The best slacks?

Who do you think makes the best dress slacks?

Which is better, Oxxford or Incotex? Oxxford clearly has more hand work and a heavier duty interior, but Incotex are very nice too. At the recent NM Last Call sale, I got a chance to pick through lots of Oxxford and Incotex slacks. Interestingly, Oxxford were generally more expensive than Incotex, but very close. Both generally about $400-450 at full retail; $180-240 at Last Call prices.

St. Andrews makes great slacks also, but are too rare to really be part of the comparison. Same with Cifonelli. I've never really been impressed with Brioni slacks, I guess more because they've never fit me well. I've got three pair of Zegna wool dress slacks. Two of them, which I bought at Saks, are clearly of higher quality than the other - - nicer interior and finer wool. The two from Saks are among my favorite slacks.

Zanella makes great dress slacks too. Usually sold for $225-300 full retail. Too many of them are a little slick for me though, with 3 pleats and occasionally shiny fabrics.

Oxxford has an edge compared to Incotex (Satoriale - only buttons, no zip, else it is a hybrid for some export markets) in workmanship, however, I find Incotex's styling superior. Then again it depends on your body type. Another superior brand is Rota.

Incotex with button-fly? Never seen those. None of the ones I've seen have that feature (thought they do have a multitude of buttons/clasps on the interior.

Rota? Who sells Rota slacks -- never heard of them?

How about Valentini?

Well, it depends on what you mean by best. If you mean the most handwork, then Oxxford and Kiton (and possibly Borrelli) take the cake. They are the only brands to use any significant handwork on their pants, on the US market (things are different in Europe, as T4phage and I discovered.)

Incotex makes great slacks, with lots of nice features. Cifonelli and Valentini slacks are as good as most all the Incotex available on the US market, at a much lower price. But I like Luciano Barbera slacks the best. Not much when it comes to handwork or features, but I find the fit and fabric selection to be superior.

So the question now is, where does one find flat front dress slacks? I've got a universe of pleated slacks in my closet, but unpleated are rare.

So the question now is, where does one find flat front dress slacks? I've got a universe of pleated slacks in my closet, but unpleated are rare.

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I'm the opposite. You won't find a pleated pant anywhere in my house.