men casual pants.

We won't give you a history lesson here that will drag on, but a little reminder seemed interesting! So ok, the pants have always been more or less there, and that is also why it has taken many forms. Many of them have disappeared, but some persist and it is today a story of cutting. Without going into the details of the jeans or chinos that we have already dealt with, let's take a look at the different pants cuts available to you.

THE DIFFERENT PANTS CUTS

Yes, there are very many cuts. We will leave aside those that have been missing for around 372 years and will focus on those that you will always see in your favorite brands!

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  Skinny: tres pants (too?) fit, it will marry the leg very closely. We generally do not recommend it and see it less and less; you will see it again sometimes in the youngest (14-18 years) who have a rather thin/slender physique which allows them to wear this kind of cuts. It has a fairly “rock” connotation.

• Slim: this is the “portable” equivalent of skinny. The cut is tapered, close to the leg but you don't have to be tight. The men casual pants are here very close to the body but you should be able to get into them without using 3l of milking fat. To advise the finest physique, again.

• Semi-slim / tapered: an option that we recommend to anyone starting out. The thigh is not too tight but it is tighter than on a straight cut, and the men casual pant descend almost straight on the ankle (with a slight tightening at the end). This cut is the one that highlights the most body shapes! ( see our article on body shapes and how to play them )
• Carrot: the carrot cut is, unlike the semi-slim, a cut that will be wide enough on the thigh and that will gradually tighten from the knees to reach a fairly fine ankle opening. It is a very interesting cut if you start to master the basics of the male wardrobe and want to go further.

• Straight: the straight cut is the classic cut par excellence. We very often advise against it because it brings absolutely nothing to the outfit or the silhouette. Avoid it as much as possible even if it is not dramatic in itself, it is simply not interesting.

• Oversize: here we are entering quite advanced things. The oversized cut is a cut that gives the impression of pants that are too big, but everything is wanted and calculated. Not to be confused with pants that you would have really bought too big and whose proportions would be bad.

• Bootcut / Steph's leg: classic cut with a very wide ankle as its name suggests, this type of pants is in the first case made to be worn with boots, and in the second case made for hippies! Joking aside, it's an interesting cut if you have fairly massive shoes and want to reduce them, for example.

• Pliers: This is not a men casual pant cut but it is a special case to note: whether the pliers are made with a seam or with a hot iron, these are pants with marked pleats, front or sides. These are often present on old suit pants or on fairly worked pants.

THE DIFFERENT MATERIALS

There are a lot of possible materials to make interesting pants, but we will only be interested here in the basics, the ones you will see most often!

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• Wool: material most used for classic pants like a little more worked cuts, wool pants are the real good idea of ​​winter for those who want to get out of basics (we also really like wool/cashmere mixes, obviously ). We like it in black and gray tones in the first place.

• Velvet: velvet, corduroy, if it was reserved for our grandfathers for a long time, it comes back in force in the male wardrobe and that's great. We like it in warm colors (cognac) or in beautiful deep greens (fir green).

• Cotton: lighter, easier, cotton is a material that goes everywhere that you will find especially in mixtures of materials.

• Linen: typical summer material (with the seersucker), you will find it in some very light pants. This material is still quite resort-related in saint-Tropez and it will be good to keep it for the seaside.

• Denim: cotton canvas. You are probably all familiar with denim - or jeans for friends. If you want to know more about its history, Sidney told you about it several months ago.

• Materials that are too light: some materials are too light or too fine for your tailors to make pants. In these cases, they must be mixed with wool: for example, cashmere or baby alpaca.

• Synthetic: finally, you will find synthetic in many men casual pants. When it comes to adding technical properties it's a good thing when it comes to cutting costs, it's a bad one! By following the brands we recommend, you shouldn't have any problems.

WHICH PANTS TO CHOOSE ACCORDING TO HIS STYLE

Ok, we made history, we made the cuts, we made the materials. The cool thing now would be to see how we would choose our pants according to the style we would like to adopt! Yeah, marcel we're going to do that there, I think we have something.

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Rather than retracing all the possible styles and getting a headache, the idea is to stay as usual on what you are going to if you are: beginners, intermediates, advanced.

Beginner? You are just starting to take an interest in your style and you are more in the basics, just opt ​​for jeans (denim) or basic cotton pants, preferably with a semi-slim cut. It is not complicated, nor very fun but it is above all very effective, it allows you to make no mistakes (unless you choose pink). Jeans and chinos are mid-season men casual pant but they are the easiest to choose. Take them in basic colors: blue or gray.

Intermediate? You have passed the beginners stage, you want to go further but do not yet know how to position yourself ... Try the velvet, the fairly basic wool pants and take a look at the side of the carrot or bootcut cuts for example! The keyword: dress according to the seasons, and go for cooler colors.

Advanced? The world belongs to you as it always does… opt for mixtures of material, oversized pants or with volume play and always an interesting hand (a touch)! In fact, for you, it's time to experiment and find what you really like. (little crush on the team, Japanese materials…)

SOME BRANDS TO DISCOVER

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Gain, everything will depend on the budgets and what you are looking for, but we have made a small listing that should give you something to dig into for a while:

Jeans: cos, Momotaro, japan blue, apc, rehsen.

Chinos : monoprix, balibaris, pants, blue rider, confident paris, la paz, acne.

Wool pants: cos, gant rugger, baron y.

• Men casual pant has always existed, except that they had other forms, other names, other materials.
• Be careful to choose the right cut, it is important according to its morphology, but also according to its tastes and style.
• Materials are also important, choose them according to your desire and your budget.
• By picking from our brand directory, you shouldn't have any problems with the materials.
• Do M you have any other information to offer us? Do not hesitate, the comments are there for that.

MY STYLE ADVICE FOR DRESS PANTS

As we mentioned briefly above, the dress men casual pants have high-end technical finishes, which make them a strong piece in an outfit. It can, therefore, be worn in few style registers, we forget the formal (we can completely wear suit pants with tightening tabs but the size will be much soberer). It is only a question of a relaxed style, very dressed certainly but intended for a nonformal use. It is worn in an adjusted cut but not too much, as well as too wide (personally) I find that it is not pretty either.

I will, therefore, present you with several ways to wear it so that you can form the widest possible opinion on the subject.

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DRESSED WITHOUT JACKET

We start with the simplest way of approaching the subject, when the dress men casual pant is the highlight of the outfit, so without a jacket. The pini parma brand, which offers very refined models, succeeds well in this kind of outfit, easy to approach with character. In this composition, a simple formal shirt lighter to generate contrast is enough. The men casual pants have such a character that dresses the outfit by itself! Easy to approach and without risk-taking.

DRESSED IN MISMATCH 

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In the second scenario, we wear dress pants with a mismatched sports jacket. The jacket, therefore, has a different color from the pants, ideally, the colors of the two pieces generate contrast. The Italians are very strong in this area, here are two different examples: It's perfetto Benedetto who offers us a very nice summer outfit with dress men casual pant. A simple outfit: a textured sport Neapolitan jacket while remaining sober, contrasting pants and a very pretty textured pink polo shirt, we also note the presence of a discreet pocket. Simple, elegant and refined. This is typically the kind of outfit I wear in the summer.

Another very preppy composition proposed by Fabio Attanasio  which offers a slightly more marked set of colors with a pink striped shirt, a straight cut sports jacket and a beautiful contrasting colored clutch. Another way to approach the mismatched outfit in a more American style.

DRESSED IN A JACKET

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To conclude on the style advice, we attack the most difficult part to master: the casual outfit. Indeed, nothing predisposes this kind of pants to end up with a workwear jacket or a teddy, and yet you will see that the result is stunning. Shuhei Nishiguchi has a very interesting mastery of colors. He manages to mix pieces that seem unlikely to wear together! Although the pants are really too short, the rest of the outfit is particularly successful: a pair of dark patina moccasins to generate contrast, an olive safari jacket that matches very well with the red polo shirt and a beige jacket hidden between two. We arrive at a very sophisticated level of style and appearance.

Luca rubinacci, the heir to the illustrious family of eponymous tailors, is a big fan of dress pants. It's very simple, he only wears it and his brand makes it his iconic piece. I found you a photo or he wears one in a casual outfit that is simple but works great. Light materials, a sky blue shirt with flared collar, a very nice workwear jacket perfectly underline his nonchalant style.

WHAT ABOUT HIGH WAIST THEN?

Gurkha is a type of dress pants, but there are others in the tailoring world (as you can see below). You may have noticed that almost all of them have a high waist, indeed it gives many advantages for your figure. Contrary to what we can read, the high waist goes to all men in terms of proportions. If you are small, for example, it lengthens your leg line and makes you look more slender. On the contrary, if you are tall and thin, having a tall waist shortens your torso, which makes it appear wider. The belting of the dress pants is the most important part, because this finish which will make it a strong piece, just like the central pleat or the darts which lend themselves better to the high waist.


Finally, one of the major advantages is comfort. Usually fitted with a clip (or two), men casual pant add comfort, especially when you are seated. In theory, the fork is also higher, which is also much more comfortable for your family jewelry. Finally, you will get rid of this problem of this damn shirt that comes out of the pants, because it is ultimately a problem that only happens with low waist called "Trends". You will find it hard to go back once you have tried, so dare the high waist! For the more seasoned among you, opt for a pair of braces with legs (and not pliers!) to reach the pinnacle of classic elegance.

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MY BEST ADDRESSES TO FIND DRESSED PANTS

As these pants do not really come out of the sartorial microcosm, it is rare to find them on the market of large brands that dominate the market. A fact which can be explained for two reasons: the first being that it is very dressy pants, which goes off the beaten track, so most brands ignore its very existence because few workshops are capable of manufacturing it. The second reason (and probably the main one) is that it is pants that cost a lot more to make for a brand, the finishes are technical and use specific know-how and materials, it costs significantly less than put some strips on the pants to hang a belt on it. You can always opt for a chino dressed if you don't feel like putting on these pants

A very nice entry level for those who want to try it. Julien scavini is a tailor who has a very safe taste and this is reflected in his creations. He offers a wide range of pants with several different cuts, including a model of dressed Bermuda shorts! To be in store, you will find all possible colors and materials as well as several character patterns.

I am personally a real fan of Thomas Pini's work for his brand. With each new collection (entirely made in Italy), it offers a “storage” line which contains pieces very inspired with a real Neapolitan character. In this collection, we find in particular several models of dress pants which are very successful, I bought two for personal use.

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One of the great references for Gurkha trousers in Italy. I have never been able to test one, that said they enjoy a good reputation in the sartorial universe. Although the product seems to be of a certain quality, I find it a bit expensive for men casual pants. That being said, if some of you have more generous means, this is an offer that may well suit them.