Wish lists

[redbird]

I've realized, again, that what I want doesn't fit conveniently on a wish list. Part of it is things that are either too big--it would be nice for me and cattitude to have a house with a garden. Other things aren't material and/or buyable: I would like to live closer to adrian_turtle and Q, but that's not something that anyone can go out and get me. And some could be bought, if I knew who sold them: I want jeans, and warm fall-to-winter-weight pants, in my size with decent pockets and in colors I like. (Dark blue and black are certainly acceptable.) If there's a way to look on the Web and find out how big the pockets of a mail-order garment are, I haven't found it, and wandering through stores this season has been mostly an exercise in disappointment.

Fortunately, I don't think many people feel the need to buy me gifts.

Comments

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

How big is "decent"? The pair I have on now are Lands' End, navy blue stretch twill, low-waisted enough to be comfortable and high enough not to look like I think I'm 16, and long enough - a problem for me sometimes since I need a petite to get the shorter rise. There are no rear pockets. The front ones are big enough for my hands, a palm pilot, or a few dollars, but might be a little small to fit a wallet.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

The problem is trying to carry a wallet in a front pocket. The solution might actually be a smaller wallet, if one can be found that holds the necessary.

[redbird]

To elaborate on what Adrian said: I need a front pocket big enough for my wallet and keychain, and another for my coins and Swiss army knife. This is an arrangement I've been using for two decades--I don't think our technology has deteriorated such that a style of pants that could be made in the 1980s and 1990s, and even in 2004, is now impossible.

[beaq.livejournal.com]

I know it would involve a change of habit, but would cargo pants or carpenter pants be useful in this matter?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I would hope not!

No, my question wasn't what was possible, just whether this particular style that works for me would also work for you. Unfortunately, it sounds like the answer is no, pocketwise.

If I can find a pair of pants that fits well and looks good, I'm willing to forgo the pockets. Partly, this is because I carry a small purse; partly it's because finding a pair that fit is so much harder than it should be that my expectations are correspondingly lowered; and partly, it sounds like I just like tighter-fitting pants than you do. If any of my favorite pairs did have pockets big enough for all that, there would be a pretty large lump on each side - no, that's not strictly true. I have some looser-fitting pants that could carry all that. And come to think of it, they're men's. Can you wear men's sizes at all? A 30 waist fits me reasonably well.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Gap used to make a style of jeans they called something like super-ultra-relaxed fit, which had a few more inches in the hips and thighs than is customary for men's jeans of that waist size. I found them very useful. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make them anymore. (Even more unfortunate, my lifestyle is very hard on clothing.)

You mentioned Lands End trousers having front pockets that seemed almost big enough. Could you measure them? (Thinking in test design mode, the best way to do it would be to turn the trousers inside out and lay them flat so you can measure width and depth. But just sticking a ruler in the pocket of the pants you're wearing might also be useful.) They make reasonably good clothes that can last for years, if I'm not wearing them. It might be worthwhile to extend the pockets a bit, if the opening of the pocket isn't too narrow.

Of course, this might turn out to be even more trouble than a belt pouch.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Just to complicate things, these are last year's style. But I believe they're similar to this fall's SOlid Modern pants (At least, I have a pair of the Pattern Modern Pants, and the fit is similar.) Oddly, the price now listed is a good bit lower than when I bought mine - wonder if this means they're going to stop making them?

In mine, the pockets are about 5" wide, hang 8.5" from the waistband, and have more slanted openings than the current style. But that's in a size 4, and I don't know whether pocket size would vary with pant size. Lands' End is pretty good about having all the dimensions on file, so if you wear a different size you might want to call them.