Searching for Tailored Trousers. Again

You may recall, my friends, that I had black dress pants, or tailored trousers, on my spring shopping list. And I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I found a pair at Aritzia. They are the “Effortless Pant“, high-waisted and wide-legged, and they come in several colours. In fact they are the exact same pants I bought two years ago. Except in black.

I should say right off the bat, that I don’t love them. I like them. They are fine. I can wear them a number of ways with what I already have in my closet. They fill a niche that needed filling. They look good. But they don’t make my heart sing.

I have come to the conclusion that dress pants or tailored trousers with a wide leg will never make my heart sing. Will never be my best look.

That’s because I am short-waisted, with a flat bum, a wide waist, and a burgeoning frontal mid-section. Ha. Usually if wide-leg, loose trousers fit me in the waist, they are too big in the hips. Or they may flatter my butt, but show my abdominal problem area in all its “glory.” They may look okay from the front, but hideous from the side. They often make me look heavier than I am, emphasizing my large waist and short body. And they cover up my best feature, my long legs. Women with small waists look fabulous in them. Me. Not so much.

I have by times over many long years gone on the hunt for flattering, wide-leg, pleated dress pants. Sometimes I am successful. Like the Dana Buchman suit I bought in the late nineties. Or the pair of BCBG pin-striped trousers I found at Holt Renfrew in Montreal in 2008. Mostly I am unsuccessful. And for the past couple of years as styles have changed, as pant legs have widened, and as dress pants are now worn more casually with sneakers, I’ve been once again hunting for wide-leg, tailored trousers. Of course, I do have my old Max Mara navy dress pants. But seriously, even they will eventually bite the dust.

So if a pair of tailored trousers fits me, I will like them. But with the exception of my navy Max Mara pants and those pinstriped BCBG ones, I will never love them.

Back in 2021, just for fun, with no real expectation of success, I ordered a pair of the Aritzia “Effortless Pants.” Amazingly, they fit me. They fit across the bum. And they were high enough in the rise with sufficient pleats in the front to hide what I wanted hidden. If I hitched them up to my natural waist, they fell straight in the front, and didn’t look hideous from the side. This, my friends, is not an attribute to be sneezed at. If you’re interested, you can read posts I wrote about styling those original pants from 2021 here and here.

So this spring, since my search for black trousers was looking as if it would be fruitless, I headed back to familiar territory… namely Aritzia. I tried several pairs of their other dress pants, and eventually settled on the “Effortless Pant” again. That’s one great thing about Aritzia, they offer many of the same styles year after year.

Yesterday, I had a closet rummage to find ways to style my new tailored trousers. With varying degrees of success.

The first outfit I tried I assumed would be a no-brainer. Turns out I was wrong. I paired my black pants with an Everlane white box-cut tee, my white Theory blazer (selection of Theory blazers here), and white Vejas sneakers. I thought the black with the white was too stark together. Or maybe it just looked too waiter-ly, too choir-member-like? For whatever reason I much preferred the white jacket, tee and sneakers with the tan pants. I wore this outfit back in 2021 when I first bought the tan trousers.

The next combination I tried involved my black Everlane box-cut tee shirt, an old brown suede belt, and a pair of flat brown sandals. I liked this look.

The tee shirt is loose and, when bloused over the waist of the pants, made the outfit look almost like a belted jumpsuit. I rolled the arms of the tee up a bit, and wore small gold hoop earrings. I wished that I owned a tan sweater to tie around my neck. But my old linen Max Mara blazer looked good too. Especially when paired with my Eric Javits straw bag. I like this look. The loose tee makes it super casual.

Next I wanted to try this boxy Vince cashmere sweater from 2017. I love this sweater for the cut and the colour both. It looks so good with my striped A.L.C midi-skirt. And with my Rag and Bone checked cropped pants. I struggled to find appropriate footwear to wear with this outfit. I tried everything I own: sandals, sneakers, flats, loafers, nothing was quite right. What I need is a pair of flat, strappy pink sandals. But somehow I doubt I will buy pink flat sandals just so I can wear this sweater with these pants. I included the photos just to show the fit of the pants. None of the other pictures show the fall of the trousers in the front.

The last combination is my favourite. In fact I wore this the other day to attend an event with Hubby. I’m wearing my new-ish Everlane ribbed, mock-neck tank. This top was made for these pants. It’s fitted, but loose enough to tuck in and then blouse slightly over the waist of the pants. I love the mock neck and the cut-away style of the shoulders. It has enough stretch to not get baggy with wearing, but not so much that it clings to every roll and bulge. Love, love. I wish they offered it in as many colours as they do their other tanks. I have their organic cotton cut-away tank in several colours. And I’m thinking of ordering one or two more in a bright colour.

This old yellow sweater that I almost gave away two years ago has been doing yeoman service lately. Seriously folks, if you have old summer sweaters or even light fall sweaters that you’re not wearing, throw them around your shoulders and wear them as an accessory. I have breathed new life into two sweaters like this. Plus I am able to get more wear out of my light cashmere fall sweaters by wearing them as scarves.

I know it’s an old styling trick to wear a sweater around one’s shoulders. One that in the past denoted one’s preppy credentials. But those days are gone. Back in the day, I’d only do this with a sweater if I thought I’d pull the sweater on at some point during the evening. Now I don’t even consider donning the sweater as a sweater.

So my closet rummage was moderately successful, as they usually are. I cast about for different combinations and hit upon one that I like okay, and one that I like a lot. Not bad for a pair of tailored trousers that I like, but don’t love.

I have to say that these Aritzia pants are well made, tailored like a pair of men’s dress pants around the waist. And they fit, which is, as I said, not to be sneezed at. I don’t particularly care for the crêpe fabric. I’d prefer a light, summer-weight wool like my Max Mara pants. But it was either these or go without. And I found that the positive points out-weighed the negative. I mean, if I wanted a pair of tailored trousers. Which I did.

I’ll always be a jeans, boots, sweater, and blazer girl. Or, in the summer, a jeans, flat sandals, tee shirt, and jacket girl. But a pair of tailored trousers that actually fit me provides some variety in my closet. And I found when I bought the tan pair of pants in 2021, that loose dress pants, flat sandals, and a fitted tank top was a combination that was beginning to grow on me.

The day I was trying on my new dress pants, pulling sweaters and tee shirts and tank tops out of drawers, digging for a particular pair of sneakers or sandals in my closet, was my sixty-seventh birthday. And you know, my friends, it gave me pause to think that at my advanced age I was still pawing through my clothes, tossing tops into a pile on the bed, tripping over five pairs of shoes, in search of the perfect outfit. Okay, maybe not THE perfect outfit, but as good an outfit as I could make.

I bought my first pair of dress pants way back in 1973. I kid you not. The pants were baby blue. And I was seventeen. I remember them like it was yesterday. How thrilled I was that they actually fit. And I wonder how aghast I would be if I knew then that fifty years later I’d still be searching for the perfect pair of pants. I wonder if it would make me feel a bit better about myself. More confident, to know that one never outgrows some things. Or if I’d just find it plain depressing. Ha.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us about your style challenges. Do you have any “nemesis” pieces? You know, styles that you struggle with, but for whatever reason continue to hope you can make work?

P.S. Here are some other tailored trousers that I found as I was shopping on-line. I like these trousers at COS. And these cotton-linen Lafayette 148 tailored dress pants. But my favourites ones are these wide-leg cargo trousers from Theory at Nordstrom.

P.P.S. Most of the clothing links in the post are affiliate links. If you click my link and make a purchase I will earn a commission which helps to pay for my blog costs. The Aritzia links are not affiliate links. I provide them as a courtesy, in case you want the exact item I bought. I wish that I had an affiliate relationship with Aritzia. Since I’ve been shopping there more and more, they’ve been getting lots of free advertising. Ha.