Off the Cuff - Carson Kressley [18]
A WORD ABOUT CARGO PANTS: Cargo pants are a fun fashion statement that have pretty much become a staple. I think they’re here to stay, so you can feel pretty safe buying a pair. (I had a phase where I wore leather cargos and looked like I worked at Old Navy Germany. But ich digress.)
I know there is at least one suburban dad somewhere reading this who’s thinking that cargo pants are way too “out there” for him. You have to get beyond that. I’m here for you. Cargos can add a sense of youthfulness to your look—as long as they fit well and don’t have too many pockets. I would caution everyone to use them sparingly, though. If you can move the entire contents of your home or apartment just by putting things in your cargo pants, they probably have too many pockets. We have homes. We have offices. We don’t need to load our cargos up with all of our life’s possessions. If you don’t have a home or an office, at least rent a locker at the airport or your local bowling alley. They’re cargo pants, they’re not a storage unit.
Drawstring Pants
These are great for summer, the beach, and vacations. A pair of drawstring pants with a white T-shirt and flip-flops is a wonderful, easy breezy, relaxed kind of look, but drawstring pants probably don’t fill a need other than that. They’re sketchy because they’re a little too close to elastic waistband pants, which are always the wrong answer. They can make you look like you’re wearing pajamas in the middle of the day, which just screams elder care facility, or homelessness, or institutionalization. Not cute. So be careful.
DRESS PANTS
Although most of America has gone casual, some people still need to get dressed up, either for work or for other settings like dates or nights on the town. Which brings us to the wide world of dress pants or “slacks,” as a lot of old ladies like to call them. (They’re the same ones who call women’s shirts “blouses.”) Here we’re basically talking anything that’s not khaki, cord, or denim.
Summer dress pants can made be of linen, lightweight cotton twill, poplin, or seersucker (I love saying that word!), while winter ones might be wool, heavyweight cotton twill, suede, leather, or yes, my favorite, cashmere blend.
The great thing about dress pants is you can add a variety of sport coats, sweaters, and patterned shirts to top them off. These will give you tremendous versatility. And you know how we love versatility in the gay community!
Generally, you’ll get more bang for your buck if you buy a couple pairs of solid-colored, well-fitting dress pants. No pleats, please. If you have a pair in gray flannel, a pair in black or navy wool, and you throw in a herringbone or tweed pant, you’ll have the ammo to pair them up with interesting shirts and sweaters and make lots of interesting looks. For summer, lighten the color palette to include sand, white, and classic navy.
Don’t forget the proper accoutrements. It’s important that you have dress shoes, a dress belt, and a beautiful shirt to go with your dress pants. Sneakers with dress pants and a T-shirt is a cute look for Ashton Kutcher (a former model) or me (a stylist), but it’s definitely not for amateurs. It will inevitably make you look like you’re on your way to the typing pool at IBM. Do they even have typing pools anymore? Discuss.
By the way, dress socks go with dress shoes that go with dress pants. They shouldn’t be athletic socks or tube socks. And they shouldn’t be women’s hosiery. Yikes!
SHORTS
Just like pants, it’s a jungle out there as far as shorts are concerned. But to make it easier on you, my rules for shorts are pretty much the same as my rules for pants: Avoid pleats, and make sure they fit, which includes the fit of the rise and the seat. Stay away