31 Comments

1. LOFT custom stretch trouser leg pants. I just bought 3 new pairs in the Julie fit. I’m fairly certain they’re the same fabric as the LOFT pants I bought last fall, which wash well (wash cold, hang dry). Also the GAP perfect trouser pants.

2. My big question about washing work pants — how do you maintain a crease? Do you have to iron the crease in? I usually dry clean all pants so they are pressed with a crease.

   1. some pants hold the crease for a few washes. I usually only iron them every few times I wash them, so maybe every few months I get out the ironing board and iron a few things.

      1. Same, and, TBH, I probably just let the crease go on a pretty regular basis. Creases are nice, but not necessarily worth the trouble. :)

   2. Mine hold the crease for a few washes, and I try to hang them correctly to maintain it as long as possible. I used to think I’d do a dry cleaning run after every few washing rounds, then I realized I like not going to/paying for the dry cleaner better than having creases in my pants. I don’t bother ironing.

3. For Talbots pants, you can get them (all sizes) at a deep discount at their clearance outlet stores — not their regular outlets. Unfortunately, the one by me closed recently, but my best buy was a pair of workhorse gray dress pants for $4. The selection can be erratic, based on season and stock, but it can be worth the hunt, especially during a sale.

4. I’ve never been able to find washable pants that don’t fade rather quickly. It seems the washable materials have a tendency to look kind of shabby and faded after a few wears and washes.

   1. I have to have the one pair of dress pant’s I own dry cleaned b/c otherwise it would get ruined. As it is, I can NOT get reimbursement for cleaning any clotheing that I could not get allowance on in the first place. So I onley wear my one pair of work pant’s in the worst day’s of winter. I do have 2 pair’s of fleece jegging’s but I can NOT wear these to work unless I know 1) the manageing partner is not there; 2) I do not have to run to court and 3) I let Frank ooogle my boobie’s and tuchus so that he won’t tell the manageing partner when he get’s back. FOOEY!

   2. I’ve never had any fading from my Express columnist and editor pants, and I’ve had some for 6+ years. I always wash them in cold water (never warm or hot) and I always hang them on drying racks (I never put them in the dryer).

      1. Same. I’ve also taken to washing my black jeans and darker jeans just by soaking them in vinegar and water and it’s kept them from fading wonderfully. The vinegar smell goes away.

         1. So you just soak them in the sink, and then hang dry? How much vinegar to water?

            1. i kind of just eyeball it which isn’t very helpful. Guess the internet says add 1 cup vinegar. I soak them in a tub that I use for soaking laundry but same idea. Hang dry. I wore my jeans the day after they dried and I thought they smelled like vinegar but my friends said they didn’t smell and not joking the smell went away right away it’s awesome I’m never washing my dark jeans again. I’m going to start doing this with my work pants. Vinegar is definitely a proven cleaner and our pants probably don’t need the agitation of the washer to get stains or anything like that out most likely..

5. The Halogen Taylors have been pretty good for me as an extreme pear, with my widest point at my upper thigh. They fit pretty well, and still need to be tailored to eliminate waist gap, but not completely resewn like some other pants. That said, the old design (they redesigned these the same season they redid The Skirt, harumph) was even better, had a wide waistband, and no belt loops, which made the tailoring even easier. But the new design still works okay. And they do wash and wear well, I haven’t taken any of them to the dry cleaners and they still look nice.

   1. I have a bunch of the Halogen Taylors that I wash every week, with no special care, and they look fine.

      The new design does seem a little slimmer cut. My usual size is a tiny bit tight but the next size up is enormous. Motivation!

6. For washing things that might be delicate like this, I see Kat recommending Woolite, but I’ve heard a lot of people complain about Woolite causing fading, etc. I used to use it consistently, but for some reason, have been having a hard time finding it (or a similar delicate wash product) at my local grocery store, and have been just using my regular detergent, with the “handwash” cycle. I haven’t noticed a difference so far, but I’ve only been doing it for a couple of months. I do clean probably 90% of my clothes this way (everything except the very nice and the very not so nice).

   What do you use for delicate/handwash machine washing (for pants and other things)? I really don’t want to fuss with having to order laundry detergent.

   1. Same as you, I use my regular detergent for handwashing. I always buy scent-and-dye-free detergent. I used Woolite years ago, and I don’t see any difference using regular detergent.

   2. I use my regular detergent (used to use Tide, switched to something else I can’t remember the name of about a year ago) and fabric softener (Downy). I always wash cold and hang dry.

      If I’m actually washing something by hand, rather than running it through the washing machine on the delicate or handwash cycle, I typically use hand soap or bath soap. The only things I really wash by hand are tights/hose and clothes with lots of sequins.

   3. I use a powder soap called Lasting Care, recommended by my lingerie store (when the only bras that come in your size are $65+ each, you want them to LAST. :P) There’s a little bit of a old-lady-concept-of-fresh scent to it, I really can’t describe it, but it’s pretty light. I have a couple big mesh bags that I use for handwash/delicates. Bras go in one (hooks closed!) shirts and other things go in the other two. Handwash cycle, cold water, drip or flat dry depending on the item. It works pretty well and it’s a lot less hassle than washing them in the sink/tub.

7. I have a washable black pair from Talbots that must be five years old. Trying to replace it with a similar workhorse, so this is good timing.

8. Paging Emma from this morning’s thread –
   If you don’t need to wear full suits at your new job and you like wearing pants as much or more than skirts, you should check out the pants here, try on a bunch to see which fit you the best and then sale stalk them from now until you get your new job. Most of the pants here can go from “one step below a suit” with a blazer all the way down to “one step above jeans” with a dressy tee, plus hit a nice middle spot with a nice blouse and cardigan.

   If you don’t need to wear a full suit, you could probably get away with 3-5 pairs of these pants on rotation for your first few months to a year until you can slowly build up your business wardrobe – very few people will notice if you wear black, gray, navy or camel pants every day (or only 2 of those).

   1. Superfluous personal story. We had uniforms in middle school and could only wear four colors of polo shirts. I only liked one of the colors, so I wore that color every single day for two years and nobody noticed. It’s amazing how much people don’t care about what other people wear.

   2. THANKS!!! That is great advice, which I will definitely be following. I don’t need a full suit every day. I’m not sure yet about whether cardigans or blazers will be better — I need to get a better feel from the office, as others suggested.

      One issue is that I’ll mostly be working with men. If they’re wearing slacks with shirts and ties, but no jacket, does that seem like cardigans would be okay for me? I’m not sure how the dress code translates across genders, when you are a step below full suit.

      1. Yes – cardigans will be fine if the guys aren’t wearing jackets. But sometimes I like to wear a blazer anyway as a power outfit.

      2. You could wear cardigans but I think especially when working with men, I would opt for a blazer because it has more of a professional aura.

9. What is the difference between the Columnist pant and the Editor pant at Limited? It looks like the Columnist is a slimmer leg, so as someone who usually wears wide-leg pants (when I can find them), I’m leery. Is it likely the Editor would fit my athletic thighs better?

   1. From my experience yes. I like the Editor with a slim bootcut. For me its the best of both worlds but it is far from the wide leg look if you like that.

   2. Yes, go with the Editor. The Columnists are more straight cut, with little room for hips. I love my Editors but would have to size up in the Columnist and then have the waist taken in.

      Editors come in full-length flare or barely boot, ankle-length, or crop.

   3. Thank you both!

10. Thank you for doing a washable article!

    I personally love Petite BR Jackson trousers because I am a short (5″2, 5″4 with heels) pear. I’m kind of saddened by the fact everything is moving to skinnies even business pants because they make me look even more unbalanced.

    I wished more decent clothes were machine washable but had good texture and drape. One day…One day..

11. I have several pairs of Dressbarn’s Secret Agent Pants, and they are excellent. They have a heavier weight, which helps with wrinkles,and the fabric is yarn dyed. I had two pairs that I wore practically every week for two years, and they did not fade. I had to give them away when I lost weight, and I bought a pair of Ann Taylor pants. I’ve had those for a few months, and they are starting to fade, so I went back to Dressbarn. I also have a pair of NY & Co. pants as well, and they too are excellent.

12. Can you PLEASE do a reboot of this article? I LOVED the exact stretch from the limited, but don’t know what to do now that they’ve gone bankrupt. Also, many of your links don’t work.

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