BLANK Arthur Pants

Gabardine is a weave before it is a cloth, and the weave is the whole of it. The warp runs at a far higher density than the weft and both are given a hard twist, so the twill line comes out fine and steep and the face closes up tight. That is what makes the cloth shed a shower, take a press, and resist the abrasion that finishes a softer worsted at the seat. It was worked out for weatherproof coats in the nineteenth century and it went into service uniforms for the same reason: it holds a line under conditions that would collapse one.

Worsted is the other half of the name. The fiber is combed before spinning so the short ends are taken out and the long ones lie parallel, which is why a worsted gabardine is smooth rather than hairy and why it stays smooth.

What BLANK does with it is cut it wide. Two pleats on each thigh open the trouser above the knee, the leg carries that fullness straight down rather than tapering it away, and the fit is loose overall. A hard, light, formal cloth in a shape that owes tailoring nothing: that is the argument. One hundred percent wool, in Charcoal, made in the USA.

Why we selected it

We kept looking for a wide-leg trouser that was not made of something soft. Softness is the usual way to make a wide leg look easy, and it is also why most of them have given up by the afternoon. A hard worsted keeps the line all day, which is the only reason to cut a trouser this wide in the first place.

BLANK rebuilds military uniform and workwear as womenswear, and this is the piece that goes after the uniform’s cloth rather than after its pockets.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent wool, woven as a lightweight worsted gabardine, in Charcoal. Wide through the leg, with two pleats on each thigh and a loose fit overall. Made in the USA. We do not hold a closure, a pocket count, a rise, or a lining for these trousers, and we describe none of them.

Fit notes

Sized on a short numeric run rather than on small, medium, and large, which means the steps between sizes are larger than a letter run’s and the cut is doing the accommodating rather than the body. The fit is loose overall and the leg is wide from the pleat down. Worsted gabardine has very little give, so these will not stretch to a waist the way a soft flannel would; they sit where they were cut, and the pleats are what open to take the difference. We do not hold measurements for them. Call the store and someone will put a tape on the pair you are asking about.

Styling

Charcoal is the color that lets a wide leg pass as tailoring, so these are best under things that are not tailored at all: a heavy knit, a short jacket, a boot with enough weight that the hem has something to break against. Against either Monkey Skirt they are the formal half of one wardrobe, which is the argument for owning both halves.

Care

Wool decides this. Have it cleaned rather than washed, keep it out of a tumble dryer, and press it under a cloth rather than directly, because a hard worsted face will take a shine from a hot iron and the shine does not brush out. Store it clean, because moths go for wool and one season in a closet is long enough. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Monkey Skirt in corduroy and the Monkey Skirt in ripstop are the cargo shape in the heavy cloth and the light one, and the Cropped BDU Jacket is the jacket cut for these. Everything we carry from this house is listed together.