Business casual pants - recommendations & questions

Like many here, I work in a business casual environment where the typical outfit is a buttondown shirt and dress pants (no tie or suit).

I currently have several pairs of medium gray and charcoal pants, all cotton, but am looking to now expand.

Looking to keep all pants under $80 if possible. Prefer under $50.

A few questions:

1. Which questions do you consider the most versatile? I'm definitely going navy next, but am hesitant on brown or olive. I hate the khaki color.

2. Chinos vs. wool? The biggest difference seems to be price.

Here are my main contenders right now:

1. Brooks Brothers Milano - chinos - 2 for $160 - At $80, shouldn't I be able to find wool pants instead of cotton chinos? At 32x30, it's tough to find the BB milano sale pants in my size.

2. Lands End Tailored Fit Year'Roudner pants - $80 - full wool

I can also find a variety of cheaper chinos in the $20-$50 range pretty easily.

Any suggestions? Just want a combination of < $50, slim fitting, prefer wool. (If cotton, I believe the price point should be ~ $20-$40)

1. I consider most questions versatile but for pants definitely all forms of grey (wool though, not cotton). Navy next and I even have a black pair I wear from time to time (heaven forbid). Olive and Brown are good choices after those.

2. If you think the only difference is price, you have a lot of reading to do. I assume by Chinos you mean cotton. These are two very different materials and wool is the more formal of the two.

1. I haven't checked BB pants in awhile but they should be very close to your price range on sale. Have you tried on line? Also probably places like J Crew, BR, etc, etc.

2. Can't help you with this one.

IMHO, cotton in greys and other dark colours doesn't look as good, particularly for a business casual environment. It's looks too casual to my eye. Not that a lot of people don't do it, but do you want to be a lot of people, or look good?

Where are you located and how slim are you? I know that you wrote 32x30, but how is the cut on that?

Another place to check is Sierra Trading Post. Register with them and you can always get coupons for 20% off and occasionally coupons for 35 or 40% off. They carry Bill's Khakis if you want cotton and some very good producers such as Hiltl and Hickey Freeman if you want wool. I've gotten a few pairs of Hiltl trousers from them. One light gray pair I ended up getting for 80% list with a coupon so it was only $59.

It's a bit over your budget but the Benjamin trousers from eHaberdasher for $95 are excellent too. The quality is really excellent for the price. I would definitely recommend spending an extra $15 and getting them over $80 Lands End trousers.

Fred

I am currently wearing a pair of banana republic pants that are perfect in length and leg opening. They were the "classic" fit that retail for $100, got them for around $50 after a coupon. Just cotton.

I actually have a benjamin suit from ehaberdasher. Those pants are ridiculously slim. ( I have no butt at all, but those pants are actually tight in the seat ).

Hmmm

1. versatile color: Navy period. And I think Ivory color is one of the most versatile pants but if you don't like bright colors, I prefer olive to brown.
I often find it hard to match medium- or dark- brown pants with jackets. Most jackets which go well with brown pants look much better with grey or navy pants.

2. chino vs. wool: I think both are good. But I think it has something to do with seasons. I prefer to wear wool pants during fall and winter.

My recommendation:

In your price range and considering your preference to BB Milano, I recommend Charles Tyrwhitt tailored-fit chino pants. I like them much more than BB milano pants.
And EM's Mason's chino pants are also a good choice. You can find them on gilt.com sometimes and ebay as well with below $70.

If you can get Uniqlo Tasmanian wool pants or H&M wool pants, go for them. They would suit your taste.

http://www.asos.com/Farah-Vintage/F...h=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Charcoalmarl get something along these lines, they look really smart and fit like a dream. Very cheap too. Do you guys get Farah over in the states anyone have any opinions on it, I think they're trousers and tailored shorts are excellent and very under rated

Cheers Nick

Good information so far.

I'm in DC, but will probably do a NYC trip sometime soon so Uniqlo isn't out of the question. Haven't been a big fan of H&M's quality level.

Who is EM Mason? Not familiar.

I have a few CT shirts I'm generally happy with - will definitely check them out.

If it matters, I'm rather slim with very skinny legs. No butt. So, slim fitting is good, but I definitely want stuff that is work appropriate - not too skinny.



Nelton said:

http://www.asos.com/Farah-Vintage/F...h=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Charcoalmarl get something along these lines, they look really smart and fit like a dream. Very cheap too. Do you guys get Farah over in the states anyone have any opinions on it, I think they're trousers and tailored shorts are excellent and very under rated

Click to expand...

$55 for polyester pants? I dunno ...

How do the Uniqlo Tasmanian Wool pants fit? $50 for wool pants sounds pretty good to me. Do they run slim like the BB Milanos?

There are several fits in Uniqlo pants, but mostly slim fit. Sometimes slimmer than BB Milano, I think.
About EM's of Mason's, I guess it is an Italian brand. Their retail prices are ridiculous, but you can find them at reasonable prices elsewhere.
I usually bought them around $50. There are several fits in Mason's collections but most of the EM's of Mason's pants are slim.
EM's of Mason's is a sort of diffusion line of the brand. You can check it out here http://www.masons.it/