Looking for long, lightweight plus-size pants.

June 7, 2023 5:16 AM

TomboyX is no longer selling the long, lightweight pants I love, so I'm looking for other options. Snowflakes within.

I have some knit pants from Woman Within, but they are just too heavy for summer. (I like Woman Within because their petite sizes are the right length for me.) Looking at their website, I don't see a way to figure out what would be very lightweight, except for seersucker. The TomboyX pants say they're 95% Micromodal.

MeUndies has lounge pants that are Micromodal, so that's a possibility. I would have to get them hemmed though.

Any other ideas?

posted by FencingGal to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total)

Are you able to provide a link to the TomboyX ones and/or describe what it is that you like about them?

If you're mostly looking for micromodal, I've tried the meundies ones and I like them a lot although I think they read more as pajama pants than regular pants (unclear if that's what you're looking for).
posted by mosst at 5:28 AM on June 7, 2023

Response by poster: The TomboyX pants no longer exist, so I can't link to them. I couldn't find them on eBay or Poshmark.

The fabric is very lightweight, and the fit on the legs is loose. They don't have elastic at the bottoms of the legs.

I'd prefer something I can wear in public without other people thinking they're pajama pants. The TomboyX pants are dark gray, so I feel like they look OK.
posted by FencingGal at 5:59 AM on June 7, 2023

Try Duluth Trading Co. I've got some of their super lightweight cargo pants (might be too structured for you?) and they are really comfortable and very light. They also have stuff more in the yoga pant realm that might also work for you.
posted by TwoStride at 6:15 AM on June 7, 2023

I can confirm WW has nothing lightweight like you (and I) want. I haven't tried any of these, but Torrid has crepe, jersey (and "slub jersey"), linen, and poplin pants. They don't have petite lengths, unfortunately, but they do love a crop so you might luck out that way.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:31 AM on June 7, 2023

There's a great selection of easy-to-wear trouser shapes at Lucy & Yak, in crazy prints or plain colours as you prefer. They're based in the UK but ship to the US. In terms of fabrics, go for linen/linen-blend, cotton, twill, light jersey or ecovero, a sustainable viscose that feels somewhere between jersey and cotton.
posted by guessthis at 6:58 AM on June 7, 2023

Universal standard has a stretch linen pant.
posted by CleverClover at 7:05 AM on June 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have a pair of the MeUndies micromodal pants and they do look like pajamas to me, just as a data point. I don't have a recommendation but following this with interest, thanks.
posted by CheeseLouise at 7:08 AM on June 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'm currently wearing soft, cropped, lightweight, wide-legged pants that I got as a hand-me-down from my 60-year-old aunt. The tag says "John Paul Richard." I think they look mostly like PJs, but I still wear them all the time. My sweet teenage daughter kindly tells me that I look like Meryl Streep when I wear them. (I think it's a compliment, meant in the breezy, coastal-grandmother sort of way. She's recently seen both It's Complicated and Mamma Mia.) I'm well aware that I'm not wearing high fashion, but they are so comfy that I don't much care.
posted by hessie at 7:21 AM on June 7, 2023

I recently bought these pants from Target as last-minute plane wear, and they're lightweight and very smooth - they're mostly rayon, but feel similar to micromodal, imo.
posted by quatsch at 8:00 AM on June 7, 2023

Lands End has a line of clothing they call Starfish which may suit; it's mostly pull-on pants that look decent enough to not read as pajamas. I hesitated about recommending them because I wasn't sure of the weight - but then I came across a recent Amazon review where someone was complaining that they were lighter than they used to be, so they may work. (And that also means that they're available on Amazon, and for fairly low pricing, so you could handle returns easily if you try them and don't like them.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:09 AM on June 7, 2023

Oh - and just to confirm that yes, they have plus sizes as well. (Just realized that the Amazon link didn't make that clear.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:10 AM on June 7, 2023

I have a pair of these Columbia pants that are my go-to for outdoor activities that look decent and are still comfy and cool.
posted by little king trashmouth at 8:57 AM on June 7, 2023

H&M goes up to 4XL and they have a TON of wide-leg pants right now that are super comfy and cute enough to wear to the office. I just discovered that this style is super flattering on my apple-shaped body and was delighted to find so many of them when I went into their store recently! I have these and get compliments every time I wear them. And I'm wearing another pair as we speak (a burnt orange linen pair that I can't immediately find on the site).
posted by a.steele at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2023

I recently tried on these linen blend wide leg pants from Old Navy and they didn't work for me (the regular length was too short on me, which may be good for you!) but they're definitely something that doesn't read as pajamas and they are available up to 4x.
posted by jabes at 11:00 AM on June 7, 2023

check out old navy. i've gotten some okay (for what it is) stuff from there lately. i am a 28/30 in bottoms and their 4x fits. also check out torrid. i get a lot from there (more than lane bryant these days) and they just had a big release. i wear a 4x or 5x in bottoms there depending on the fit.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:27 AM on June 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Brooklyn line of pants at Athleta are very lightweight, great for warm weather. I linked the ankle pants, but if you type "Brooklyn" into the search bar, they have a lot of other pant styles with that same fabric.
posted by mjcon at 2:07 PM on June 7, 2023

Seconding Duluth Traders, I wear their long pants and overalls all summer in southern Arizona. Their Armachillo jogger especially would be the platonic ideal of pants except that the fabric is rustley. Other good options for light fabric are Prana’s Halle pant or North Face Aphrodite. The Halle in particular is a pretty good looking pant; the Aphrodite is a little more outdoorsy looking.
posted by tinymojo at 2:39 PM on June 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I'm trying the Old Navy for now, but these are all great answers, and I'm sure I'll be referring back to this question later.
posted by FencingGal at 4:01 PM on June 7, 2023

Thirding Duluth Traders, I love their NoGa line of pants especially the Namastash. Also, don't discount Amazon... I found wide-legged soft, light pants that look very chic but feel like pajamas. I am a short, curvy woman, so I did have to have them hemmed, and I actually could have gone one size down, but by golly they are incredibly light and comfy. No pockets though. They are "Arolina Women's Stretchy Wide - Leg Palazzo Lounge Pants".
posted by annieb at 5:19 PM on June 7, 2023

Also Athleta goes up to 3x (ex).
posted by oceano at 5:24 PM on June 7, 2023