Your favorite technical pants (or are they called athleisure?)
hey guys.
As someone who sweats a lot, I find it hard to wear anything but shorts during summer in NYC but I don't like how they make someone look less presentable. I've been looking for pants that look good but they're not jeans/chinos because I do get hot easily (even when I'm a slim person).. I've heard good things about Western Rise, or Lululemon ABC, but since I've neve bought any of them before, I'm wondering what is the general experience/wisdom about these things? What about prAna? or Vuori Meta pants? The Bonobos ones or the Everlane?
Also: are these prices really justified? I generally tend to use relaxed or athletic pants so prefer those over slim pants or whatnot..
My main considerations:
- Looks
- Breathability
- Comfort to keep wearing them for long days.
- Maybe ability to dress up/down with them.
Thanks!
24 Replies
They're not athleisure or technical, but have you tried linen trousers? They fit your bulletpoints very well
Tech pants != athleisure
oh yeah I do. but they don't dress up at all. also linen pants usually go bust within a year haha.
go ahead and show me your favorite in both!
Maybe I misunderstand what you mean by dress up, but I've never seen tech pants or athleisure that dress up well
I meant if you put a shirt on, they wouldn’t look completely hideous.. https://westernrise.com/products/evolution-pant see this look? The video shows someone wearing a shirt with these pants and they actually look good..
Western Rise
Evolution Pant 2.0
The Western Rise Evolution Pants are a highly-functional pair of pants designed to be the only pants you need for travel, outdoors, and everyday living. Buy now
Right, then I super don't understand what you mean, because something like this: https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/natural---linen---hollywood-trouser--800616-hwt-01-ss23
Looks infinitely better dressed up with a shirt, blazer, leather shoes etc. than those pants, to my eye.
Natural - Linen - Hollywood Trouser | SPIER & MACKAY
Spier & Mackay
These look fantastic. But an even higher price point! Hah.
Fair, what's your budget?
I’m thinking of topping it at $120 if these type of pants are REALLY worth it. My general role is to stick around the $75-$90 for general clothing for normal wear. I’ll go above that for specific items or dressing up and whatnot..
Spier & Mackay regularly have sales that put their pants into your budget range. I can't remember any other options off the top of my head but linen and cotton/linen should definitely be on your list of options
I'm not sure that budget is gonna get you into a lot of the really good techwear stuff but the do-it-all athleisure pant will be:
- slightly stretchy, likely a lil bit of spandex
- water resistant
- slim fit or wide leg (unlikely straight fit normal normal)
you could get techy jeans (I have two pairs from Mission Workshop, for example)
or you could get just full on Lulu tights (which I also have), which you can't dress up but will do the stretchy cozy way better and will be dual workout clothes lounge clothes
that's why the yoga pant is so popular
there are advantages to not trying to be too versatile, the item can do some things well and some things poorly
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I guess my main goal for researching these pants/brands is to be able to wear pants in the summer without feeling like I'm walking in an oven haha.
the outlier injected linen is great. But too expensive for me. Thanks for the suggestions!
I live in DC and have been in the area my whole life, linen is your go-to but sometimes you should either wear shorts or say fuck it and wear light jeans anyways - today will be half an inch of rain and 89F, I'm wearing my Lululemon yoga pants and working from home
Linen will be the best comfort but I don't have linen pants, I just say fuck it and wear jeans all the time anyways
naaaah man I sweat waaaay too much for jeans in the summer in NYC hah. I ordered pants from Western Rise. The Evolution, and their joggers which are on sale. will give them a shot. Linen is the go to for sure, issue is finding linen pants that don't make you feel like you're a grandpa. Linen pants with a slim/athletic fit.
tbh we're approaching the point where you're more likely to see a grandpa wearing slim fit than a zoomer, relevant:
https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1624836956256616454?t=qUT9wd08VO_rE3aySjMqQw&s=19
2 very popular options are Lulu ABCs and Prana Brions. Neither are very good IMO. Prana Brion used to be good, but the Brion II uses weird shiny fabric and has a really bad cut (thighs too tight, calves too loose). ABCs were weirdly baggy in the thighs.
I sweat a lot too. I suggest you ignore the recommendations for linen. If you aren't prone to sweat, linen can keep you dry and cool. But for me, I've just accepted that I'm going to sweat, no matter what, and damp sweaty linen and cotton are horrible. Synthetics and merino are the way to go.
I'm on my way if giving up. Even if I wear better pants, my shirts still suffer haha
Gramicci
Gramicci Pant
Style Number: G102-OGT The Original 1982 Gramicci Pants Features gusseted crotch for freedom-of-movement Easy-adjust waistband with integrated belt and buckle Zip fly with two side seam pockets and two back welt pockets Relaxed fit and low rise Inseam 32" Made with 100% Organic Cotton Twill Model - Height: 5'10" - Wea
not precisely what you're looking for but they're made for climbing. i'd call 'em fairly breathable, and are definitely relaxed fit! super comfortable and you can sort of style them like fatigues
One of the things to consider when shopping for this kind of pants is just how "technical" you want them to look. Personally, I want something that looks like a regular chino or 5-pocket, just in a synthetic fabric. I don't want gussets, zip pockets, integral belts, etc. (Nothing wrong with any of that, just personal taste).
I just had to try on a lot of different options, and I'm still not entirely happy with what I ended up with.
What did you settle with?
Kenneth Cole slim fit 5 pocket. They are sorta OK, not great, but it was really hard to find something that fit right.
Was thinking of the gap cotton-linen blend, looks good enough for what it is..