If you’re masculine-of-center with a not-so-masculine body type, then you’re very aware that pants that fit and flatter do not come from the mens department. Yes, you and I know it all too well, friend. We’ve tasted our own tears in many a dressing room. We’ve learned to stop getting excited when our best friend’s ex’s cousin’s sister swears up and down that this one rare and expensive brand is a guaranteed fit every time. We’ve made the final compromise with whatever cut of women’s jeans is the least upsetting, reminding ourselves not to grimace too much in the mirror as we shake our fists at the heavens, shouting “Why, Shane? Why?!”
I don’t want to be yet another snake oil salesman on the long road to masculine-fitting pants, but a recent trend in menswear has changed my tiny little life, and I felt it was worth sharing. “Recent” could be a stretch, I suppose, since depending on your locale and the style of your crowd, you might have been rocking fashionable jogger pants forever, or six years ago when Kanye claims he invented leather sweatpants. You read that last sentence correctly. Make a note on the back of your hand or the back of your girlfriend’s hand or write this on your cat for all I care: Jogger pants. Jogger pants are the future.
I was a big drop crotch sweatpants person last year. Many an hour did I sit on eBay, punching in those fifty cent increments so I could win the super cheap teen boy pop stars sweatpants from Korea.
These are 60 cents on eBay. Just sayin’, kids.
Did they sometimes make my backside look like a filled diaper? Absolutely. Did I still love those sweatpants like they were a child I produced with my own sweat and blood? Oh yes, yes I did. Because the thing about a lower crotch is that it hides the fact you have a set of child-bearing hips. In drop crotch sweatpants, everyone has a weird lumpy torso that extends to your knees, no matter what gender you were assigned when you popped out of your mother! Drop crotch sweatpants are the great equalizer, the answer to that age old problem: I want to look androgynous but also like I am walking around with a basketball between my legs. You can hide just about anything in your crotch pouch. For example, Justin Bieber could be clutching a whole Butterball frozen turkey between his thighs, and we’d be none the wiser.
I hate how much I don’t hate you at all.
The problem with drop crotch sweatpants is that I couldn’t really wear them in public. They don’t scream “appropriate for work” and they didn’t go with half my wardrobe, meaning they were typically reserved for Wal*Mart trips and the couch. Maybe I felt super cool and on gendertrend in them, but they didn’t do much to improve the way I felt when out of doors. I guess I just don’t have enough leather accessories or fake Givenchy shirts to pull it off.
Boom. Cue jogger pants. When I bought my first pair at H&M, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, nor did I know that the tapered sweatpants I was buying had a fancy official name. I just thought I was acquiring some sweet sweats that finally made my butt look good. Imagine my delight when pants identical to mine were popping up on all my favorite style blogs, and getting serious fashion cred. I moved to Ireland last week, and the amount of fashionable jogger pants wearing over here is off the charts. I see them used for professional workwear, hanging-with-the-lads-wear, and hot-cool-person-wear. You can bet your britches I’m getting in on that.
At this point, you’re probably wondering: Kate, what in the world is a jogger pant? I’m glad you asked, reader!
THESE are jogger pants. Jogger pants by Publish, to be exact.
While there’s a healthy amount of variation in what qualifies as jogger pants, the common traits are a stretchable waistband, cinched cuffs, and comfortable materials. A lot of jogger pants are made from, surprise, the type of soft cottons you love in your sweatpants, but jogger pants aren’t just for lounging. There’s denim joggers, chino-esque joggers, pleather joggers (for your budget) and leather joggers (for your not-budget). Are they casual? With a hoodie and some kicks, sure. Are they formal? Paired with the right stuff, you could wear these babies to the office. Fusing comfy with fashion is a wave I’m always going to ride hard. And I know my LGBTQ crowd loves their comfortable clothing — I’ve seen y’all wear your Birkenstocks with socks way too many times to think otherwise.
I haven’t even mentioned the best part yet! Because they’ve got an elastic waistband, they fit perfectly even over my wide-ass hips and lady thighs. By tapering the legs and cuffing at the ankles, they give me an androgynous silhouette without being shrinkwrapped to my body a la skinny jeans. Sizing is easy and flexible — I can go up a size if I want the baggier look, or down a size if I want something more fit. No pant has ever screamed “you do you” quite this hard. And the fact that these are a big trend in menswear right now means they’re more widely available and cheaper than ever.
Here’s a couple picks for those of you looking to take the jogger pant plunge.
1. Staple – The Vito Cuff Pants
Just the basics. Dress ’em up or down, you’re a hottie either way.
2. Kennedy Denim Co. – Weekender Jogger Pants
Surf’s up, homo. Your hips are gonna feel great in these pants, especially because there’s spandex in the fabric!
3. Zanerobe Pants – Sureshot Chino
You know what’s hot? You are, no matter what you wear. You know what else is hot? Camo. Camo is very hot right now. Check out those scrunchy camo cuffs. Super hot.
Wow jogger pants where have you been all my life.
Also its nice to have you back, kade :)
OMG i am gonna be all of these pants thank you so much
also, ireland? what up!!
yay for these pants. also congrats to your new ireland existence!
Ahem, i am not masculine-of-center and I still look cute as fuck in jogger pants, thank you very much.
jogger pants look awesome on everybody, super glad they’re workin for ya. the only reason i’m only talking about masculine of center style here is because i’m masculine of center, and it would be weird for me to be like HEY PEOPLE WHOSE EXPRESSIONS I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN — YOU SHOULD WEAR THIS THING, BECAUSE I SAID SO. BLARGH I AM GENDERTYRANT
seriously though they are the best, let’s bond about them forever
I wish your twitter prof just said “I AM GENDERTYRANT.”
i can’t spell before 6 a.m. Also, apparently if you hit the stop button on the browser in the midst of posting, it will post twice. blarg.
I’m not going to lie. These things are HORRIFIC. But, hey, that’s just me. Also YAY IRELAND! Do you hate the weather yet? Wasn’t the sunny rainy windy cool warm hour we just had LOVELY?????
oh sure it’s grand ;)
love these ! i was checking out the kennedy’s and can’t seem to figure out US men sizes AT ALL. any help welcome ! i figured out i’m usually a US 8-10 in girls’ wear, what would you recommend ? cheers to any tailor apprentices for saving me infinite numbers to inches to cm conversions <3
Always on #gendertrend, you are. Always pushing the tacky/not tacky dichotomy! I’m obsessed with floral menswear right now and those chinos are so wrong and yet so right.
floral menswear T^T yasss
Damn I wish I could wear floral menswear…it makes me look like a flamboyant gay man or my Gran…I’m loving all the big all over prints too but alas it’s not to be for me. (I have no idea why this ended up rhyming in places)
My life changed when these became available. Jogger jeans. JOGGER. JEANS.
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=30130199&parentid=W_APP_JEANS
This was an important lesson for me in not yucking somebody’s yum, because these are the jeans I begged and cried not to wear when I was six but they are making so many folks happy and comfortable in their gender.
ugh! those karmaloop pants are sold out, prolly because of this article!
Need to snag a pair for the misses.
“Surf’s up, homos.”
Thanks for bringing to my attention that fact that I need floral jogger pants. What have I been doing with my life?
Let’s all go empty our bank accounts shall we? =) Great post Kate!
I want these pants!!
Ok I didn’t get it and now I totally get it, thank you for this extremely enlightening article!!
Also, bonus: androgynous looking pants that don’t have “boyfriend” in the fucking title. I’m looking at you Gap. Also who do those boyfriend cut jeans even fit? Ugh. *shakes fist wearily*
Maybe they fit someone’s boyfriend…they sure as hell don’t fit me. Also I have a shirt wherein the label has “shrunken boyfriend” printed on it… I can’t. I just can’t.
SHRUNKEN BOYFRIEND !!
if you like these pants, you should look up DVMN Pigeon. It’s run by a super rad masculine of center lady named Eddie Knox. She makes lots of pants like this!
We’ve been all over the jogger pant action in the UK for a while…in fact I think it’s actually got to a point where this could be a come back. Blame H&M circa ’07.
“Surfs up homos”
That made my day.
Also, these pants. Currently breaking the bank to buy 76 pairs online.
I’m not sure if jogger pants fit into my style but maybe on my “I don’t give a shit” days
I really like the idea of these, but I’m kinda afraid to jump out of my norm and try them. They look so comfy though!
So relevant to my needs right now!
H&M has some super, cheapish jogger pants, except they call them “Suit pants relaxed fit.” They’re baller, yo. Love them.
These pants have been sneaking themselves into my closet in the form of workout duds, but I just know I’ll be wearing them out once it’s warm enough…
I recently purchased a pair of jogger pants (or baseball pants) from Muttonhead Collective located out of Toronto. They’re on the “pricier” side if you’re looking for pants under 100. They’re definitely a cool company and worth checking out. I’m really digging the fact that all the clothing they design is unisex.
My jogger pants made it in the mail today = it is already a good day
Kate, thanks for the support and shout out! Publish Brand also carries a sweat pant jogger called the ‘Colinson.’ Super comfortable and versatile. Also we will be releasing the Summer collection on June 10th! Check out the new prints and styles of our jogger pants. They will be available at http://www.PublishBrand.com Thanks again!
I saw jogger pants in a store today and remembered this article, but I wasn’t quite sure how they would work for me. But then I put them on and I am never wearing any other pants ever again. These are the best pants. Thank you.
I honestly have spent the last few days with stacks of mens pants in the dressing rooms of many a store wondering how on earth it is possible that my life could so non-consensually relate so perfectly to Desiree Dallagiacomo’s poem “My thighs [… are] always the tattle tale to the androgynous, can not take the feminine out of this.” (My Thighs Say, Listen to that shit. Right Now. NOOWW!)
Anyways, I am making a trip to H&M now on this count, you’re a stellar individual, and I’d like to formally thank the queer god’s for other ladies who like to walk the gender line until it’s broken and they forget what their PGP is again.