We’ve discussed how your pants should look; the pleats, the length, the waist, the rise, the seat…remember? We agreed that pleated pants aren’t good on anyone, and you promised me you will never put them on. Today, we’ll be discussing the kind of pants all men should have.
We are in the midst of a raging Khaki epidemic now that everyone wants to put on Khakis; chinos it’s widely called here. It used to be Dockers, but Vickers is relatively cheap and has the required quality, so now almost everyone buys Vickers. Vickers is not a bad brand though, but it’s always better to mix it up a bit. And don’t forget your promise about pleats; don’t ever wear pleated khakis, please! There’s nothing cleaner than a nice flat-front khaki pant. Khakis should always fit lean and mean, never baggy or bulky. So, if you’ve got the bulky or baggy khaki, let your tailor slim it down.
In countries with extreme weather conditions, there is a khaki for a season; fall khakis are different from winter khakis; spring khaki is different from summer khaki. The difference is always in the texture and sometimes colour.
Corduroys are seldom used these days, but they are always a good alternative to jeans. Corduroys are cool with a sweater and an oxford shirt on a date. Well, let’s hope corduroys come back and be everywhere the way it was some 5, 6 years ago.
Jeans are an American icon. We can call jeans the American Dream. There’s so much out there in denim for you to choose from, but make sure you don’t make the mistake of choosing novelty fashion denim, maybe a designer jeans with a fun wash or pocket treatment, which may look great on you when you buy it, but may be gone before you even have time to use the new style. They come and go.
Jeans are there for you to show your wealth, it may not be necessary for anyone to spend as much as $285 (about N45,000) on a pair of designer jeans when you can get a good pair of good old traditional five-pocket, button-fly Levi’s for around $50 (about N8,000). Most guys would never need more than that.
Levi’s are the Mercedes-Benz of denim. They invented the stuff and they know what they’re doing. Sadly, we don’t get much of Levi’s easily around anymore with so many cheaper brands ruling the market, brands we’ve never heard of. Read more on the history of jeans here
Jeans are by nature a little less smart and correct than other types of pants. They don’t have to fit tightly like dress pants. They look great when more relaxed.
Jeans are sometimes sized very randomly. So just because you’re one size in one brand doesn’t mean you’re going to be the same size in another. Some manufacturers add an inch or two to the waist band, just to make it even trickier. Make sure you buy the size of jean that fits you. If you’re a waist 31 and a 32 inseam, you’re safe. But if you’re little bit chunkier, with a bigger waist and a shorter inseam, it can be hard to find the jeans that fit you properly. This is because jeans that are big enough to fit you in the waist don’t come in shorter lengths, so you may have to buy a pair that’s too long for you.
When your pair of jeans is too long, please don’t just cuff them. It makes you look like a dejected quarry worker. You just have to take your jeans to your tailor and then have the original bottom hem reattached. The bottom hem will have the original stitching, and will have wear and tear engineered into it. Read more about different cuts of jeans here.
Here are the things a good pair of jeans should do for you.
– They should fit and flatter
– They should make you feel at your most comfortable
– They should make you look and feel sexy
– They should go with just about everything else in your wardrobe.
Lest I forget, low-slung jeans worn gangsta style (sagged) makes you look like you have a burden in your pants. Let’s leave that to our friends in the rap community, Hello Weezy! How do you know if you’ve gone too low? Well, the answer is simple; if you can see your underwear or your pubic hair; your low riders are too low. Please stop the sag thing.
Our discussion is not over peeps. We shall continue from here next week.
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