Pants!

February 7, 2011 10:55 AM

Pants! I want men's pants that are not jeans, not khakis, don't need to be ironed, can be worn to a casual office with a nice shirt, and cost less than $50.

Make it happen.

posted by Cool Papa Bell to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (33 answers total)

Are chinos different than khakis? Do you mean khaki as a style or a colour?
posted by GuyZero at 10:56 AM on February 7, 2011

I love these. They don't look "Western" at all, they are a good fit. I bought them in four different colors a few years ago and have gotten a lot of compliments.

They're not terribly soft, but they fit all your other requirements.
posted by hermitosis at 11:00 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Dickies?
posted by dubitable at 11:00 AM on February 7, 2011 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Khaki as a color, and khaki as a fabric style (thin-ish cotton that needs to be ironed) and a cut where someone were to look at you and think, "Oh, he's wearing khakis, but they just happen to be black."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2011

If we're talking zero ironing, I think you're looking at dry clean only pants. Wool or something, probably.
Man, I hope there's an answer to this one.
posted by willpie at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2011

Wool suit pants from an outlet store, I guess.
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:04 AM on February 7, 2011

Calvin Klein has some nice fitting khaki-style pants. They aren't never-iron but they don't wrinkle terribly because of how soft they are.
posted by dubusadus at 11:05 AM on February 7, 2011

The pants I linked are polyester with a nice crease built in. I have never ironed them.
posted by hermitosis at 11:06 AM on February 7, 2011

Sale rack at Banana Republic. Keep an eye out for their Chinos, which will definitely be ~50. The suit pants (I call 'em 'slacks') are nice, but more expensive. I got three pair recently at 20 per when they had a 'Half off all sale items' sale. Don't be discouraged by odd lengths in the store; BR will hem them for you for some nominal fee (waived if you buy pants that aren't discounted).

As long as you take them out of the dryer THE SECOND it stops, and hang 'em right up, they're wrinkle-free. On the rare occasion they're not, wrinkle releaser.
posted by carsonb at 11:09 AM on February 7, 2011 [3 favorites]

To be clear: I got the Chinos and they are my new favorite pants.
posted by carsonb at 11:11 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Many slacks from Banana Republic and Express fit this bill. They're not exclusively non-iron, but if you are not totally careless with them, they're iron-very-infrequently.
posted by proj at 11:13 AM on February 7, 2011

Cords?
posted by kmennie at 11:18 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thin-wale corduroy? Dressier than jeans, and very easy care.
posted by padraigin at 11:19 AM on February 7, 2011

My husband gets all his pants at Land's End, and never irons them. He's a tech writer in Seattle, so this is not exactly a "knife-edge crease" kind of a look. But he doesn't look rumpled, either. Many if not most of their pants are under $50.
posted by KathrynT at 11:22 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

I second the Banana Chinos... but they might still be too "khaki" for you.
posted by sandmanwv at 11:23 AM on February 7, 2011

Disclaimer: I'm a girl. HOWEVER: I have worked in a business-casual office (no jeans) for nearly a decade AND I hate to iron.

In the winter: corduroys are your friend! As easy-wearing as jeans, yet somehow way dressier.

In the summer: the classier versions of cargo pants (without 10,000 huge pockets and a built-in rappelling hook) are good. Get 'em in that "ripstop" material and take 'em out of the dryer promptly and you'll never need to iron them.

I would hit a Gap Outlet store for both of these. The Gap is way too pricey, but the outlets are reasonable and should carry decent-quality versions of both.
posted by julthumbscrew at 11:27 AM on February 7, 2011

Levi's black corduroy "jeans." They look dressier than jeans but come in the same cuts and you just toss em in the washer and drier.
posted by zippy at 11:29 AM on February 7, 2011

Seconding Dickies. They look nice, don't need to be ironed, and are comfortable. I have two pairs of their black pants which have held up very well to two years of frequent wear and washing. And they're not particularly expensive.
posted by Maximian at 11:33 AM on February 7, 2011

Dockers quote-unquote 'soft khakis' are thick enough that they don't tweak my personal yuck-khaki reaction (thanks for that aversion, boarding school) and they come in a zillion colors. Website says they're $52, but I have never seen them not on sale.
posted by dorque at 11:37 AM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

This is a classic corduroy situation. Not only are they the furthest thing from jeans or chinos in terms of comfort, but they look dressy. People will notice you in corduroy. I just bought these from Lands End, but most corduroys most places will be in your price range. I think dark brown is classiest, but colors are all over the spectrum (I once owned a pair of red cords - don't ask).
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 11:46 AM on February 7, 2011

Don't you want cords? Doesn't everyone want cords??
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 12:06 PM on February 7, 2011 [3 favorites]

I work in a traditional office setting, and have found that JC Penney has a good selection if dressier casual trousers at your pricepoint. Their house brand is pretty decent for starters and pretty much iron-free. Beyond that, thet carry dressier no-iron Dockers and Haggar.
posted by Sir Cholmondeley at 12:27 PM on February 7, 2011

People have given good advice with the Dockers/Gap/Banana Republic/Land's End/etc. suggestions. The key to wearing "black pants that don't look like black khakis" is to make sure they're not pleated.
posted by deanc at 12:35 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Have you considered moleskin fabric?
posted by wenestvedt at 12:41 PM on February 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Macy's usually has a reasonable selection of dress pants on sale under $50.
posted by chrisulonic at 1:46 PM on February 7, 2011

Consider gray wool pants. Avoid pleats.
posted by Sfving at 2:14 PM on February 7, 2011

I bought several pairs of Dickies according to the same criteria, and I haven't looked back. Banana Republic chinos are my slightly dressier alternative. The chinos are comfortable and nice, the dickies will last for years.
posted by dreadpiratesully at 2:44 PM on February 7, 2011

I usually buy my work clothes once a year, when there's a Macy's sale and they put out all those "Save an additional XX%" coupons in the paper. This past restocking period I purchased 3 pairs of these Perry Ellis pants, and they're everything I require in a low maintenance wardrobe: machine washable, wrinkle-resistant (never ironed once) and somehow manage to keep that crease in the front through some miracle of textile manufacture. When they're on sale (like they are right now) I've paid less than $40/pair.
posted by krippledkonscious at 3:57 PM on February 7, 2011

I'm not a tenured professor of pantsology or anything, but I've had good experiences with pants from the Kenneth Cole Reaction line. I like the look of the cut, the feel of the fabric, I've never had to iron them, and best of all they've lasted a ridiculously long time. For some reason, they seem much more resilient to wear and tear than other dress (or dress-ish) pants I've had. They're about $50 or less if you can find them on sale.
posted by kprincehouse at 4:37 PM on February 7, 2011

For the past several months, my local costco has sold Italian-wool, Italian-made flat front trousers for the amazing, low-low price of $40. Also, try wool dress pants from Sierra Trading Post or some other overstock outfit. Hang them up after you're done wearing them and you won't need to wash or iron them for several wearings.
posted by hhc5 at 4:57 PM on February 7, 2011

I got a bunch of those at Macys a year or two back. Dress pants. Not fancy wool ones, which will have to be dry-cleaned and may be more expensive, but anything for $40 is probably going to be polyester - which will be non-iron.
posted by J. Wilson at 5:05 PM on February 7, 2011

2nding Lands End. There is always something on sale for under $50.
posted by fieldtrip at 8:08 PM on February 7, 2011

Er, I'd like to change my recommendation. I checked the brand and it turns out the pants I like are Perry Ellis Portfolio, not Kenneth Cole Reaction. (Those were the ones I had before, and they were good but not quite as good.)
posted by kprincehouse at 1:59 PM on March 3, 2011