Sometimes you want to look nice, but don’t want to fell all dressed up. You don’t want your movement to be restricted at all, and you just want to feel like you’re wearing sweatpants, but look like you’re wearing chinos. That is, in a nutshell, the pitch when it comes to LuLuLemon “stretchy pants”, the new trend that all guys these days seem to be wearing.
But there are a few problems. For one, they’re quite expensive at about $128 per pair. But the biggest issues are that there is a large seam that runs along the back knee of the pants which detracts majorly from the “dressy” look of them, and instantly gives them away as being LuLuLemon pants. And last, and most importantly, the fit of them is quite bad. They’re cut extremely baggy in the hip, thigh, and knee region, and then taper a bit from there. In all, they’re cut more like track pants than a nice pair of chinos.
Enter the Public Rec “Workday Pant”. These things come in at only $108 per pair, come in a nice variety of both colors and sizes, and, best of all, don’t have any of the LuLu issues. No back seam, and a much better fit. It’s a true slim that matches pretty closely to, say, the J Crew 484 chinos. And, god, the comfort is next level. They are seemingly infinitely stretchy, and have a super smooth, comfy feel to them. You put them on and instantly feel good. These are the sorts of pants that you won’t even want to change out of to curl up and watch a movie.
Want another option for even cheaper? Sure. We also love the J Crew tech chino. These clock in at only $80 per pair. They fit and feel overall more like a typical chino, but are still extremely comfortable and stretchy. Some of my favorite pants right now. We did find some fit inconsistency between colors, sizing, and even the same color — but it’s J Crew, so no shocker there these days, right?
All in all, just note that we were not paid nor sent any of these products. This is just an honest take. LuLuLemon is fine, but you can do better for less!