Review: Aris Allen Wide Legged Trousers

I've been on the search for wide legged trousers for some time now, either vintage or modern. I'm talking about Oxford Bag wide.

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Vintage trousers with such wide legs are rare to find, especially in my size and in good wearable condition. That's why I went with the Aris Allen wide leg trousers from the Dance Store. They were a birthday gift from Cassie and I chose the brown unhemmed version, allowing me to tailor the inseam and cuff depth to my desires. They are also available in black but other colors are unfortunately limited.



Once ordered, communication was good and the trousers arrived in a timely manner.

The trousers themselves, as it states on the website, are 100% polyester. That had me worried at first but once they arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The material, though polyester, feels and acts a lot like rayon. It is soft and drapes very well. While the material is lighter weight and more of a summer fabric, it drapes and acts like a heavier material. Unfortunately the trousers can only be dry cleaned or handwashed; no machine washing.


I had my alterationist hem them at the desired length and add a 2" deep cuff to the leg bottoms. These deep cuffs would ensure eye-pleasing proportions and maintain the excellent draping characteristics of the material. I always enjoy a generous cuff.

The trousers are pleated and come with a regular waistband and beltloops, including the interesting double beltloop shown below.



However, they lack suspender buttons but that is easily remedied. I would have prefered the more unusual wide waistband like the second catalog illustration posted above or even a Hollywood Waist but it's not a big issue. The pockets are voluminous and do not negatively affect the drape of the garment.


Before writing this review I wore the trousers on several occasions. Below are a couple casual kits I put together around the trousers.
The trousers are chocolate brown in color and the photo below accurately shows that color:




Note how well the trousers drape when movement is introduced. They don't wrinkle like other modern lightweight trousers, they flow:


Unfortunately, being Winter, it was fairly cold outside and as I said before these are warm weather trousers. That didn't stop me though and I found the trousers to be comfortable and attractive. These trousers are very straight-legged with no flairing towards the hem. At the cuff the legs measure 23" in circumference, definitely in traditional Oxford Bag territory.



Not to mention they nearly cover my size 12 feet!


Here's an overall shot of them being worn with suspenders, my prefered way to keep my pants up when drape is in mind. The 2" deep cuffs really help the proportions of such wide-legged trousers stay pleasing to the eye.






In closing, I'm quite happy with these trousers. They are very economical at $40 and really do look a lot like Oxford Bags. If you are looking for wide-legged trousers but are unable to find anything vintage that suits you I would recommend checking out these Aris Allen trousers. The material is surprisingly nice, the trousers drape well, are comfortable and look great when worn.

'70s does the '30s

The 1970s spawned some horrid stuff: 'wet' polyester; plastic pants; "imported polyester" was proudly showcased as different and high quality; fly-away collars; bell bottoms.
And the strange thing is that those styles were popular. Strange that a style that is so ugly yesterday, today and always (like that of the '70s) could have been so popular for a decade.
But at least it was its own style (even if it was bad), more than can be said for today.

There was , however, a revival of Golden Era stying early in the 1970s, often done poorly but sometimes done well. This was brought about in part by movies like "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and the fantastic "The Sting" (1973) as well as a surge of nostalgia for 'the good ol' days' (which helped make the 1946 boxoffice failure "It's a Wonderful Life" the holiday classic that it is today).

It's no wonder, then, that folks would want to dress like their movie heroes. Belted back jackets and 3-piece suits were the standard in the early 1970s, though often made of that same 'wet' polyester as the trendy leisure suits. But when done well they look very much like true vintage.

Take for example the two jackets below.
While definitely a '70s take on a '30s classic (note the huge lapels with a lot of belly and low button stance)...


...this first jacket has a great back with nice proportions:




Note that the back has similar styling to the garish 1930s suit below:






Next up is this '70s jacket. Conservative looking when viewed from the front...


...with full blown '30s belted and gusseted style going on in the back. Very sleek.



Again, very good proportions on the back of this one as well as the front. Also, the material, while some kind of a poly-blend, looks, feels and drapes like a heavier weight gabardine. This jacket could easily pass for vintage when paired with the right accoutrements.



And to round out our look at the '30s vs. '70s, check out this interesting discussion with illustrations.

If real 1930s clothing cannot be found in your area you *might* be able to find '70s pieces that can fill the hole in your closet. But be discriminating and choose carefully. The '70s gave life to a lot of bad stuff and finding a gem from that period is almost as difficult as finding the real deal from the 1930s.

WIW yesterday

*Perry Ellis belted back jacket
*'50s Dacron tie
*Overcoat custom made in Japan in 1964
*RL trousers
*AE shoes
*Penny's scarf
*'40s Lee fedora

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I really like this tie. I estimate it's from the 1950s "Bold Look" era and it has wide stripes as well as a smaller herringbone pattern within the stripes. The Dacron polyester makes it soft and pliable, unlike later polyester ties from the 1970s.

What I Wore Today

Trying the Bold Look today. Warm but windy.

*1940s Champ
*modern Halston 100% wool suit
*1950s(?) dacron tie
*late-1940s tie bar
*brown AE shoes

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What makes this look, in my opinion, is the tie. The wide stripes and funky colors speak of the Bold Look. It's an oddity, being 100% dacron polyester and while that might turn some people off let me assure you, dacron is not your father's polyester from the 1970s. That topic is for another post.

This tie is very soft and pliable; feels like a modern silk tie and not at all like those awful ties from the disco days. The large ribbing, like the rest of the tie, is a little unusual but it's growing on me. I'm developing a fondness for this tie.