I found the perfect pair of pants once: they were silky, black, and bootcut, with a mid-rise waist and a neat hook-and-eye closure. I spent way too much money on them because they were perfect, and perfect pants can feel impossible to find…and when you do find them it seems like you should probably buy them (preferably in triplicate) just in case you never come across another pair that fits you that well ever again.
That was about a decade ago. I wore those pants for years and years until the hems frayed and the seams fell apart and they ended up in the donation box, headed straight for Goodwill.
Finding a great pair of pants shouldn’t be especially difficult. But apparently it’s not just me who has trouble with this particular undertaking: pants, it turns out, are a tough buy for pretty much everyone. LOFT did a study with 10,000 real women in which the participants tried on hundreds of pairs of pants and explained exactly what they liked and didn’t like, and found that for most women buying a pair of pants is even more challenging than buying a swimsuit. In response, they set out to completely reimagine how women approach the experience of shopping for pants….and it worked.
What LOFT came up with: a Fall 2013 collection that includes 45 different pants options and a “fit tree” that helps women find the perfect pair for them.
45 pairs sound like a lot, and honestly, I thought the process of finding the right ones would take forever, but five minutes after stepping into the store and giving the fit tree a quick once-over I was wearing a pair of pants that were everything I was looking for this fall: cropped length, mid-rise waist, and a slightly relaxed fit through the leg (oh yes: and plaid).
What’s especially nice about these: they’re tailored pants, sure, but they don’t have to be exclusively for the office. While they’d be cute with a jacket or blouse, I like them even better paired with casual pieces like a printed tank and a fedora. It’s a comfortable and relaxed look, but still a little more polished (and, I think, much more interesting) than my usual cutoffs-and-a-tee.
On me: LOFT Marisa Plaid Ankle Pants, tank via T.J.Maxx, Anthropologie fedora, Dalmatian Pony Hair Pumps c/o CC Corso Como, Juicy Couture sunglasses, J.Crew Edie purse.
This fall, you can both find the perfect pair of pants and help to support a good cause: on September 7, for every pair of pants sold in LOFT stores nationwide, LOFT will donate a pair of pants or other clothing item to Fashion Delivers, a non-profit organization that distributes excess inventory to millions of women in need.
