Help with choosing new pants

[MuyJingo]

Hello,

I travel about 80% of the year, and can be in different weather and environments pretty frequently. Aside from wanting to look better, I'm also trying to consolidate my outfits so I have less to lug around with me.

I'm trying to find a versatile type of pants that will be fine in summer or winter, and can be fine in a casual or formal setting. I.e. something that I could change from a dress shirt to a t-shirt in and the pants would not look out of place.

I normally wear trousers that tend to be made of a mix of polyester and raylon, but these tend to be thin and not work well in casual settings.

There are so many different types of pants and materials, that I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. I would appreciate any input - thank you.

 

[Fanch]

Bill's Khakis Original Twill, or better still, Bullard Twill.

 

[MuyJingo]

Bill's Khakis Original Twill, or better still, Bullard Twill.

Thanks Fanch, looking into that now.

 

[Fanch]

lots of choices with Bill's Khakis: M1 (relaxed fit), M2 (standard fit), and M3 (trim fit), depending on your frame. Also pleated option (M1P, M2P, and M3P). The majority of days, I grab a Bill's from my closet. Can be worn with a dress shirt with or without tie and blazer, or jeans and leather jacket.

 

[DougC]

The Bullard field pants are pretty solid...1+

 

[Seb Lucas]

Not being a fan of the look of khaki coloured pants I'd consider the black ones; but $150 for cotton pants is about $100 more than I've ever spent on pants. Why so expensive?

 

[ykurtz]

Not being a fan of the look of khaki coloured pants I'd consider the black ones; but $150 for cotton pants is about $100 more than I've ever spent on pants. Why so expensive?

You can typically find new with tags Bill's on eBay for around $70 a pair.

For formal/casual in most any kind of weather, medium gray wool is by far your most versatile trouser. It goes with just about anything (except a gray jacket), easy to tailor, doesn't hold odor, hard to stain, keeps you cool when it's warm and warm when it's cold, etc.

 

[Fanch]

Not being a fan of the look of khaki coloured pants I'd consider the black ones; but $150 for cotton pants is about $100 more than I've ever spent on pants. Why so expensive?

Seb, Bill's Original Twills and Bullards are exceptionally well made. I am partial to the heavier cotton used on the Bullards, and the pockets are made with the 8.5 oz twill used on his Original Twills. Same pockets lining his 5 pocket jeans too. Like ykurtz said, Bill's can be found on ebay for ~50% of retail. Since one if Bill's flagship stores is in Dallas (Culwell & Son), I have mostly bought there but have bought some from ebay too.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Thanks fellas. Good to know. Always on the lookout for alternatives to jeans.

Do Bills M2s fit true to size. I'm a thin 34 waist.

 

[DougC]

I measure 34 and the 34 in m2 is about right.

 

[Nyah]

+1 on the wool. It requires almost no laundering, whereas cotton can't be worn more than a couple times at most before it starts to stink and feel wet.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Can you wash the wool or does it have to be dry cleaned? If the latter then I'm cotton. I only wash my jeans ever month or so and that seems fine.

 

[Nyah]

Can you wash the wool or does it have to be dry cleaned? If the latter then I'm cotton. I only wash my jeans ever month or so and that seems fine.

It doesn't really need to be washed at all unless it suffers some sort of accident. I've been wearing the same pair of wool serge trousers nearly every day, all Winter and have yet to see a reason to wash them. If something spills on them that could stain, I'll just hand wash them and let drip dry. The cotton pants I have need to be unworn for 1 or 2 days before I can wear them again, else they'll feel wet from the previous day of wear. This Summer I'll probably see if I can substitute wool pants for the cotton.