Everyone has a hard time finding good pants that fit, right?  For this reason, I thought it’d be nice to post a more detailed than usual description of pants that I added to my office wardrobe recently.I wore this all black outfit to work today, except for the shoes, which I changed into my when I got home.

As you may know, I’ve been on the hunt for classic office appropriate trousers. On my recent trip to the brick and mortar Eileen Fisher store, I picked up a pair of the EF washable stretch crepe pants that’s part of their 8-piece “system”.  Like most EF clothes, they feel classic and easy to wear.  These pants look crisp, but are also stretchy and easy to move around in.  The best part is that they can be washed like a T shirt and don’t wrinkle easily.

I only have one other pair of classic office pants, but they are somewhat fussy like most office pants because of the need to dry clean and maintain the pressed seam down the front. When those pants are at the cleaners every few weeks, I am left without classic pant options for the work week.  So these new pants help fill that gap but doesn’t add to my dry cleaning bill.

The material is synthetic, which isn’t ideal, but for the ease of wear and washability, that’s a concession I’m willing to make.  I’m more strict about tops and sweaters being of 100% natural fibers because my upper body seems to be more sensitive to the texture and breathability of materials.  The washable stretch crepe has a dry hand feel.  It feels OK.  Not great.  They look better than they feel actually. I was bummed today when  noticed a small piece of thread that snagged loose over the thigh area, in the same way knits do. That was surprising because the fabric doesn’t look like it could snag.  But it does!

These pants are easy to wear.  They pull on.  There’s no zippers or hardware.  The waist band is flat and stretchy, but do not have a traditional elastic bunched up appearance that you’d normally find with elastic waistbands. It’s always hard for me to find pants that fit because my waist to hip ratio is atypical.  I have a straight torso (wide waist), narrow hips and thin legs.  So when things fit around my legs, they are usually too tight at my waist.  Elastic waistbands are usually more forgiving for my body shape and I appreciate that these pants have an elastic waistband without appearing like they do.

For reference these pants are in a size small/petite, have a 9-” rise, and 29″ inseam.  I’m 5’5″ with a 29″ waist and 36″ hips.

Online reviews say EF pants in this material hold up well over time.   The one major con for me though, is the lack of pockets.  My guess is that pockets probably would not work well with the structure and light weight of this fabric.  I had to carry my cross body bag around at work to hold my supplies.

Here’s a picture of the pants when I first tried them on in the store.

I’m happy to have a few more things in my office wardrobe.  Even though I’ve been working in the real world for 5 years now, it’s taken me a long time to adjust to dressing for the office.  It requires a lot more effort and doesn’t come naturally.  I still have a ways to go in building up a good office wardrobe.  I’m probably 30% of the way there.  I have a lightweight cardigan coming in the mail soon and I’m currently looking at some other cardigans/office outerwear in heavier weights, so stay tuned for that, but I probably won’t buy much more for another month or two.

Anyway, hope you all are having a good start to the week.  Last week I slacked off majorly with Barre3 workouts, so I need to bust my ass this week to make up for it.  I woke up with very sore hips and thighs from all those squats I did last night.  This past weekend, I watched the first three episodes of Queer Eye on Netflix and now I’m hooked!  Anyone else watch it?  I’m all for this type of light feel-good entertainment these days.

[outfit: Won Hundred black dolman sleeve shirt* (old), Eileen fisher washable stretch crepe pants, no. 6 store clogs, baggu crossbody, old everlane crossover slides]