The Pants That Have Haunted Me for Two Years

I fall often and hard for pricey pieces of clothing — most recently, a 600-something-dollar leopard-print jacket with a blue silk lining and no arm holes. So I don’t go bankrupt, I’ve fallen into the habit of walking away from anything excessive and taking a night or two to consider if I still want it. I am glad I walked away from the shrug-coat; I am miserable that I walked away from Jesse Kamm’s sailor pants, which have haunted me for two straight years, since I first tried them on at Joinery in Greenpoint (they’ve since stopped selling clothes). These pants are perfect to me. They’re widely flared at the ankle and they close (very) high on the waist with a single, simple button. I remember they felt very sturdy and substantial and kept their shape on my body, and they were kind of tight and flattering on the butt in a nice way but relaxed everywhere else. They are made of canvas and come in ten colors, none of which read clownish or showy: cargo olive, a lovely navy blue, the prettiest red. They are faddish but transcend trend, and the moment my taxes are returned I am buying two pairs and never looking back.

Since I wrote this post, Everlane has released a (much) cheaper, near-facsimile of the Kamm pants. They are wide-legged like the Kamms, cropped just above the ankle like the Kamms, and shape-maintaining like the Kamms. The only difference? These have a bit of stretch—so they’re comfortable even after a big lunch.