My Hunt for Pants My Husband and I Can Both Wear
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It’s time to take gender out of clothes. I feel this most deeply when I’m looking for clothes for my young daughters, but increasingly, I don’t see why my husband and I are shopping in different sections of a shop or website. For the most part, we wear similar clothes on a day-to-day basis — pants and shirts, nothing terribly exciting — and I could use some streamlining of our closet space. Over the summer, my husband started wearing a pair of my beloved baggy Free People pants and looked terrific in them, so I set out to find more pants we could both wear.
For reference, I am five-foot-six and usually wear a women’s size 8 or 10 but went for 10s here so they would fit us both comfortably. My husband is five-foot-11 and has a slimmer build than me (he usually takes a 30-inch waist and a 32-inch inseam in pants), but I tend to wear my pants higher than he does, so an inseam of around 31 inches works on us both. We both like our pants comfortable, light, and not tight, so the only options I considered were cotton (or mostly cotton) and in the chino–utility pant category. We have small children and we both love traveling, so the pants need to be fuss-free and easy to wear on the move.
The three pairs we liked best
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Baggy, lightweight, comfortable pants that are ideal for warmer weather.
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A comfortable cargo pant with a slimmer leg and thicker material.
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A structured but relaxed pair that’s comfortable enough to travel in.
Notourfavorites
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These look fine, but they fit us both a little strangely. The length was a bit too short, and I ultimately rolled them up to make that look intentional and wore them with heels. The pockets were too deep — we found ourselves hunching over to retrieve things, and anything bulky created odd bulges. The barrel fit, which I normally like on myself, made us both look wide and squat in the legs.
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These are similar to the winner below but have adjustable tabs on the sides, which my husband didn’t love because they served no purpose on him and he didn’t like the look. So even though these fit us both well, they are probably going to end up being primarily mine. They go with flats and heels for me and work equally well for casual days and the office.
Therunner-up
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I’m going through a real cargo-pant phase these days. I love these Gap ones, and they fit us both well. They’re also on the baggier and more casual side, and the material is a bit thicker, so they’re perfect for fall. These have a barrel cut, but they fit nicely without adding bulk to the legs.
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These Free People cargo pants are very baggy and comfortable, which probably explains why my husband and I kept reaching for them all summer. The style makes them not suitable for work or any formal occasions but perfect for long, lazy days with family and friends. The pockets are conveniently huge, but on my husband, they empty out if he sits down. While these pants were our summertime favorite, they didn’t end up among the winners because they weren’t quite as versatile.
Thewinners
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These worked very well on us both. The relaxed fit is a bit wider in the leg, and the pants are light and comfortable enough to wear all day.
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These were the ones we both liked the most. They are cotton and fit well, and the pockets are the right size, not too deep and not so big that things fall out when we’re sitting. The pants are relaxed enough for travel while looking put together enough for work. I might need to get these in all the available colors.
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