'i don't like pants' ny times article

[softgrey]

Black tights are my new pants.




.

..
love this statement..

 

[Bluestar07]

But I've left school behind; I'm an adult, I'm a professional, and I wear the trousers now. And I certainly don't go out in "pants" - I know it's a cross-Atlantic linguistic quirk, but for me, pants are what's worn under your clothes...

I call them "trousers" too ...

 

[softgrey]

and our mothers used to call them 'slacks'...

but a rose by any other name...

i think pants is the catchall...
because it covers all manner of trousers, jeans, slacks, etc...

but anyway...
isn't it panties-not pants...or at least underpants?
and i though you guys overseas called those knickers anyway...
*which of course is another sort of cropped trouser to us...
...

funny...

 

[snowqueen]

were i live pants are always trousers, knickers are underwear, and trousers can also be called keks regional dialect ...

alltho in some parts of england pants are knickers .. cos when i went to visit my friends in oxford they asked what i was wearing and i said

"ill probs just throw some pants on" .. i turned around they all have their jaws to the floor and i was like "what?" and they were like" dont you think ur baring a bit too much leg ??" and i was just like "huh ?" .. then after much debate i realised they called knickers pants lol they thort i was going out in my underwear lol

 

[justlooking]

i actually find pants more liberating instead of showing legs and my femininity and have everyone stare at me like a piece of meat.

me too. I haven't worn a skirt/dress since high school when it was compulsory. Like you, skirts make me feel sexualised and attract attention. It's just a personal feeling though. I love dresses/skirts and have bought a few this year but i haven't worn them because it feels too..."piece of meat"...

My friend wears dresses all the time, she dresses up everyday and makes an effort every waking moment and i always look forward to seeing her outfit. A lot of girls are very negative towards girls that make an effort from what i've seen. In the past, if you didn't make an effort it was looked down upon whereas now, especially in a laid-back attitude towards outfits (very casual) in Australia, you're more of a target if you try.

But in terms of jeans vs. dresses, i think it depends on your body type also. It's funny, friend A was asking another why friend B never wears dresses and friend B said it was because she feels fat/frumpy in dresses. On the otherhand, friend A confessed that she didn't wear jeans as they made her look fat. Friend B has more narrow hips and a boyish figure whereas friend A is an hourglass. So, the preference (what people gravitate towards) is probably based more on body type..which then relates to comfort...

 

[Bluestar07]

^^

Thanks! I needed to laugh!

Personally, I favour trousers. There's a qualification though - it has to be the right cut and fit. If it is, it makes me feel sexy.

 

[just_me]

Yes, trousers can be so sexy imo.. a pair of cigarette pants with super high heels, I feel so powerful, in skirts I feel very 'looked at' in ways I don't want..from guys.. I always get attention but in skirts is too much.

 

[nino]

There is nothing more beautiful than a woman in a black dress and high stiletto shoes! It's just perfect!

 

[Dohertysgirl]

I find it when I don't wear trousers that people comment on how 'dressed up' I am. I guess it's a compliment, but it's somewhat ridiculous as it can be soo much more comfortable to wear a dress than to wear jeans.

I stopped wearing blue jeans when I realised how boring and unoriginal they are. You know, the standard dark blue jeans, often boot-cut.

I love my black skinnies though, but they function almost like tights IMO.

 

[laurette]

I've been wearing only skirts and dresses for quite some time now because I don't feel comfortable in jeans and I can move better in them (or at least I think I can)

Have you ever noticed how people treat you different when wearing a skirt? It's funny, I was asked why I would "dress up" for school when all I did was swapping my jeans for a skirt

 

[seanutbutter]

Have you ever noticed how people treat you different when wearing a skirt? It's funny, I was asked why I would "dress up" for school when all I did was swapping my jeans for a skirt

Don't worry, I feel your pain. Some of the kids at school ask me why I'm dressed so "business-like," which doesn't really make sense half the time.

 

[quimby]

^ It's true. If you wear a skirt or dress, people think you're dressed up, no matter how casual the skirt.

I go through phases, I guess. Right now, I'm moving back into wearing skirts more often. I find that I either wear them fairly often--in which case, I get used to the possible attention, and the feeling of wearing a skirt--or not at all.

 

[eugenius]

If that whole man-skirt look (Gaultier?) truly caught on & made its way into the modern man's wardrobe, some men would be happy to swap jeans for an occasional skirt..albeit a man-ish occasional skirt..

 

[As You Like It]

I like trousers just fine. Like "dress pants" or suit trousers. I do hate jeans, though. It's too hard to find ones that both fit comfortably and look decent. Jeans are much more bother than they are worth to me. If I have some free time, I might make a pair. It's sad that it takes me less time and bother to make a pair of jeans than to go out and try on a zillion pair to find the ONE pair that fit right and look acceptable. It should not take that much effort to find something to cover up my butt. I seem to have better luck finding flattering pants in the more formal styles.

For the past year I have not worn jeans in a fashion sense, though I do have a scummy old pair of carpenter jeans that I wear when I am doing yard work or home improvements.

The whole "trick denim" thing just annoys me. Why should I buy a pair of jeans that are already half destroyed or look dirty, or are some wierd color with *stuff* all over them? They will only go out of fashion in a year, and then I am stuck with a pair of goofy, trendy pants...unless they disintegrated in the wash, as some of that over-processsed cotton will do.

So, I'm all about pants, but modern bluejeans? Those I kind of hate.

 

[softgrey]

i got a little fed up with dresses and skirts for some reason..
so i have been wearing pants lately...
*maybe it's also to do with the weather getting chilly...

but...
i don't know...
i feel like a boy in pants...but very cool and comfy...
just very un-pretty......


although i get a LOT of compliments from boys on my pants...which is hilarious...
...

i think they are all jealous...because i like to wear men's pants...
and i have a great pair of helmut lang cargoes that the boys all wish they had...
my only regret is that i didn't buy two pairs when i had the chance....

 

[WheresMyUmbrella]

I don't like pants either. I'm used to the "All dressed up!" comment, so it no longer bothers me. I just never feel put together unless I'm wearing a skirt.

 

[kristi_b]

I wear jeans often, but prefer thin, soft denim. AG's are my fav's, just for that reason, plus they fit so well. However, I prefer skirts & dresses and if I had my way and didn't succumb to the crap I get for wearing skirts too often, I'd wear them everyday

Great article, thanks for posting it!

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

Don't listen to the silly people, wear them every day if that's what you want (I sure do)!

Though it's winter now and I am currently annoyed that I have to wear pants. All I want to wear is boots with skirts, but not in this weather (at least not without warm leggings, and the leggings I've been wearing all fall don't insulate as well as pants). I can't wait 'till spring!!

 

[MimiV]

Have you ever noticed how people treat you different when wearing a skirt? It's funny, I was asked why I would "dress up" for school when all I did was swapping my jeans for a skirt

I know! I get that every single day..

I'm so tired of pants, especially jeans. I don't like the way they look on me and I feel so much prettier and feminime in a skirt or dress. The only pants I own are a pair of really old jeans that I try on every once in a while to see if I've gained weight.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I sometimes long for the 1940s and 50s, when women wore beautiful, full skirts and dresses to do simple tasks like cleaning the kitchen. What happened? Why have we gradually resorted to wearing sweatpants and shirts when cleaning? I'm not criticizing those who do, because I'm sure that's more convenient in the long run, but I'm just curious as to why people have changed so drastically in the course of 50 years.

Well, since I'm both a history and fashion geek, this is my type of question to answer (even if it was rhetorical...)

Women's Lib came along in the sixites and really pushed for equality of women and men in every way, shape, and form- and part of that was getting rid of the distinction was abolishing the notion that women needed to "dress up for their men."

Interestingly enough, the Vietnam War also sprang up around this time. The youth latched on to radical ideas and really anything that went against their traditional, "capitalism is the only way!" parents.

Pants functioned insanely well for both of these movements- you can get work done without worrying about showing your who-ha in slacks for the women's libbers, and the hippies could look really casual and show everyone how little they cared in a pair of jeans which, since the age of James Dean, had been the choice pants of badasses everywhere since the '50's. Bear in mind that, up until the mid to late sixties, nice fitting jeans were only worn on the weekends with button up shirts and ribbons for girls and cardigans and sneakers for guys (or, of course, all the time and with leather jackets for those greasers!).

I, for one, highly doubt that the world will ever return to the fifties "dress up for your day" attitude- I'm still bitter that I have to dress "business casual" for my job, meaning no jeans!