the trick to finding a great pair of leather pants

that you can wear like a pair of everyday jeans.

I hate pants shopping.

I think it is a universal experience to try on a pair of pants that do not fit the way we imagined, or the way it looked on online and feel extremely exasperated—unsure if you should laugh or cry. (And I recognize that as a straight-sized person, it’s already a massive privilege to have size options available when shopping anywhere).

With leather pants, it’s exponentially more of a headache. It’s a tricky material…hard to tailor, limited stretch, generally less comfortable than the everyday jeans we know and love.

But the idea of a great pair of 90s style leather pants…has been haunting me since I watched the entire original Charmed series during covid lockdown times. I want to look like a Halliwell sister, casting spells and fighting demons in a San Francisco cable car, wearing a sleek pair of black leather pants.

Some reference pics: mid-rise (which is lower rise than I normally go), not skinny but not flare but a separate third thing. Kick flare? Kick crop? Whatever Big Pants is calling that style these days.

I love the outfit formula of black leather pants + platform sandals + little top + leather jacket.

I’ve tried a number of black leather pants, most notably from Veda which had such a *moment* in the late 2010s for its quality leather jackets. I think they’re defunct now, RIP. There was always something a little off about each pair that discouraged me from really integrating them into my outfits the way I would a great pair of jeans.

Recently, I took a gamble on a pair—waiting for the price reduction, hemming and hawing—but I am so happy I did because they are the best leather pants I’ve owned so far. I wore them all night for a Lunar New Year party. They were dressy enough to feel festive, especially for an evening event, but comfortable enough to making dumplings and sit cross-legged on the rug in.

I’m convinced this is the one detail to look for while shopping: