[frodetb]

This is a premise I can get behind.

One of the silliest battles I have found myself fighting against society has been my search for comfortable yet attractive men's pants. I deeply dislike the restricting fit of modern pants, especially tighter fitting jeans, but also the semi-current fashion in suits and pants in general.

It may be that a catalyst for this conflict has been my anatomy. My thighs and butt are huge, compared to other guys of similar proportions, and so apparently they cannot be contained by modern fashions. Every time I try to put on a pair, they're either too loose in the waist, or too tight in the thighs, and always sit too low for my liking, digging into my groin if I force the belt to sit at my waist. And should i find a pair that feels acceptable at first, my optimism only lasts until I have to sit down and feel the edge of these clothes digging uncomfortably into my flesh, rekindling my hatred for these trends and their designers.

The current resolution to my woes has been Darcy Clothing's line of suspender pants[1], which I have had tailored after purchase to taper and fit my height. However, this look is quite jarring in a modern environment, so I tend to wear a sweater over the suspenders. Still, I sometimes need to take it off, and wearing something like this day in and out puts quite a label on you.

Still to this day I keep my eyes open, hoping that the pants of my desires will appear in a shop somewhere, or that trends will change, and we get style in service of comfort, instead of discomfort in service of style.

[1] https://www.darcyclothing.com/collections/mens-trousers

[karmelapple]

Same here. The secret I’ve found: look for athletic cut. That’s the cut many hockey players wear, who typically have huge thighs and a rumble seat because of the muscles skating works. Those are the only pants I buy now.

I even got Michael Strahan suit pants recently, since they were the only ones in the store that fit me nicely.

[hgsgm]

> and a rumble seat

What?

[theodric]

When your butt's so big it fits two extra people https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_seat

[karmelapple]

It's a humorous phrase members of my family have used for, as others have mentioned, a larger posterior.

[red-iron-pine]

he dun got a big butt

[Arrath]

Junk in the trunk

[kmstout]

My solution for years is to hit the thrift store and opportunistically grab pants that are in good shape but too big, and then take them for alteration. For a few bucks plus tailoring, I can have something that will fit me better than anything off the rack.

[kevviiinn]

I have similar issues. Thick thighs and meaty butt, I had some nice looking pants that used to allow me full range of movement that I had used for a while but a few weeks ago I tore a pair when squatting down. I'm now currently resigned to joggers for the time being. It feels like there are no decent pants out there for men who lift

[Arrath]

Same here. A youth of track, soccer and skiing has bequeathed me a rear that most of the women in my life are jealous of, and yet it is a curse. Nothing fuckin fits right!

[frodetb]

Right on point, "a blessing and a curse".

[chlodwig]

Have you tried the J.Crew 1040 Athletic tapered-fit stretch chino pant? It's designed with a bigger thigh for guys who don't skip leg day -- https://www.jcrew.com/m/mens/categories/clothing/pants-and-c...

[flappyeagle]

Slim is on its way out. OP might as well wear something aggressively comfortable and forward looking https://www.jcrew.com/p/mens/categories/clothing/pants-and-c...

[UncleOxidant]

Yeah, I thought slim was already out for a while now?

[avn2109]

I also have the giant-thighs-and-butt-from-heavy-squats-and-deadlifts situation.

The "Athletic taper" pants from Jcrew and also the similarly named ones from Banana Republic and the Gap are great. Sometimes you can buy one size up and then have the waist taken in by a tailor to get a better thigh fit.

[guelo]

I too have recently adopted a suspender lifestyle while in search of comfortable trouser fits. The main annoyance I've encountered is the need to remove all top clothing layers when using a toilet. This should be less of a problem in the upcoming warmer months, though they will also provide less opportunity for suspender concealment.

[bmelton]

I don't know if you've tried it, but there are places that can sell you custom tailored jeans, usually in the form of raw denim that -- because it will do such a great job of conforming to exactly your shape, to the point of 'remembering' your wallet -- are generally built about a half-size too large and shrunk to fit by washing.

[adolph]

> custom tailored jeans, . . . to the point of 'remembering' your wallet

I wouldn't expect anything custom tailored to forget my wallet. . . . .

[bmelton]

lol, I mean that denim has the particular attribute of forming to exactly your proportions. We've all seen old denim -- its wrinkles are bespoke to the wearer, its scuffs are defined by the work that was done in them.

After enough (read: not that much, actually) usage, you'd be able to look at a pair of jeans and know which pocket their owner kept their things in, whether the things kept were a wallet vs a cell phone, etc., and exactly how they placed the wallet therein.

e.g. https://denimdudes.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Denim_Dudes...

I bring it up largely because denim is basically the most durable thing we can buy, so if you're going to have to get custom clothing, might as well get custom clothing that will last, and not limit ourselves to only looking tailored when we're in our custom formalwear

[masklinn]

> My thighs and butt are huge, compared to other guys of similar proportions

Have you considered looking at the women’s? Might be no better in the end, but this reads like what’s conventionally a feminine anatomy, and garment designers will generally go with conventional anatomy, if not outright prescribe completely imaginary ones you have to conform to.

[frodetb]

I absolutely have! Didn't think it was worth the tangent so I'm glad you're bringing it up. Women's fashion is so much more varied in shape, size, style, and fit, and some of it even looks comfortable. As a matter of fact, if you search for high-rise trousers online, most of the results are precisely in the women's section. I think that will have to be my next stop, though it's a line to cross and somewhat of pill to swallow.

As an aside, I have said for a long time that I wish it was socially uncontroversial for a guy to wear a loose skirt or dress in public, and that if I found one I liked I would wear it all the time.

[masklinn]

> As an aside, I have said for a long time that I wish it was socially uncontroversial for a guy to wear a loose skirt or dress in public, and that if I found one I liked I would wear it all the time.

Yeah it’s becoming a bit less uncommon but not by much.

Maybe you could make up a Scottish heritage and wear a kilt? Other options would be overalls (there’s overall high-fashion) you might have the same shape issue as pants but they won’t fall down thanks to built-in suspenders (which you can play with e.g. cross, halves, …), or onesies (kigurumi) if you don’t mind being seen as a weeb.

[anotheruser13]

Ugh, I'd say women's clothing is way worse than men's. No standard sizing, and too many faddish items. Women's clothes typically lack usable pockets and they are not as durable. Crappy fabrics that shrink and fade, horrible zippers that break...

That being said, you might want to go to Kohl's and try on Lee women's pants. Those aren't bad, although I hate the way Kohl's marks stuff up and then puts a normal price on it and calls that a sale.

[Wowfunhappy]

> though it's a line to cross and somewhat of pill to swallow.

If the pants fit, I really don't think anyone is going to notice.

Avoid the pants with pink flowers on them.

[mncharity]

> hoping that the pants of my desires will appear in a shop somewhere

An early-web startup did custom-cut khakis. CNC cut, manually stitched in one of the last US factories doing such, and overnighted. Acquired by bigco, and death by mismanagement. Patents should be expired now, so perhaps progress can resume?

[flappyeagle]

You’ll be happy to know that we are entering a ten-year cycle of loosefitting pants. Tight fitting slim cut pants are on their way out trend wise.

[tzs]

Have you considered a kilt, like these [1]?

[1] https://utilikilts.com/

[michael1999]

No idea what you look like, but Lululemon sells their ABC Pants - https://shop.lululemon.com/search?Ntt=abc%20pants

The have a gusset, and offer a full size range in multiple fits and fabrics. Very comfortable.

[Ixiaus]

Livsn is great. I'm a powerlifter so a lot of pants don't fit and I need to tailor them. Livsn pants look great and are really tough.

I'm not affiliated in any way, just a very happy customer.

https://www.livsndesigns.com/

[user_named]

Why do you need suspenders if you've had the pants tailored? What's your bmi?

[frodetb]

The tailoring was just for taper and length. The waist I didn't do much with so it's pretty loose. Besides, the pants are simply supposed to be worn with suspenders. I'm not sure as I haven't tried fitted high-rise trousers, but I think it would be hard to keep them in place otherwise.

As for my BMI, I'm 183cm at 85kg, which I understand nudges me just inside of "overweight".

[dalbasal]

Speak for us!