The 11 Best Pairs of Pants Money Can Buy, According to Our Favorite Insiders
By By Sam Falb
There are few wardrobe pursuits more maddening than the search for the perfect pair of pants. The right ones mold to the body over years, are stained with memory, altered by hand, inherited from lovers (or thrifted from strangers). Fashion enthusiasts speak about them with a level of specificity usually reserved for wine, therapy, or heartbreak.
We asked 10 of our favorite obsessives—from writers and designers to comedians, editors, and cultural fixtures—to do just that. Psychoanalyst and CULTURED columnist Jamieson Webster swears by the “sumptuous” silkiness of Wales Bonner denim and the liberatory pleasures of Batsheva pajama bottoms. Writer Whitney Mallett extols the emotional support of high-waisted baseball pants and perfectly faded Re/Done jeans once produced with Interview Editor-in-Chief Mel Ottenberg. Comedian Kate Berlant recounts a full-blown Paloma Wool addiction, while designer Brooke Callahan (a pants aficionado by way of her own brand) explains her lifelong pursuit of trousers that actually flatter hips.
Below, find a taxonomy of sartorial ritual, stitched one seam at a time.
Wales Bonner x Adidas track pants: “Fabric patterns dug up from history, crochet side stripes, compliments aplenty.”
Proenza Schouler pleated trousers: “The cuts are always surprising, almost dress-like, lined, and the colors are wild. Mine happen to be bright yellow.”
Wolford leggings: “Are they technically pants? They should be. I wear them all winter with giant sweaters.”
Batsheva pajama pants: “Who doesn’t want to wear pajamas in Batsheva print choices?”
Dakota jeans: “My number ones. They were thrifted and gifted to me by my bestie. Low-key made in Canada, just like her and me. Sometimes I wonder if a little boy wore them before me…”
Vintage Levi’s: “One day my husband decided he was into ripped jeans, so he ordered a few different pairs of vintage Levi’s online. These were his cast-offs. I think of them like pregnancy jeans because there’s a lot of room for growth. I am not, however, expecting.”
Leather biker pants: “These are proper biker pants and they fit me like a glove—thank you, Poshmark. Something about thick leather makes me feel so secure. I wore these nearly every day last fashion week.”
Studio Nicholson land jeans: “Love the authentic wash on these jeans, and even though they have a high rise, they fall low on my waist so they look very relaxed.”
Sage Nation box pleat pant: “I pull these out whenever I want more volume. Wide leg and dramatic pleats but tapered at the hem, they don’t swallow my shoes.”
Needles HD cargo pants: “I have HD pants in a few iterations. I’ve had these for years. Whenever the masses get over baggy, I’ll still wear them.”
Lemaire twisted jeans: “Can’t go wrong with Lemaire jeans, the subtle curved leg is always flattering and it’s a nice go-to when you want to look put-together and not overthink the fit.”
Vintage army surplus parachute pants: “I wear these all the time and they always look good, I love the straps that come out of the pockets.”
Abercrombie & Fitch pants: “Reminds me of the work pants my mom used to get from Express and New York & Company in the early aughts.”
Evisu jeans: “Get them second-hand on eBay!”
Jamie Haller crease jeans: “Such a crisp cut, which makes me feel powerful whenever I wear them.”
Mel [Ottenberg]’s Re/Done jeans: “The platonic ideal of a 1980s pair of blue jeans. I love wearing them with the off-duty model look: jeans, white T, navy blazer.”
Luar jeans: “Dark and sandblasted with a straight leg, they are everything I want from Y2K denim but without the low rise. Effortless but sultry.”
Kiko Kostadinov corduroys: “As comfortable as sweat pants, but way less schlubby. The golden brown pairs well with so many colors—like red or orange or green or blue.”
Dickies carpenter pants in white: “I only like super high-waisted pants because I have a long torso. I love the white with a cognac brown belt. If they had this style in more colors I would buy more.”
Baseball pants: “White with a vertical stripe. New to me pants I just got from my friend Bobbi. I’m excited about them for summer because they’re sort of like capris. And they have an exceptionally high waist with a thick elastic waistband. It has that weighted blanket comforting effect. Pants that give you a hug and make you feel held.”
Army surplus uniform skirts: “My favorite everyday basic.”
Puppets and Puppets pants: “My boo got them for me!”
Paloma Wool pants: “I have a Paloma Wool pant addiction? I own three pairs and I want 16 more. Paloma, can you hear me? I’m half Spanish!”
Vintage men’s Levi’s: “I had tailored at Denim Doctor in Los Angeles.”
Eckhaus Latta jeans: “Probably my most worn pant of the last three years.”
Amazing vintage French pants: “A pair I got in Paris at Nice Piece Vintage—the leather tie broke and I have yet to repair.”
“I’m like a drug dealer, I don’t do what I sell, but here’s my list. No further comment.”
577 Levi’s: “The only Levi’s fit I’ve ever liked—unisex styles often don’t work well when you have hips! I have two identical pairs, and that’s basically the extent of my denim collection… I haven’t found anything else worth wearing! Nine out of 10 nights out I am in these.”
Brooke Callahan blush tie pants: “I currently live in the Brooke Callahan blush tie pants. I have a new hyperfixation colorway every few months (my last one was orange) but I live in light colors like this all summer. They are so easy to dress up or down and go with basically everything… will forever be my perfect pant.”
Brooke Callahan wool tie pant: “I simply had to make sure I could wear this fit year-round! The grey colorway is deeply chic to me and I usually pair with ballet flats or a black boot with a little bit of a heel. I made these pants for myself because I couldn’t find much else I liked.”
Vintage wool Armani trousers: “I have one pair in a perfect light brown color that I wish I got to wear more here in LA. They fit me perfectly and were already tailored to the perfect length, so they break at the perfect spot on the ankle. I’ve found that the silhouette of a pleated trouser with a cuff is way more flattering than without.”
Polo Ralph Lauren white linen pleated trousers: “I usually HATE linen but the structured pleats and perfect construction keep the pant looking chic even when they inevitably wrinkle. I wear them constantly with a white tee and flip flops.”
Polo Ralph Lauren distressed chinos: “I got these about two years ago, and since then I’ve worn them at least once a week, sometimes more. In many cases, these are the pants I travel in as well.”
Auralee chinos: “Laurel Pantin influenced me to get these pants—she’s influenced a few of my purchases. The running theme with the pants I gravitate toward is that they tend to be a bit baggy with a straight leg.”
Alex Mill ivy cargo pants: “When I purchased them, they only had one size available, which was too big for me, so when I took them to the tailor I put my fist in the back to determine how much should be taken in. I wanted them to feel more fitted while still maintaining a bit of bagginess.”
Saman Amel mohair trousers: “[Finding] the perfect black pleated pants that could be worn year-round was starting to seem like a perilous journey. When I couldn’t find them, I scheduled a made-to-measure appointment with Saman Amel. Similar to the Alex Mill pants, I wanted these to be a touch more fitted so they still retained a classic trouser shape, but I also put a fist in the back to gauge the amount of give, because I still wanted them to feel a bit baggy.”
Husbands Paris flared corduroy pants: “I picked these up on my second trip to Paris. In fact, I had tried them on earlier in the trip and decided not to buy them, but for the remainder of the trip I couldn’t stop thinking about them, so on my last day there I went back and purchased them. These are certainly more fitted than the others, but the subtle flare still gives them a sense of looseness.”
Blue patchwork pants (handmade in Indonesia): “I love these comfy pants so much. My friend, the artist Thomas McDonell, got them for me. Who buys someone pants? And such good pants?”
Guess jeans: “I love my Guess jeans because I love anything Guess, and they’re high-waisted, which is my fave.”
Re/Done black and white leopard-print jeans: “These are the best because they make me feel Versace, even though they’re not.”
Louis Vuitton x Urs Fischer leggings: “One of my total treasures. I’ll have them and love them forever!”
Beriqisu pants: “They’ve got a great print, and they’re loose and easy-breezy.”
Nonnotte by Atsushi Sugihara 2-tuck draw-cord wide trousers: “Sugihara reportedly hates the summer and thus develops the most refined clothes, which he then drapes into simply shaped garments which stand away from the body. Despite the crisp and ample volumes, these clothes feel like I’m wearing next to nothing.”
Nonnotte by Atsushi Sugihara wool crotch-pleat trousers: “These trousers have an incredibly high waist, with a novel box-pleat at the base of the crotch and extremely deep wide-set pleats which control the generous volume of these trousers crafted from another unique cloth developed by Sugihara-san: a superfine wool thread tightly twisted around a nylon core woven into a lightweight and breathable gabardine. You feel the air pass through the cloth as you move; it’s incredibly sensual.”
Rainmaker Kyoto Hakama trousers: “These reiterate the exaggerated silhouette season after season in various fibers, here cut from a crisp and dry-handed polyester. I would otherwise feel like I’m swimming in these if the tailoring weren’t so sharp and neat, with a high and cinched waist and deep forward-facing pleats finished with a pin-tucked center crease.”
The Clasik silk/cotton denim wide 5-pocket trousers: “Just the perfect pair of wide-legged denim, in a silk/cotton blend. I have a matching work-jacket so I can wear it as a casual suit.”
Yoke cotton typewriter garment-dyed 3pleated tapered trousers: “These trousers are like a whisper. Made from a superfine yet crisp typewriter cotton with a gently crumpled hand, they float away from the body—again, with a generously high waist and abundant straight-cut volume controlled by various pleats. These keep the heat at bay, yet allow for boundless airflow.”
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This article was originally published by Cultured Magazine.