It’s my birthday! I’ve been wanting a new pair of pants. They can be short, they can be long, but they must be BIG. Ideally, they would be constructed of a summer-friendly fabric. But should they be solid? Patterned? Stamped with the faces of my enemies? Only time will tell.
As you probably know, this hasn’t been the greatest week! I found out that my role at the Wall Street Journal was eliminated this week. And worse, I busted the top and bottom tube of my bike!
I am okay, especially in the short term. I got an amazing deal on a very light bike in my size on Craigslist on Thursday. And basically everyone in my life I cherish has reached out with well wishes. Nothing really cuts the sting of losing your job like getting hundreds of notifications across multiple social media channels.
But given my current circumstances, a lot of the gifts I had been considering for myself are probably off the table. For example, all these absolutely beautifully shaped pants from Story MFG, a British based label that produces some absolute magic with vegan dyes and natural fabrics. Also, these pockets! I mean, come on! Don’t you just want to stick your hands in them?
I had also been looking at pants from this Japanese brand, Graph Paper. I’d describe the vibe as academic elegance, but maybe I’ve just been incepted by the brand name. I really like both of these, which both have at least some linen in them. I think if the top pair were a higher percent linen, I’d consider them, even with what I imagine will be mega import taxes. And I’m not sure I can pull off the aggressive crop of the bottom pair anyway. (Also, I hear intel that they’re going to be stocked in a store that’s opening in Brooklyn later this summer.)
Something more in my budget, though perhaps not ideal for the season—these Herringbone trousers from Metalwood Studios. They would be like the fifth pair of brown dressyish pants I own. Given that three of those are corduroy, though, maybe that’s not such a big deal.
And like anyone in the middle of a fashion crisis that definitely isn’t about anything else, I sifted through the sale section at Ssense. (By the way, have your read Delia’s piece about The Normcore Report?) I’ve never encountered AFIELD OUT before, but here I am, gawking at a bulbous pair of trousers with contrast stitching. I can HEAR their oh-so-satisfying crinkle.
For the sake of my wallet, I crop my expectations. I’ve been doing some inseam exploration with my shorts. There’s so much good vintage in my size on eBay. Do I want pleated denim? Another pair of Baggies? Something with random military detailing? Or something that might evoke the Patron Saint of Dirt Bags: Josh O’Connor in Challengers (2024)? Wait, those aren’t even close to my size.
These are all great, not to mention supremely wearable. But it’s my birthday. I should get something that makes my brain go brr. Should it be shorts in an rich, jewel-toned purple like these from 18east? They’re in a crispy, water-repellent nylon.
But in the end, do I really need a new pair of pants? I will eventually. I’ll rip a hole in my linen shorts while climbing over a fence. I’ll blow out the crotch of a pair of jeans while biking back from the beach. Maybe I’ll finally decide that I’ve stained my white Stan Rays one too many times to be seen in them in polite company. That would have been two years ago, according to my mother. The rules are different in Brooklyn, I promise!
I have plenty of pants that will make me happy today though. If you’re coming to my party tonight, you' might even see them. By getting to the end of this, you’ve earned yourself an invite. Reply reply reply!!!
Daniel, IF you are interested and can fit Size S, I have a pair of vintage (circa 1991) Patagonia Baggy yellow shorts JUST like the ones above, and I will mail them to you. I literally cannot throw them out and nothing would give me more joy than to give them to someone who would appreciate them. Just make sure the size would be good. And, these are Unisex, because, back in the day, there WAS no separate women's section of clothing for Patagonia.... From your fan since you were like 19, Joannah
I wish I could teleport myself to y’all ❣️