These would be perfect for everyone's dog walking capsule! Your neighbors will love them!

<3 <3 <3 Cocolion's dominatrix post!!! That is where my mind immediately went, too.

If I were ever at a point where dropping $7k on a pair of pants was no big deal (hah!), I would buy them. I unabashedly love them. I freely admit it These pants say to me, "I am your overlord, bow down and worship me". And who here couldn't use a little of that?

They wouldn't be for everyday. I would wear these to fine arts events: theater, dance, concert, or to a club or upscale restaurant. These pants would definitely go over well in Atlanta.

I'd go Bond girl with this: wear a thin, sleek fitted black sweater with a high neck (or optic white with a belt), pull the hair up in a high ponytail or worn super-straight, and I would wear a very streamlined high-heeled black stiletto pump - closed-toe. I would show as little skin as possible everywhere else, so that the pants have a bigger shock. Kind of cat-woman/dominatrix/Catherine Zeta-Jones in that burglar movie.

Donna and Isabel--I can see my financial adviser scratching his head at a line item in my budget labelled Rodarte Pants. He'd probably think it was a spelling error and then collapse when I walked through the door.

Thanks Rachylou and Alicat for giving me a couple of other settings for these pants: I now know I can wear them grocery shopping in Anchorage; at Pride weekend and "leather night" in SF; as a tax-deductible, office outfit if I decide to change careers; as ventilated summer wear; as a shopping outfit if I decide to explore alternative retail outlets (following Angie's maxim of leaving no retail stone unturned); and, last, but not least, as the perfect outfit to get everyone in my neighborhood out of their houses and talking to each other when I walk the dog. These pants open so many opportunities for tax benefits, career and lifestyle changes, and world peace--while keeping my legs ventilated.

Ingunn, I love your styling idea for turning these into a teaching outfit. Reminds me of those mullet haircuts so loved by the hockey players in the 90s--short at the front and long at the back. The rationale was business in front and party in the back. But your styling genius allows us be schoolmarm on top and dominatrix on the bottom. Perfect for the adolescent mind.

Annaj--hmm, then probably better off not wearing them to dermatologist.

Sona--oh, yes! Perfect for those family reunions when everyone sits around critiquing everyone out of earshot. The sole topic of conversation would be you, thereby promoting family solidarity and harmony. Peace Pants!

La Belle, my Leo sign loves that message. And a pair of pants that could work as well in Atlanta as in Anchorage is not to be dismissed lightly. I adore that Bond girl image; grab those pants and may Atlanta fall at your feet!

I would totally wear these too. I think they would be perfect for teaching as Ingunn styled them!

Is there something about teaching adolescents and young adults that brings out our inner dominatrix-- a tinge of La Belle's "I am your overlord, bow down and worship me". Of course, we are much too subtle to say that in words, or even our daily outfits, but, secretly, in our hearts, under those crisp white shirts and sensible heels...

Oh I think so! In most of my teaching outfits I try and have some item of power in there. I think it works as subtext in an outfit for sure. If only the students knew. Half of them I think think I am some kind of robot. I ran into a student the other day when I was downtown with my husband and kids, and they seemed pole axed that I actually was in a relationship and had kids. Do they think I recharge in a corner of my office or something?

I can relate to that. I met a couple of my students while on vacation in Mexico. The two girls couldn't get over seeing me in a bathing suit beside the pool. They kept telling me that I looked so different (but, good, they kept assuring me!). I honestly think that they were shocked that I actually did some of the same things that they did while on vacation.

For most of our students, I think, we only exist within the walls of the university. We do not have normal lives; we only live to teach classes, hand out grades (arbitrarily, of course), and skulk around in dark corners doing weird things in the name of "research".

This might just be my favourite thread of all time. Ever.

(And I love the pants. I'd wear them all the time!)

Well, honestly you don't have to wait for any particular night to wear them in certain parts of SF. Most of the leather you'll see are in two areas of SF: the Castro and SOMA (South of Market). The Castro, as you're probably well aware, is the center of the gay community in SF. SOMA has a bunch of clubs that are frequented by leather-clad folks of all orientations.

So if you somehow acquire these babies come on down to SF and wear them whenever you like!

Well, given the price tag of those babies, I might have to resort to SMC if I want to see SF in the near future. But it's reassuring to know that there are still some parts of the world where a slightly greying 60+ senior could wear those pants without causing too much commotion. SF is a wonderful city!