Thinking of adding elastic waistband and/or drawstring to pants - thoughts?
I am having trouble finding pants that fit a slimmer waist but are roomy in the hips and thighs. I like a relaxed fit in the hips and thighs but most off the rack pants that do have a relaxed fit in the hips/thighs will be huge in the waist. I thought about going to the tailor to take in the waist, but I also workout and do bulk/cut cycles where my waistline might fluctuate an inch or two during bulk season. So I don't want to tailor something that fits but will be too tight when I gain weight. Also, I heard that taking in the waist the traditional way shouldn't be done more than 2-3 inches or so, whereas I'm looking to take off around 4-5 inches.
This has led me to the thought of adding an elastic waistband and/or drawstring to pants like my jeans and chinos. The idea is that I can tighten accordingly in the waist without taking away fabric from the hip/thigh area. I'm wondering if anyone has done this before. I'm not too picky about looks, but I would like some second thoughts here.
3 Replies
I guess it could work, but I think the easier answer is to get pants with pleats. They're typically roomier just below the waist.
Also plenty of chino pants that already have waist adjustment options like fatigues/army trousers or drawstrings like Uniqlo
they already have pleats lol
Ok. Surprising. Are you looking for high waisted pants? As in, do you wear them at your naval, or lower?
Levi's and other brands have some specific "athletic" fits that try to tailor to the big thighs club, but I dunno. If pleats aren't enough, you might want to try Made to Measure clothes.
Or like, I personally dislike these, but stretchy fabric? Tommy Bahama uses it.