What trousers to wear instead of jeans
"What trousers can I wear instead of jeans" is a question I get asked a lot by clients and something we're often looking for on our personal shopping trips.
To fit the brief, it needs to be something comfortable, casual and hardwearing but in a different colour or style than your regular denim jeans.
Here are some suggestions of trousers that could be an alternative to jeans for weekends. Or depending on your job..... ..for working from home, or even for the office.
I discovered these yesterday when I was looking for some cords but not ones that look like your dad or grandad would wear, and these fit the bill nicely.
This week during a Colour & Style session, a client and I had been chatting about the brand James Perse and how great the quality of their t-shirts is, and what a lovely feel they have to them. And even though I haven't seen these cords in real life yet, I'm in no doubt they'd be on a par with the t-shirts.
You could wear them in a sporty way with a t-shirt like he has here or a sweatshirt or hoody, or roll them up and wear them with boots, and an overshirt, or a chunky knit sweater when it gets colder.
Slim fit garment dyed corduroy chinos - James Perse at Mr Porter - £325
As you probably know if you're a long term reader of my blog, I've been buying these Folk 'Assembly' pants in various colours and fabrics for quite a few years with clients.
They're a great way to ease gently into the wider leg trend, without it feeling too extreme. In this denim blue, they should slot easily into your rotation of weekend outfits to replace jeans every so often, and the soft twill means they'll feel comfy but are hard wearing too.
Soft blue brushed twill 'Assembly' pants - Folk - £135
Okay, I've got a confession to make.....these are actually called jeans on the Drakes website! But as they're not denim, I figured they look different enough to warrant a place in this blog.
If you don't already have some light trousers in your wardrobe, then perhaps consider getting some. It's something I often suggest to clients, as a lighter colour makes a great contrast to all those dark grey, navy and black tops you mostly likely have in your wardrobe, if you're like most of the men I know.
That contrast can really lift an outfit, and make it far more interesting than head to toe dark colours. Quite often I find a stone, ecru or light grey pair of trousers suddenly makes a whole heap of things in a client's wardrobe come alive and start to get worn more.
Ecru lightweight cotton canvas 5 pocket trousers - Drakes - £275
Remember when cargo pants went through a stage of being derided and ridiculed by any menswear aficionados? Not any longer - they're back!
Baggy or in a slimmer cut.....I can see why they're so popular as they're just so infinitely practical with all those pockets and that heavy duty, workwear feel.
I had my first pair from Laurence Corner army surplus store back in the nineties and they felt so cool and different. I've updated mine since then.....have you updated yours?
Black cotton cargo trousers - Carhartt at Harvey Nichols - £120
And another 90s revival are the carpenter pants. What I love about these - in this colour in particular, is that vintage look they have - it could be James Dean or Steve McQueen wearing this outfit. Worn simply with white trainers and t-shirt, or a grey sweatshirt - you just can't go wrong with this classic look.
Workwear utility fit trousers - Levi's - £47
Do you need some help to switch things up in your wardrobe? Are you dressing in a bog standard uniform, and would like to expand the options of what you wear so it looks more interesting but don't know where to start?
If you've thought of working with a personal stylist for men before, but can't bear the thought of a whole day's shopping, then I have just the thing for you:
Ask me about my Style Dial Up service. We tackle shopping in small chunks - we do 4 x 2 hour shopping sessions throughout the year where we'll visit just a small amount of shops (maybe even just one or two) and find some key pieces for your wardrobe.
This gives you a chance to assimilate them in and know what you really enjoy wearing which will inform our choices on the next trip.
Plus we do a monthly Q&A session where you get to ask me any questions you have about other things in your wardrobe and what to wear them with, or where to get things altered or repaired, how to incorporate more accessories into your outfits, or whatever other style related issues you may have.
Sound good? Get in touch with me below and I'll get straight back to you. (Please note this service is not currently on the website).
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