I wish I could say I stopped wearing denim after watching Brett Favre’s built-tough Wrangler commercial one too many times, or because I refused to take a box cutter to my trouser legs when I was 13, but really it’s because jeans never fit me right.
I swore off them a few years ago, when jeans were as ubiquitous as Biebs and bottle flipping and all you had to do to punch up an outfit was keep a few standout sneakers in rotation.
Now, thankfully, there are more options for your lower half. Take that same sneakerhead mentality—the endless search for distinctive patterns, colours, and shapes for your collection—and apply it to trousers. Just as you would switch up shoes during the week, try fitted wool trousers one day and loose-cut pleated chinos the next.
If your trousers are especially loud—say, salmon or patterned khakis— keep your footwear simple and go with a pair of white sneakers or low-cut boots. Regardless of how you mix and match, you’ll end up with something in the sweet spot of the weekend- and office-wear Venn diagram. And if you roll with those loose-cut chinos and sneakers, maybe you can even toss a ball around in them.
