It isn’t lost on me that many of you began to read this blog back in 2011-2013, when I was working in San Francisco, wearing clothes for working people, and taking semi-picturesque street photos of my working outfits. Kind of a bait and switch, to find ourselves talking roses, and the nature of time and memory, and whatever else falls out of my fingers on a Saturday morning.
Hence, a lil’ style post. This is made challenging by the fact that unless I’m in sweatpants or joggers, i.e. fancy sweatpants, I pretty much wear one pair of pants to every occasion.
These.
Brown, ponte Eileen Fisher lantern pants. My god I love them so. Comfortable, unflappable, easy to wash, and not black. What more could we want? Especially if we are able to find t-shirts in many compatible colors? If we are me?
Worn here with a Vince jacket, ribbed J. Crew t-shirt, and Paul Green loafers. A tonal outfit. Various shades of brown from reddish- through chocolate to mustard and so on. Small gold earrings because everything else feels like my kind of polished and no use gilding a, well, if not a lily a very friendly daffodil.
This is the cheerful spring look. Ted Baker floral tee, Birkenstocks, pearl earrings and toothy smile to tie into the white shirt.
This is comfy winter. Church oxfords with an exceedingly thick sole, a cropped UNIQLO puffer, Madewell tee in the color “Redwood,” an anonymous pink and white scarf and large preppy gold knot earrings. The earrings to balance the shoes, don’t you know.
Finally, the urban tough look. In comfortable shoes, however. Black ribbed tee from UNIQLO, oversized black denim jacket from Madewell, HOKAs, and dangly gold earrings. Hippy jewelry meets cool girl aspirations. Pretty much says it all.
I suppose my point here, other than a cry for Eileen Fisher to make these again in a color other than black, is that with a solid color strategy encompassing tonal shade, neutrals and patterns, along with an understanding of what you will and won’t wear (comfortable pants yes, t-shirts yes, jeans and woven shirts not unless I’m “dressing up” California style), you don’t need many clothes to have some fun.
My chest of drawers, my “bureau” as my mother called it, thanks me.
As I thank you for reading whichever incarnation of Privilege floats your idiomatic boat. Have a wonderful weekend!
22 Responses
I LOVE my lantern pants! And they’re green plaid which makes them even cooler. They are second hand and I literally bought them off their previous owner (she was wearing them at the time)
OK so that is the greatest clothing story I’ve heard in a very long time! And green plaid, now that you’ve moved to Scotland, think of all the wear you’ll get:)
I’ve been scouring the aftermarket for those EF brown ponte lantern pants and may have found them (!). Are yours pull-on or zip-up?
Lucky duck! Mine are the pull-on ones. Do report back!
this was me … always searching for the non-black option … railing against the retail gods who refused to offer it!
and in the end, they won. now i buy the boring black every time, and am part of the problem.
You’re never part of the problem, just a resigned coper-with-what is;)
I am very enamored of the idea of knowing what you love and are comfortable with and claiming your unique space. Kudos! I think this growing acceptance of ourselves is one of the gifts of retirement.
Thank you! And I completely agree. It feels great to more fully inhabit one’s skin.
I am still searching for the perfect non-black pants to wear in summer. I have defaulted to olive green since the only lightweight, loose-fitting brown pants I found were so wide-legged that I felt foolish in them. EF pants are usually much too short for me, but I would at least try them on.
Olive green sounds like a great option. I’d go for olive, if it were a dark olive. A lot can be done with olive;)
Would you be open to the lantern pants in another fabric? It seems like there are lots of good colors in those.
There are also lots of new jeans around that are very soft and cut like the lantern pants – definitely not “hard pants”. I also recommend the Nili Lotan shon pants, extremely comfortable and a similar shape.
I’m open to some other fabrics, it’s just that this one is SO durable and comfortable and doesn’t wrinkle. I have tried the Shon pants and somehow they don’t work on me, but I should look around, you’re right.
In retirement, dressing for personal pleasure is wonderful. You’ve made some great choices and are always well styled. I dress similarly. The one difference might be my fondness for long sleeved, collared, button down, cotton classic oxford shirts. On a hot day, I can roll the sleeves up making a short sleeve shirt. Comfortable but still well styled remains a good priority.
Thank you, Susan. I think buttoned shirts, classic oxfords look stunning on some women. I love the look, just doesn’t seem to translate to my particular form. And styling is just so much fun, isn’t it? The little touches?
Ah, you are always the cool girl, Lisa. I love all of these outfits. And echo the sentiment that one pair of pants can go many, many places. Hope you are surviving the heat, or whatever summer is throwing at you down there. Not to mention all the other “stuff” that is heating up. xox
Right back at you, Sue. We are installing a heat pump this week, so will finally have a cool house. Not a moment too late, thank you. The other stuff, one can only cross one’s fingers, do the work, and hope that people move towards compassion
Do the Privileged shop on eBay? There is a pair of brown lantern pants size m right now.
They do! I’m a size Xs/S, but I hope someone else snaps them up. Thanks for the tip!
I love these pants so much I bought a backup pair! They do seem to go with everything, don’t they? I’m hoping that once the fall collections start coming in, we’ll see more ponte knit lantern pants options. You might also keep an eye on Ruti (a small-ish California brand). She’s been doing lantern style silhouettes for several seasons now. Hers are a bit more…pronounced than the EF’s, but wearable.
You are so smart. I wish I’d bought a backup pair! So if you think that new colors might be coming in, I will not lose hope. I took a peek at Rui-which pants do you like best?
Late to the party in reading your last post … hope you don’t mind if I comment now. Very discouraged and down due to this week’s events … the guy who would be king how now become a messiah. And, our guy becoming more frail by the minute. It is heartbreaking.
But enough. Love the lantern pants. Wonderfully versatile.
I could never afford them – living in the UK . But I do like the shape so I see why they are so popular ! Unfortunatel y my ankles are too thick and my feet too big for the shape – I even manage to rip harem pants !
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