My favorite-fitting and affordable dress trousers in the world of ready-to-wear are from Spier & Mackay. The contemporary fit, in particular, has a great mid-rise, gentle taper and cool details like side tabs and extended waistbands that elevate them above your normal mall brand pant.
Right now, they’re offering a group made to order opportunity for trousers in three colors of Dugdale cavalry twill. Widely considered kind of the standard-bearer for good-quality cav twill, these are made of a cloth you’re not likely to find below a certain price point (or outside specialty shops or even individual tailors). At $248 per pair, they’re a superb deal. Derek Guy at Die, Workwear! (One of my favorite menswear writers) has said he likes twills better than flannel for winter.
Spier is making them in their high-rise, single-pleat model, with a fancier than normal side tab. I’m on the record as being a non-pleated pant person, so I’ll personally sit these out. But the appeal of a pleat remains if you’re someone who likes them: they elongate the vertical line of your leg visually from the front, and add additional room that make the pant more comfortable when sitting down. Someday I’m sure I’ll come around to them.
My choice would be the medium gray color: it’s fairly dark, which looks sophisticated with dark jackets in navy or brown, it complements earthy tweeds being a cool gray, and it can look great with lighter jackets like camel too.
The window for ordering ends August 13, with a target delivery date of early November.
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