Slacks are the devil, please help!

  Ok, so I haven't started a thread in months and I am very upset right now so bear with me.

  So my current job is ending next week and starting 2/9 I will have to start reporting back to the office everyday.  Its ok because i am at a chemical plant now and its kinda stinky and dangerous, but thats not important right now.

  I have been informed there is a dress code at this office.  No jeans.  This disturbs me because I really have 2 modes in life: Jeans and Suits.  If i can wear jeans, I will and if I want to dress up I wear shirt and tie or suit, whatever.  I have no in between and here is why.  Slacks are the most uncomfortable, unflattering, always wrinkly article of clothing ever invented.  I have rarely EVER seen anyone look "good" in slacks. I am convinced they were invented by either a) a man hating woman whos goal in life is to humiliate all men by offering them ugly pants in 3 colors.  or b) a frumpy out of shape short dude who was tired of looking like a slob in jeans. 
 
  Perhaps I am wrong, and in fact, I am sure I am.  I need help with slacks and casual trousers. I dont want to spend $300 a piece (Julian, ahem) because I am going to wear these pants for a few months and only to work probably, but any help with buying some affordable, flattering and at least semi-stylish pants that are neither jeans, nor suit pants. 

  any help out there (or smart ass comments, either way)??

I have one suit which I wear maybe once a year. I also have jeans, but wear them at most once a week. So the rest of the time, I wear "slacks".

Now I do have a favorite thrift store that has 50% off sales on holidays and 25% off every Monday. It has the usual collection of crap, but it does have it's fair share of good quality, not completely out of style clothing. I'm not saying where it's at.

I alway manage to find good stuff there. Flat front slacks with a regular cut. Flat front with a boot cut for casual Fridays. Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers seem to work well. I have tan, gold, greenish brown, navy, olive, black, light gray, charcoal gray., and probably more. That's more than three colors right there.

One of the great things about being married (which you are) is you don't have to worry as much about  shallow things such as style and fashion. Especially once you turn 40 and have a kid. That doesn't mean you have to turn into a style loser, it just means you don't have to be a prick like Julian's character.

I'm not sure how much good advice random people will be able to give you. Different clothes do different things for different people. It's just a matter of trying things out, of trial and error.

At least you're not on the dole.

i'm the same, sonick. i have to wear slacks when i go meet with customers maybe once a month, and jeans the rest of the time

just dont do pleats

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)  I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

My brother is a hydrogeologist. I guess in some ways that makes him your cousin.

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

A third on the flat fronts… I personally tend to stay away from the Khaki and Tan colored pants because well everyone wears them.  I prefer to find nice black, grey and the darker shades of green. 

Since Todd Oldham has been hired by Old Navy, that stores clothes have become much more classically styled especially in the Men's department, before that it was boring Frat House "chic".  Whats great about Old Navy is they are always having some sort of sale.  Costco has also been the source of good purchases as well of late.  Express for Men has good items they tend to run on the more expensive side.

Wow, one of my best friends works at a wastewater treatment plant. Wouldn't that be so weird if we were, like, friends? Okay, let's think about something else.

My office is business/casual and my particular job requires a bit more emphasis on the business than the casual. I'd say 2-3 times a week, I wear a pair of Levi's cords, brown and tan. Comfortable, cheap-ish, and they pass the dress code. Old Navy has some cargo-ish pants that don't have all those douchy accrouterments like the hammer loop but they're also easy on the legs. And in the winter, I have these black pants that are made of some kind of faux velvet – they don't look like velvet to the outside observer, but they feel like it and wearing them is like walking around a pool of pudding. Only works in the winter though obvs.

Ultimately though, if you go to Old Navy and look at the racks in the middle or back, you should be able to find some regular ol' pants that are cheap and functional.

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

Ugh just  a shirt and tie is far too much used car salesman for me, it should be all or nothing… but it's fine to take off the jacket when at ones desk….

Julian is rolling over in his grave :(

oh course slacks truly are the devil on women ;)

kosmo wrote:

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

Ugh just  a shirt and tie is far too much used car salesman for me, it should be all or nothing… but it's fine to take off the jacket when at ones desk….

i call that "catholic school uniform'

kosmo wrote:
oh course slacks truly are the devil on women ;)

Question: "Should Christian women wear pants?"

Answer: The question about whether Christian women should wear pants or slacks is an issue that is raised about externals when the life of the child of God should rather be about a spiritual relationship based upon our position in Christ as believers. The obedience of a child of God is not measured by what clothing we wear but by our walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

When looking at ?doubtful things," we need to use Scripture in context for the principles that will help us walk as believers, which means considering the dispensation and the whole counsel of God and not taking passages out of context. There is a passage in the Old Testament that speaks about a woman wearing men's clothing: "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this" (Deuteronomy 22:5). The context of this passage is the second giving of the law to the nation of Israel as they were poised to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 22:5 is an admonition not to live as a transvestite. This has to do with more than just clothing; it also speaks of a life that emulates in every way those of the opposite sex. Transvestitism was a practice of the Canaanites, and Israel was to consider it an abomination. We take a principle from this and apply it to our lives as believers, but we must use it in the context in which it is given and do so in relation to the dispensation of grace.

The Apostle Paul wrote extensively on the difference between the law and grace in Romans. We are not justified by our adherence to the law, but we are justified by faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-28). The believer in Christ Jesus is "dead" to the constraints of the law. "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code" (Romans 7:6). Therefore, a believer does not live by legalism, nor by license, but rather by grace.

What has that to do with a believing woman wearing pants? There is no biblical law that says what a woman should wear or not wear. Rather, the issue is one of modesty. Paul addresses the modesty of women in his first letter to Timothy. "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10). The Greek word translated "modest" is the Greek word kosmios, which is translated twice in the New Testament, once as "modest" in this passage and once as "of good behavior" in 1 Timothy 3:1. It came to mean "well-arranged, seemly, and modest."

The word clothes is the Greek word katastole. The meaning of the word was "to send or to let down or lower." It was primarily a garment that was let down and in that day referred to a stole or a loose outer garment worn by kings and persons of rank. Since we know that Paul was not speaking to people of rank, the context here is simply modest attire, and it does not specify what that entails. Paul addressed this issue here because the women in the church were trying to outdo each other in how they dressed, and the flashier the better. They were losing sight of the things that should adorn a godly woman?humility, sobriety, godliness, and good works. The words "dress modestly" are not used here in the context of specific garments, but rather to being clad in a modest covering. It should not be used to prove a prohibition against wearing pants (also see 1 Peter 3:3-4).

So, the issue is that a woman should wear modest clothing. Whether or not that includes a pair of slacks should be a matter for the woman's own conscience before the LORD. If a woman allows her outward appearance to be the measure of her inward relationship with Christ, she is living under the constraints of legalism. Born-again women are free in Christ to wear whatever modest apparel they choose, and the only judgment they should be under is that of their own conscience. "Everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). We are not to allow our consciences to be dictated to by legalism and the consciences of others, but by our own relationship with Christ. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). God will take care of the outward woman if we walk in obedience in the inward woman.

godsshoeshine wrote:

kosmo wrote:

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

Ugh just  a shirt and tie is far too much used car salesman for me, it should be all or nothing… but it's fine to take off the jacket when at ones desk….

i call that "catholic school uniform'

yeah little boys can get away with that going to church look, but not so much for adults

also to be avoided at all costs is the tie + windbreaker/members only jacket/jacket in general look… talk about looking like a car salesman…

i also find the sweater + tie a pretty awkward look that's a bit to high school

As someone who is always chronically 10 pounds overweight, slacks are just plain and simply the most comfortable thing for me.

Anything goes at my work I guess. Velour sweatsuits and Redskins apparel seems to be very popular work attire. Also lots of heavy women showing too much cleavage.

kosmo wrote:

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

Ugh just  a shirt and tie is far too much used car salesman for me, it should be all or nothing… but it's fine to take off the jacket when at ones desk….

  really?  I sometimes go with the jacket, but truth is, I have some dress pants that dont have matching jackets. Plus, wearing a jacket makes my bosses uncomfortable because I would dressed nicer than they.

I have a few blazers but i usually wear jeans with them.   I will check Old Navy, too.  Its just that by summer I will be at a new dirty plant so I wont wear these but for a few months.

  Now a tie with slacks and a short sleeve shirt, thats used car salesman to me!

num wrote:

kosmo wrote:

num wrote:

Charlie wrote:

At least you're not on the dole.

waste water treatment is a pretty recession proof industry!

I like the Brooks Brothers idea, I have bought a couple suits from them and theres one within walking distance to my house. :)   I have thought about just dress pants and a tie everyday but people look at you strange when you do that.

Ugh just  a shirt and tie is far too much used car salesman for me, it should be all or nothing… but it's fine to take off the jacket when at ones desk….

  really?  I sometimes go with the jacket, but truth is, I have some dress pants that dont have matching jackets. Plus, wearing a jacket makes my bosses uncomfortable because I would dressed nicer than they.

I have a few blazers but i usually wear jeans with them.   I will check Old Navy, too.  Its just that by summer I will be at a new dirty plant so I wont wear these but for a few months.

  Now a tie with slacks and a short sleeve shirt, thats used car salesman to me!

should clarify that i meant a suit jacket in that scenario… unless it was blue blazer, i've never been much of a dress jacket + dress pants combiner… it was usually just suits

also based on some of what was seen at inaugural events the three piece suit is making a comeback, although the vest seems to more stylish then in the past.   

here's hoping they never bring back the five piece suit…

Charlie wrote:
When looking at ?doubtful things," we need to use Scripture in context for the principles that will help us walk as believers, which means considering the dispensation and the whole counsel of God and not taking passages out of context.

OFF TOPIC: this passage is one of the funniest things i've heard a christian "scholar" write in quite some time.  as if christians have ever interpreted scripture out of context…  ::)

back to the topic of slacks… a few months back i needed to stock up on work pants and bought several pairs of J. Ferrar's at Macy's.  i have no idea who this person is, but his pants are perfectly functional, un-pleated, relatively cheap standard-issue slacks that are machine-washable.  that last point is a big plus.

Yeah, no shit on the machine-wash. I hate it when I find a great pair of pants, they fit great, they're on sale, the stars are aligning, and then the needle scratches over the record when I see the "DRY CLEAN ONLY FUCKER" tag.

now we're really gonna make Julian mad!

dude, at this point he won't even dignify this thread with a response.  we are waaaaay below his radar.