Help Needed: The OTHER pants thread

[newboots]

I have yet to solve the issue of looking reasonably stylish in pants in winter while not freezing my b*tt off.

In warmer weather, I wear skinny jeans. I like the way they look and I like the stretch. But it's very hard to make them work with long underwear. I wear my old mom jeans with long johns, and I'm plenty warm, and I can still sit or bend over without that awful binding in the crotch. But stylish, they are not.

I would wear warm running tights all winter long (I do, at home) but it seems to be a young-athlete-wanna-be style of clothes. I wear them anyway, but I'm a little self-conscious.

Add to all this that I hate trying on pants. I'm a slim person with a belly. Pants either seem to swim on me, be impossible to zip up/button, or appear to fit but grab me in the crotch as soon as I sit down. I find it discouraging. And I'm cheap, so I'm always trying on the sale pants. I can't order online - the fit question is too variable.

Anybody else have this dilemma and come to a good conclusion? Or know of a pant that looks stylish but has a lot of stretch through the waist/belly?

 

[bounceswoosh]

Have you tried silk long johns? They're my go to for the winter. I don't wear skinny jeans typically, but silk long johns are *so* comfortable, shockingly warm, take almost no space (I can wear them under my tight wool long johns!), and last forever.

I have several pairs of these in black and white: https://www.rei.com/product/802216/rei-co-op-silk-long-underwear-bottoms-womens

 

[bounceswoosh]

^^ I mean go-to for casual wear, which may not be obvious from my post.

 

[mustski]

I haven't worn silkies in years, but I used to love them. For me it's always about the fit in the waist band. Long Johns are usually too tight in the waist band and give me muffin top. I prefer tights under my skinny jeans. I also buy skinny jeans with some stretch in them. This allows for a layer underneath when I need it. Truthfully though, I live in CA so I rarely need it.

 

[VickiK]

I still prefer boot cut but it's hard to find; these are great: https://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?pcid=46650&vid=3&pid=711195002

You could wear a thin layer underneath. Athleta will hem pants for free, which is a decent savings. There's a Black Friday code good through today, "BLISS".

Prana has lined pants, e.g. the Halle model. They're cute, come in many colors, and can be found on sale at the usual outdoorsy online vendors.

 

[Tvan]

+1 for silk long johns. Mine are from LLBean, go right in the washer and have lasted for years.

 

[Gloria]

I second athleta or the Prana Halle pant. Campsaver has the Halle on sale right now. They have a code: OUT25 for 25 off outlet orders too. Athleta makes some heavier weight legging with cargo pockets etc that are basically grown up tights. I have a hard time finding pants too.