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Evaluating the summer pants

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Here are my recent summer pants purchases from Anthro that are still in consideration for keeping. Right now I'm leaning toward keeping all three, unless I get overwhelming feedback otherwise. They all have such different vibes and uses, and right now the only other acceptable casual summer pants I have are the Athleta crops.

One other pair (some grey rolled chinos from Anthro) not in my Finds and the Black Wit & Wisdom gauchos in my Finds are going back. The regular rolled chinos feel just a little too warm for our summer weather, and the gauchos, while really comfortable and lightweight, are a poor fit -- huge in the waist, a bit clingy in the hip, and very wrinkly. The joggers I tried from Nordstrom were a bust too -- the Paige ones were roomy in the top, tight in the calf (??), and too short, and the Vince ones were too hot and constricting.

So, here are the promising pants...

1-3 olive joggers. So, so, so comfortable. The pockets are a little bunched up, so you might see a little lumpiness in the photos, but I'll steam that out. I think they're JFE plus cool and casual. I kind of love these.

4-6 linen blend wide leg trousers. These were the ones I was worried were not casual enough for me, but I can keep the styling casual or dress them up. Again, so cool and comfortable! It will be nice to have a full length pants option for summer. Work here with a 2" heel. Could maybe use a tiny hemming. Again, I think I love these.

7-8 lilac crops. A bit of a wild card, and I'm hoping JFE. The patch pockets work better on me than I expected, but let me know if you think they're awful on me. I'm liking them, even though there are big patch pockets on my thighs, which is weird. Again, very comfortable. Maybe I should remove the tie at the waist?

Nothing is really styled here, just thrown on with my grey linen tee and faux Birks. Just realized from the side views that all the cycling I'm doing is not exactly making my quads smaller! Oh well, at least they're stronger!

If anyone is so inclined, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

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Topsail Joggers

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Fairweather Roll-Ups

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38 replies

Latest reply was from MsMaven

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I like them all, Janet. The wide leg linen ones are especially amazing on you. The others look like they could be fun. The only question I have really is do you have the right tops to make the lilac crops work well? I'd be tempted to remove the tie if you can, although on some that isn't possible and I have made it work anyway -- sometimes I just sort of tuck it in.

rachylou

Veteran

I like the olive joggers much more than I thought I would, and also the lilac crops. I don't like the linen wide legs at all. I feel like they're too fitted in the butt, when they should be all flowy and Lauren Bacall...

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Thanks, Suz! I have 3-4 printed tops that actually have that lilac color in them! I figure between those and neutral tops, the color of those pants could work well for me, since I am usually firmly stuck in a neutral bottoms rut.

kellygirl

Veteran

Love the joggers and the wide length pants. Those are keepers for sure! I think the lilac pants are JFE but I'm not crazy about the pockets and seaming--seems like ALGO. That being said, I think you have terrific taste and could probably make those pants look incredible with some styling magic. I'd go with your gut in those--if you love them, keep them! As for the quads, you look super fit!

Sal

Veteran

I like them all too, and they all look comfortable and flattering.

I especially like the first pair, they will slot effortlessly in to your wardrobe. Love them.

The flares are great too, and a true classic. I especially love these pants on holidays in warm locations.

I like the lilac ones - although I don't know about the colour. Mind you I have found a couple of pink items more versatile than I would have thought. The lilac will be great with grey, denim, white, maybe olive, and possibly black. I would also just check you have at least two tees or tops that you love with them.

ETA: I see you do have the tops!

And your quads look great.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Rachy, I hear you on the flowy thing, but I will probably never, ever find pants that fit me that way. I'm just not built like that, sadly. Actually, these are stretching out slightly as I wear them -- maybe after an hour or so, they'll hang differently (but hopefully not with that droopy butt look).

Daria

Janet, I really love the joggers. The wide leg pants look good too, but I tend to agree that they should be even wider in the hips. Not crazy about the crops though..

approprio

(website)

Veteran

Loving the olive joggers. The wide legs look nice enough too, they seem to fit well. Really not sure about the lilac ones. The fit looks off and those pockets have an unfortunate saddlebag effect.

rachylou

Veteran

Lol. Well, you have something to show off in anycase. I have no butt anymore! Where did it go?!

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

The lilac ones look simultaneously too young or way too old, tween versus retiree mall power walker (is that still a thing?).

Elle

Veteran

Love the joggers and wide leg pants (my fav) on you. The color of the lilac is fun but before you cut off the tags, I'd make sure you like the way your tops work with it.

Anonymous

Love the joggers and the linen pants!
I don't really have a yay or nay opinion on the pink pants-I'm neutral. I find that they're quite slimming despite the pockets.

unfrumped

Veteran

I like the joggers--i would like those myself!
The linen pants almost read like a bootcut--I agree with rachy in that they're unexpectedly fitted for the wide leg, but I still like them on you.
Not so big a fan of the lilac, compared to the other 2.

deb

Veteran

I looked at the wide leg linen pants but saw how the seam is weird on the model. Does the seam go wacky on the pair you have? Oh. and I like all three on you.

Olivegreen

The wide leg pants are the most flattering things. The olive pants look like fun and will be easy to style, betcha.

Tina

Veteran

These bottoms all have the potential to serve slightly different purposes, from ultra casual to just casual. I love the fit of the linen blend pants in # 2! They look like PPL to me and are very flattering. I think with styling they will all be winners.

karymk

Veteran

Janet I think all of them look great on you except number 7/8.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Wow there is a lot of diversity of opinion here! I like the linen wide legs best - they are fantastic, the olive pants second best and am not crazy about the lilac pair. They are neither here nor there on the fit. It isn't the side pockets but the overall effect.

Joy

Veteran

My favorite are the olive joggers...so fab on you. Coming in second are the wide leg trousers, then the lavendar wild card. You look amazing in all these and I think you could keep them all. Maybe try styling before deciding.

Eliza

Veteran

Janet- love the olive joggers and wide leg linen blend pants. Linen pants are great for "cool" coverage. I like the lilac pants concept for you, though I find the pockets distracting. It somehow seems they may almost impact the proportions of an outfit, if that makes any sense. I wonder if tops could be tricky. That said, I am increasingly focussed on minimizing details to work around in styling outfits and it may be an irrelevant variable for you.

I love the idea of interesting colors that read summer. Good finds!

Jules

Veteran

Interesting how the pocket trim on the lilac seems higher contrast than in the anthro photo. I'm afraid I'm finding them a bit ALGO, between that and the waist tie and the leg seaming and the cuffs... now I may be projecting, but sometimes when something like this fits and flatters better than I expected, I get distracted from the fact that maybe I don't love them for *other* reasons, ya know?
I love the wide legs (want!) and the joggers too!

Aziraphale

Veteran

I like them all, and I like the olive joggers the best. I bought a pair very similar only with camo print, and they are probably my most comfy pair of pants. My husband makes 80s jokes whenever i wear them, though.

The long wide pants are very flattering, too. The lilac ones are OK -- JFE and if you like them for comfort reasons, it's a go.

catgirl

Veteran

Janet, the joggers and wide legs are no brainer keeps to me! The lilac pants look too much like gear that is trying too hard not be gear, at least to my eye. You look great but I feel like the style is neither here nor there.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I think the joggers are great on you, and the linen pants are more than great. I like their fit on you more than the model. On you, they have more of a 70s flare pant fit -- fitted in hip and rear then flowing out. Rather than a conventional flow-y pant fit. How do they feel? Does the fabric feel right for extra hot weather? I am tempted to order a pair in the petite length.

I'm sort of torn on the lilac pants. My first impression was no, but the more I click back, the more they are kind of fun and ironic. They look great for bike riding too. I had a pair of woven yoga pants like this, minus the roll tab, and wore them to death. They might be great with a loose white or similarly shaded lilac tee for the most casual days. The drawstring doesn't bug me, you just have to keep everything else ultra simple.

Thanks for putting yourself and your purchases out there for us to critique Janet... it's fun and instructive. You're inspiring me to do the same with some of my recent pending acquisitions.

rute

Veteran

Love 1 and 2! stunning on you. Maybe size up 3?

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I really like the Topsail joggers and the chambray wide legs - the fit and style looks great, and I can see them fitting in nicely with your wardrobe. I'm not a fan of the lilac pair - with the pockets and topstitching it's a little much going on, IMHO (sorry!).

Aquamarine

Veteran

I LOVE the olive joggers and the wide legs. Different shapes but both so flattering on you. I am not as drawn to the lilac pair. The seaming is the only thing I see and makes the pants not so sleek to my eye. I guess I don't like the color for bottoms, either, so that could be my issue also. But I agree you could probably style them in a way to make them work for you, and I would be interested in seeing that.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Thank you for all the great feedback! I really appreciate the honesty and all perspectives.

Deb, I didn't notice the seam thing on the linen pants stock photo until you mentioned it -- the pair I have looks fine. Thanks for pointing that out.

Points well taken about the lilac pants. I knew they'd be the biggest question mark. They're avaiable in other colors as well, but I thought I'd check out this color as an alternative to how I always use neutral, mostly dark bottoms as a style crutch. Although maybe this exercise shows me that I'm better off that way. :-/ (You see why pants stir up my body insecurities!)

Like the last polarizing item I posted -- the Helmut Lang dress -- I can see both perspectives on these pants. I would like some sort of capri length pant that is flattering but a little bit interesting. But I don't want middle-age frumpy capris. If anyone has good suggestions for an alternative, let me know. Gear is not necessarily a bad thing -- after all the Athleta capris are technically gear, and I like a casual, sporty vibe. But most of what I see out in the stores leaves me totally cold.

Helena

Veteran

I think these all look cute and comfy, and echoing that the joggers are my favorite!

@Rachylou - maybe your butt ran off with my boobs! They are probably all living it up somewhere warm and sunny with all the lost socks from the dryer ...

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