My Hunt for a Leisurely Carpenter Jean
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
Carpenterpants, utility pants, painters’ pants — call them what you will, but I lovejeanswith lots of extra pockets and some loops. Who knows what I’ll need to carry on any given day? How wonderful that there are pants with nooks for my phone, wallet, chapstick,AirPods, and a few sticks of gum. As a kid, I had a pair from Old Navy that I wore down to the studs, and I’ve been looking for something that measured up ever since.
Workwear, however, traditionally isn’t tailored topetite womenlike me who sit all day when they aren’t doing household errands. How many times have I tried on a pair of men’s Carhartts hoping the manufacturer mistakenly made them smaller? But now that the genre seems to have transcended trend status into the everyday-wardrobe pantheon, there are more options for carpenter cosplayers like me to choose from.
Perhaps no one has done more for women’s workwear pants than the brandRudy Jude, whose nontoxic, sustainable, double-kneed dungarees, imbued with the spirit of the wild Maine coast, are sold for $325 via small drops online. The pants’ popularity — and exclusivity — has spurred a thriving black market. If I were more sure of my sizing, I would probably sign up for the wait list for the next exclusive drop, but in general, I have too difficult a time with pants sizing to join the fray.
The baggier the better for me, but at five-foot-three, finding pants that don’t need to be hemmed is rare, and after many regrettable hemming experiences, I’m reluctant to go that route. I usually find myself praying for the combination of a 26- or 27-inch waist with a 27 inseam.
I knew my carpenter jeans were out there. I was looking for a pair with a relaxed fit, a highish waist, and the hallmark pockets and loops for various thingamajigs. I was also hoping to find ones that weren’t too stiff or unforgiving. Contrast stitching and double knees would be icing on the cake. Here’s what I found, and what impressed me and didn’t.
The Ones That Didn’t Cut It
New! You can now save this product for later.
Stan Ray OG Painter Pant
I bought this pair of pants with hope in my heart. Despite the fact that they were about a foot too long, I liked the way they fit in the waist, so I took the gamble that they would turn into the perfect pant if I got them shortened. Unfortunately, these fell victim to the hemming fallacy: Instead of making them look better, the tailoring gave them a tapered-leg effect, making the top of the pant look out of proportion to the bottom. And because the fabric is so stiff, there was an unfortunate tenting effect in the rear. I do love the contrast stitching against the azure fabric, though, and I look forward to making them into OG Painter Cutoff Shorts come summer.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Levi’s and I are in a long-running feud over the way its pants fit me. But I always return to the king of denim to see if perhaps he’s changed his ways. When it came to this pair of pants, it seems his eye for petites has only gotten worse. I took my normal waist size in these, 27, and they fit comfortably at the waist but degraded into mayhem on the way down. At $198, these were on the more expensive end of pants I tried on, but the quality is dubious: They would definitely not hold up in the rough-and-tumble world offauxcarpentering.
New! You can now save this product for later.
Once upon a time I bought a pair of Dickies carpenter pants at Urban Outfitters, and I’ve been trying to find a replica since. They were wide-legged in a heavy canvas that aged really well after about a dozen washes. These Dickies have all the qualities of good carpenter pants: contrast stitching, miscellaneous loops and pockets, an easy fit. But no amount of jostling or hem-rolling could get rid of the poofy upper section. The belt they came with is cute.
The Runners-up
New! You can now save this product for later.
Gap Mid Rise 90s Loose Carpenter Jeans
I was impressed with the fit on these, although they were a bit too low-rise for the worker’s life of sitting at my computer. The fabric is very soft but flimsy. Gap, bless them, has fairly reliable sizing for small people, and the 26-waist petites was a shockingly nice fit. But in the end, there was not enough carpenter in these pants. They’re just a solid pair of jeans with a random loop attached.
New! You can now save this product for later.
These were the most Rudy Jude of the bunch, although a bit more luxe, with contrasting knee panels made of canvas. I am a sucker for the grommets — these are theSchiaparellisof mass-market utility pants. I love the rugged feel of the double knee, but for $279, I’m not sure if I would wear these gardening or the three times a year I use a drill. Also, I struggled here with another distended midsection. I took my normal size: Legs are good, waist is wonky.
The Winner
New! You can now save this product for later.
I didn’t really know that I could like jeans so much until I tried these on. The poofy midsection problem is obviated by a higher, slimmer waist; the pockets are deep and roomy, and the contrast stitching gives them a sculptural quality. The denim is not restrictive, and you don’t feel like you need to wash them over and over to break them in. Loeffler Randall’s website says they are “slightly cropped,” but I wish all pants had a 26 inseam. At $225, they are on the higher end of jeans I surveyed, but what’s the cost of perfection?
More From The Strategist
- The Strategist Fall 100
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- The Strategist Summer 100
- I Replaced My Tretinoin With This $30 Retinal Cream
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
