Casual work pants -- not jeans

I'm looking for some nice casual pants to wear to work. I tend to wear a lot of Dockers, but I can't find them around here anymore. I went to Boscov's and BonTon last night. Kohl's doesn't have them either. I checked JCP out online and they no longer carry them. In my current size, I only have 3 pairs: two pairs of khakis and a pair of navy blues. I like Dockers because they don't wrinkle after being at my desk all day. And they look fine with just a shirt and a pair of sandals; they're just really casual pants.

There's a Dockers/Levis outlet in the Tanger Outlets down around Lancaster, PA, but I don't know when I'm going to get back down there.

I would prefer to try pants on before buying them; that way, I don't have to worry about returning them. 

Those of you who wear casual work pants, what brand do you like and what brand seems to be comfortable for you? I also wear Worthington (Penny's brand), although, as a rule, they're not what I'd call casual, but maybe that's just me. I also wear some Christopher and Banks pants. Some Coldwater Creek pants as I really like the way they fit. 

I tried on some Lees last night, but they were way too baggy in the butt....many stores seem to be selling a lot of relaxed fit pants and they don't fit me well.

Only allowed to wear jeans on Fridays, that's it, unless I'm out in the field.  (Sometimes I can get away with wearing jeans on Thursdays, too, but not often.) And I have enough pairs of jeans to see me through til the end of time! In all sizes!

Thanks!

The casual pants you are talking about are hard to find.  I had to buy some four years ago for work and they are hard to find.  I had to work in the office for 6 months before I could start working from home.  They had the same deal about jeans only on Fridays.  They gave that up about a year ago and people can wear jeans every day now.

This is going to be a very interesting thread for me too. I tried on four pairs of my casual pants on Thursday and laid them all on the bed in the guest room. Everything is too big. I am in desperate need of some dressy/casual pants too because I like to wear them to church at the mid week service.

I find most of mine at salvation army. I like liz Claiborne with the linen/cotton blend. The kohls brand which I can't remember off the top of my head seems to fit.

I've rarely putchased new pants. I often need a size up from what I wear because they shrink too much. Plus the regular styles are not cut wide enough in the leg so I rip the seams. I wonder if you would find something by old navy? Lee slacks are what I have found to wear but I'm a very large pear shape despite me going to the gym often.

I stopped wearing jeans because the material is uncomfortable with the added spandex but I like cotton n spandex slacks. I just hate stretch jeans because they fit good in the morning but then by lunchtime I am hiking them up.

I will probably have to get suspenders to hold my pants up. It would be nice if the newer clothing fits our shapes better.

I also like jc penneys brand mixit I think its called? A decade ago I bought some shorts by them.

If all else fails you can see if there is a style number inside the pants You like and search ebay. I used to sell out of print jeans on there for this very reason. They only sell a particular style once then change. Very frustrating. Most ebay sellers give the measurements of the clothes. You can take measurements of your current stock and compare to what is available?

I have never tried jeggings...a girl at work wears them but not sure what I think about those. I don't particularly care for skintight clothing. I prefer bootcut.

Like khaki-type or cotton pants? I wear a lot of khakis in the warmer months. I thnk I have some from Gap and Old Navy and I just bought a nice pair of linen pants from Loft that were on sale.

Have you tried LL Bean? There are some nice casual pants there. Returns and exchanges are easy by mail or phone if you don't have a nearby store.

My office was business casual when i was working.  I found pants at Old Navy of all places.  I'm not sure what they have now.  I also had several pair from Kohls that I loved. They were the AB Studio brand.  I had (have; they just dont fit...) them in gray, blackand brown.  They didn't wrinkle and when i washed them I'd give them a good snap and hang them to dry and they air dried just fine.  They might be more of a dress pant material than your looking for; but I wore them both with more blouse like tops, button down shirts and more casual knits or sweaters.  I always wore Clarks type shoes or sandals.  

I didn't even think of LL Bean. If they fit OK, they would work. We get catalogs from LL Bean regularly, too, and I do look through them and think, "Wow, I really like that" sometimes. But I never order, largely because I'm afraid of the fit, although you're right in that I could just return them. I'm just leery of buying clothing without trying them on.

I don't like anything with an elastic waist (unless it's capris or shorts, but even then, not so much), so that leaves out much of the Briggs, Sag Harbor, and similar brands. No. Just no.

Need at least a 32-inch inseam. Anything less and they turn into high-water pants. 

No Old Navy around here, but we've been to malls elsewhere that have the store.

My sister is a big Kohl's fan and I think most of her clothes comes from Kohl's. I go in and never seem to find anything that I really like. No, now I'm lying.....I found a pair of Levis the other night that I liked, looked at the price tag ($69), said "That's just ridiculous!" put them back down and walked away. It's not that I'm looking for really cheap clothes; but I'm not looking to break the bank either.

Not fond of the spandex in women's jeans either; for years, I bought men's jeans. I loved the way they fit on me, not baggy, not real tight. I still wear them from time to time. And they don't have spandex (at least not yet). Rick told me to try on a pair of men's Dockers, just to see how they'd fit. Stores still carry men's Dockers, just not women's; evidently women aren't buying them much anymore.

I like Clark sandals; they always seem comfortable for me. Sandals in the summer; my beloved boots in the winter.

I prefer to "try then buy" too. I can wear anything from a petite XS to a regular M depending on the brand name and store. The linen pair of Loft pants I just bought are actually size 0P I tried o a size 4P but it was too big in the waist and  belt would just make it look all bunchy and weird. The store didn't have a 2P so I tried 0P and surprisingly it fit perfectly with just enough rom in the waist for comfort.

Eddie Bauer and Land's End are similar to LL Bean if you want to browse those web sites for pants. Some Sears stores sell Land's End brand clothing.

the ll bean pants have smaller waists on their pants-so not sure if you need a slim cut or curvy fit-I cant wear ll bean,. they don't make them for curvy butts. I have to go up 2-3 sizes. They have room in the leg but the hip/waist is slender cut so I haven't had success wearing their pants.

Would you be interested in buying second hand at savers/goodwill? you can wash them and try them-then you wont have to break the bank-plus most people wash their stuff after wearing so you wont have to worry about shrinking. I just figured you could try some new brands without having to pay $30 a pair of pants-most of the pants I find were probably purchased for a job and they wore them a few times and got rid of them-I often find pants still with tags on them or at least the size tag is still crisp which tells me they are fairly new. you can tell if they are beat up by how faded the size/brand tag is inside the pants-I have also found pants with the drycleaner tag still on them-this may be a fun experiment to see what new brands you can find.

I know for many years I wore silver tab levis because they were baggy and fit me in the thigh/bum better. levis 505 cut sounds like what you would like-its the regular classic cut, levis 550 are relaxed fit.

I don't like jeans now because they are low rise and not enough material in the butt and I hate plumbers butt. I tend to stick to Lee- which have those comfort waist band under the waist-its not that puckered up elastic waste-it just keeps the pants from dipping when I bend down. otherwise I wear maternity shirts to cover my backside.

Liz Claiborne runs small but not slender in the waist like LL Bean. Then there are some other brands at Sears-lands end,. they have some good stuff but I cant wear them-too slim cut.

what about the Loft Ann Taylor? Love her stuff- the store called the express sometimes has business attire in khakis-  J Crew has some different types of styles-they fit well and hold up well to washing.

The gap used to have decent Khakis.  JC penneys brand  St. Johns Bay has some good slacks. They also have the brand A.N.A. which is in the misses department-sometimes they have good pants. but usually they are too dressy for my taste.

Trying to wrack my brain for brands I have come across during shopping at second hand- another is Ralph Lauren -I haven't worn these-but I see them at the savers store all the time- and yes try the mens dockers. you should have no problem finding them in a 32 inch inseam. that's the most common length.

I'm a big fan of L.L. Bean. They have good quality clothes at reasonable prices. Their pants come in several different styles, so you can pick one that suits you best. I like the comfort waist pants that have the elastic in the back and a higher rise, but they have no elastic and lower rise. Shipping is free, too, no matter how small the order. You won't go wrong with them. I don't know if they have any pants with a 32" leg, but it's still worth a try.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

This is going to be a very interesting thread for me too. I tried on four pairs of my casual pants on Thursday and laid them all on the bed in the guest room. Everything is too big. I am in desperate need of some dressy/casual pants too because I like to wear them to church at the mid week service.

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I go to synagogue once in a blue moon, mainly barmitzvahs, but I feel wrong wearing trousers. I own one skirt and that's for there. Wonder if it still fits!!!

LTS3 said:

Like khaki-type or cotton pants? I wear a lot of khakis in the warmer months. I thnk I have some from Gap and Old Navy and I just bought a nice pair of linen pants from Loft that were on sale.

Have you tried LL Bean? There are some nice casual pants there. Returns and exchanges are easy by mail or phone if you don't have a nearby store.

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Doesn't linen crease?

L.L. Bean's linen pants probably don't crease because they are machine wash and dry. They are currently on sale for as low as $14.99, and there is a medium tall with a 32" leg. http://www.llbean.com/llb/search/?freeText=linen+pants&init=1

Stewball said:

Don't linen crease?

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I just washed mine in the machine following the label instructions and hung them dry instead of using the dryer and the pants came out just fine. I may run an iron over the pants just to be sure.

foxxycat said:

 
what about the Loft Ann Taylor? Love her stuff- the store called the express sometimes has business attire in khakis-  J Crew has some different types of styles-they fit well and hold up well to washing.

The gap used to have decent Khakis.  JC penneys brand  St. Johns Bay has some good slacks. They also have the brand A.N.A. which is in the misses department-sometimes they have good pants. but usually they are too dressy for my taste.

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Love the Loft Store I often find some nice clothe there and online that actually fit me. Ann Taylor is the more expensive and dressier side of the company. I only shop the Anny Taylor sale racks and have found a few things there. I got a nice pima cotton t shirt the other weekend for $9, original price was around $40.

Talbots may have causual cotton type pants. My Mom likes the Karen Scott brand of clothes sold at Macy's. I know she has casual cotton pants from that brand.

We have a hospice thrift store nearby. I am going there this week to try to find some pants too. I always find name brand things there and sometimes with the tags still on. You might consider shopping at an upscale thrift store if you have one nearby. I hate to spend the dollars at Belk's because I still might lose a few pounds walking every day.

No Loft stores close by (did I mention that we live in a fairly rural area? We don't have a lot of stores, just your basic mall-type stores).

We did check out a large  thrift store one time, but the sizes were all way too big for me. And I didn't care much for the styles. 

I think that maybe Tuesday night (can't go tonight) I'm going to make the trip over to another mall where they have a JCP and try on some of the St. John's Bay casual pants. I have a couple pairs in size 8 and I always liked the way they fit, so maybe a couple pairs in size 10 would work out. There's also a Sears over there, so I could look at Lands End, too.

Winchester said:

No Loft stores close by (did I mention that we live in a fairly rural area? We don't have a lot of stores, just your basic mall-type stores).

We did check out a large  thrift store one time, but the sizes were all way too big for me. And I didn't care much for the styles. 

I think that maybe Tuesday night (can't go tonight) I'm going to make the trip over to another mall where they have a JCP and try on some of the St. John's Bay casual pants. I have a couple pairs in size 8 and I always liked the way they fit, so maybe a couple pairs in size 10 would work out. There's also a Sears over there, so I could look at Lands End, too.

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Good luck.

Thanks, Judy.....I think I'm going to need it. 

I took out a pair of Lee Classis Fit cotton/spandex, straight leg pants and wore them today. They sit on the hips, have belt loops, pockets, etc, zip in the front. Actually they fit quite nicely. They came from Kohl's.

Went over to JCP, but no luck. The pants I wanted to check out started at a size 14; all the smaller sizes were gone. They had some nice cords, but I'm not wearing cords in the summer.

I'm going to run down to Harrisburg, to Coldwater Creek and The Loft, but not right now as we have stuff around the house and garden that needs to be done. Meanwhile, I'll just deal with what I have for now.