STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

Which pants for work?

BargainQueen · Marc Jacobs

I have wool pants from both GAP and BR and love the quality of both. They're both run by the same corp. GAP Inc, IMO I didn't notice any differnce in either pair, so I wouldn't rule out GAP completely. I've never tried on any of the JCREW pants, but I really like the Martin fit from BR.

Bastet · Kate Spade

I have work pants from both Gap and BR and I like them both. I love the ones I have from the Gap because I can put them in the washer. I think some of the BR pants can go in the washer, too, but the ones I have are dry clean only. Like BargainQueen, I really like the Martin fit at BR. Also, I think BR's heavy fabric pants are slightly better quality than the Gap's.

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

I have GAP pants now that I like, but I'm looking for wool pants with liner...GAP doesnt have that. I guess I"ll just have to try on both BR and J Crew pants.

Please anyone else who has tried on the J Crew pants let me know. Thanks!!

squishy · Coach

i've never worn gap pants, and i can only compare to a pair of br pants i got from a factory outlet, but i wholeheartedly recommend j. crew pants. i have a pair of lightweight wool twill pants that are a couple of years old (lined), and the quality holds if you dry clean them.

sflagrl · Nine West

i just bought two pairs from br....they fit great - you also have to try the ryan fit...i like it better than the martin.
also, there is a huge sale at bloomies - i got 2 pairs of theory wool pants for $100 each - marked down from $240.

blubirde · Chanel

I have some pants from BR and they're good quality. Be careful - some BR pants are super crappy. Look at the material closely and make sure they are lined. Better to see IRL than online, imo. But the pairs I have from BR that are good quality (same goes for jackets and skirts) have lasted forever. Definitely good buys.

I've never worn JCrew pants, sorry.

knshdion · BCBG

I have had pants from GAP, BR, and Jcrew. I think that GAP can be extremely hit or miss in terms of both quality and fit. I also love the BR martin fit, but I do think they changed it a little this year. BR also has ridiculous sales on their pants pretty regularly, I've never paid over $50 for either pair of martins that I own.
I personally can't wear the Ryan fit- it doesn't have stretch and if you have a small waist and larger thighs, like me, it's not very pretty IMO. I also could just be pissy because i have to size up two sizes when I try on that size.

I just bought two pairs of pants from Jcrew- both in the city fit(twill and light weight wool) and I love them. I definitely think the fabric quality is higher and the detailing is sharper, but they are quite a bit more expensive. The only problem with Jcrew is that they don't stock a lot of their pants in store so you have to order them, but if you do it in store, the shipping is free.
I would also think about the cost per wear of the pants. I definitely have some cheaper pants but they probably cost more per wear than my more expensive pants because when in doubt about what to wear, my go to pants are the expensive ones.

ejc423 · Coach

I have some wool pants from j crew that I have worn for at least 5 years and they still look great. I wear them probably once every couple of weeks in the cold months and I'm not meticulous with care. I def recommend.

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

I have a pair of wool/cashmere pants from J Crew that are 3 years old (I think) and I love them, they have held up well.

-gd

erin · Chanel

what about trying to find a pair of theory pants on sale? i find their fit to be really nice!

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I'm leaning more towards the J Crew pants, but I'm just going to have to try a few to know for sure. If I could find some Theory pants that would be great, but I'm not going to go out of my way. I'm always disappointed with sale selections in my size. Thanks for the extra recommendation though.