These Lululemon Pants Are the Comfiest Way to Stay Classy
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Lululemon’s ABC Pant has a stretchy, wrinkle-resistant fabric that’s great for wearing all day (or multiple days in a row).
The no-brainer versatility afforded by the pant is worth the investment.
In a time when I’ve felt more casual and laid-back when it comes to fashion, the ABC Pant’s elevated style made me feel confident and more adult.
2020 WILL always be the year I began to view pants as a social construct. I came to this revelation a few months into quarantine, when I realized that while there was so much that was beyond my control, there was one thing I could still choose for myself that had an outsized impact on how I looked and felt: what I wore.
At first, I embraced my newfound freedom to choose pure comfort over typical office wear. A T-shirt, shorts, and slippers made me feel comfortable and feeling comfortable made me feel in control and feeling in control allowed me to focus on creative projects and get work done.
But as I settled into my new normal uniform, I felt a strange longing to conceal my hairy calves. My casual approach to WFH fashion was starting to feel less like a personal statement and more, well, just kinda lazy. I had to mix things up, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. I needed something more professional than my ratty gym shorts, but it still had to be more casual than my go-to office chinos.
Initially, I doubted whether such unicorn pants existed. Ultimately, I discovered my new favorite pair: the ABC Pant Classic from lululemon. When the pants were recommended to me by a colleague, I was skeptical. Doesn’t lululemon make yoga pants? But it turns out they have a really sharp, functional-yet-classy menswear line and after wearing the the ABC Pant for a full week, I’m now a lululemon convert.
They’re Dressier Than Joggers, But Comfier Than Slacks
lululemon ABC Pant
$128
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AFTER PICKING up the pants (which I ordered in black) from my local lululemon, I was struck by the fabric, which the brand bills as Warpstreme. It’s a stretchy, Japanese-loomed polyester blend that feels closer to lululemon’s activewear roots. But when I put on the pants and looked at them in the mirror, I found the clean lines and overall fit had more in common with the chinos that were folded up and unworn for months in my closet.
From a comfort perspective, that fabric is a secret weapon. I spent a good amount of time sitting in my new makeshift home office, but also would bend over to take dishes out of the dishwasher or stretch to vacuum behind the couch, and I never felt like the pants were riding up or getting creased. I didn’t wear a belt because I didn’t have to—the waist was roomy, but stayed fitted to my hips after full days of wearing and moving around. The pants don’t wrinkle easily, which means if you wear them several days in a row (like I did) they’ll still look good. Plus, they’re machine-friendly, so care was super simple.
You Can Wear Them Anywhere Without Feeling Conspicuous
MY DAYS aren’t quite as varied as they were pre-pandemic, but it’s been nice to have pants that are relaxed enough for work-from-home and taking my dog, Murphy, for leisurely walks around the neighborhood, but are also appropriate for socially distanced beers or even the eventual return to the office. They’re an all-day pant, through and through. In an era where it feels like there are so many more important things to occupy your brain than what you’re going to wear, I love the no-brainer versatility afforded by the ABC Pant. And since the pants work in any season (they’re not ideal in a heatwave, but extremely breathable as far as long pants go), I’m looking forward to wearing them in the fall. Not just around the house and neighborhood, but perhaps even to an office in NYC.
(Fun fact: ABC stands for “Anti-Ball-Crushing,” which was a paramount concern of mine when making the bold decision to stop wearing shorts 24/7. I can say, with confidence, that in this case there is truth in advertising.)
Feel-Good Fashion Is a Real Thing
I’D POSIT that extended social isolation has produced a few silver linings, most notably that I’ve scaled back how much I care about my appearance. From a vanity perspective, this is awesome. From a marriage perspective, however, it’s maybe not the fairest thing to which you could subject your partner. When my wife spoke her vows two years ago under a pergola, she couldn’t have predicted that her groom would grow out a low-key mullet and wear bandanas more often than not.
So when my wife returned home from her shift at the hospital and found me decked out not in a tie-dye tee and running shorts, but a pair of black pants and a shirt that was properly steamed, it felt like we were a few degrees closer to normal times. Though I had rebelled against the notion that dressing up to work from home (or, okay, putting the slightest bit of effort towards my appearance) would make me feel better, a few days of wearing the ABC Pant was all it took to convince me otherwise.
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