Beating Summer Shorts - The Drapey Pant

Yusuto Kamoshita

There's an opening from a Salt-N-Pepa track where a woman says, "Oooh, how you doin' baby? No, not you. You, the bow-legged one, yeah. What's your name? Damn, that sounds sexy, uh."

It's hard to tell what universe that comes from. I happen to own a pair of those same skipped-leg-day sort of twig legs with a touch of a bow-legged situation going on myself, and even as a kid I remember thinking that this scenario sounded ludicrous. Maybe as a consequence of that build, I sometimes feel as if shorts make me look like an Asian flamingo or some sort of water-going bird, so my aversion to the style (and summer wear in general) has seen a welcome change in recent years as men have started to branch out into less rigid styles and silhouettes. As those concepts have evolved, we've seen the slim uniform of the last decade give way to more relaxed options, and none better for summer weather I think than the wider pant.

Antonio Ciongoli

Unlike skinnier clothes, looser fitting garments don't create the same steamy, sweltering saran-wrap sort of feel that can occur in hot weather with something like slim/skinny chinos, of which I've own my fair share. Fuller pants are easier to move around in and in lighter fabrics they make fantastic, breezy summer wear. You can also pair bottoms with slouchy shirts and tops in a manner that hearkens back to the relaxed, unfussy "studio artist look" espoused last year on Die, Workwear! And being somewhat short-aphobic (though I still own a few pairs), this particular summer drape has quickly become a summer favorite of mine.

Shuhei Nishiguchi

Not that long ago, the budding menswear scene on the whole had a much more homogeneous idea of what was the "right" way to dress: sizing down, slim fitting everything, flat front pants, etc. That era was also coupled somewhat with a renewed interest in tailored wear, or at least a tighter, shorter, more Thom Browne-ish version of it. As you can imagine, relaxed casual clothing was more or less the antithesis of that concept, and until recently it existed in the West moreso in high fashion circles than in every day life. Only the past year or two have seen the skinny-everything mantra start to fade, as several mainstream retailers have crept into the market with their own wide-legged trousers.

Tender - Unionmade

Studio Nicholson - Unionmade

Eidos Napoli

Uniqlo (and Christophe Lemaire, in no small part) was among the first major retailers to start introducing the style to a broader audience with a few wide-fit jeans and chinos - perhaps as a consequence of also having significant design influence from the Japanese market, which has historically been more accepting of fuller fits - though guys in the Western world have in large part still been reluctant to dip their toes in. In addition, many of the Japanese brands such as ts(s), Camoshita, Monitaly, Kaptain Sunshine, Kapital, Chimala, and Western stores that tend to carry that sort of thing, like Unionmade, have featured looser trousers (and general fits) as well in recent years, all in their own particular flavors. Some are a bit more militaria or workwear inspired (ala Nigel Cabourn), some a touch smarter, others more bohemian feeling. One of my prior favorite makers, Eidos Napoli, previously helmed by Antonio Ciongoli (shown above in the repaired trousers), had some absolutely insane pieces in recent seasons (and his upcoming work for 18East.co is bound to do the same). The best were the indigo gurkha pants, which I hastily returned due to some buckle issues I didn't realize I could easily workaround. This mistake haunts me every day of my life.

gezzaseyes

Tomoyoshi Takada

If you're still not convinced about trying out fuller-fitting pants this summer, an easy way to update the look is to taper them, which still gives you the fuller leg and a similar range of movement, but finishes in a more familiar interface with your footwear (see the example from Shuhei Nishighuchi in the pleated gurkha trousers above). There are different levels to this, from slightly relaxed to all out baggy. Look, I remember the 90s too. I'm not saying go out and buy a pair of JNCOs. Or am I? Not the most stylish if choices, though it's hard to argue with this kind of utility:

PS - Sorry I've been MIA lately.  Just moved into our first home and I realized I don't know anything about owning a house or basic things like how much closets cost (a lot is the answer). Hopefully should get back to posting more regularly soon, unless I am killed in a tragic TV wall-mounting accident.

The odds are probably higher than you think.