Cortana Tunez Pants

A trouser cut entirely from silk is a decision about movement. Silk does not hold a shape the way a wool or a linen does, so a silk trouser cannot be built on structure and has to be built on fall: the leg is generous, the rise is high, and the fastening is kept to almost nothing so that there is no hardware interrupting a line that has nothing else in it. Done badly this produces a trouser that looks like pajamas. Done well, and the difference is almost entirely in the weight of the cloth, it produces something that moves like a skirt and works like a trouser. The black is clean rather than inky, which on silk is the harder of the two to achieve, because silk takes black with a sheen and holding it flat is a dyeing problem.

Why we selected it

An evening trouser that is not tailored and not jersey is a real gap, and this fills it. The high rise is what keeps it from reading as loungewear.

Silk trousers are among the pieces Cortana is best known for, and this is the plainest and blackest version of that.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent silk. High rise, tapered, with minimal fastening details. Color: black. We do not hold a country of origin for this piece.

Fit notes

High-rise and tapered, generous through the leg without volume at the ankle. Silk has no recovery, so it will move with the body rather than resisting it, and it will not hold a crease. There is very little fastening, which means the fit at the waist is doing the work of holding them up and is worth choosing for.

Styling

With the Anele Top tucked, which is the version that uses the rise. Under the Nora Cardigan. With the Sack M Bag. It will also go under the Irina Dress worn as a tunic, if that is a thing you do.

Care

Silk unless the label says otherwise is a dry-clean garment, and a black silk shows water marks readily, so this is not a trouser to spot-clean at a table. Iron on the reverse while slightly damp. Antiperspirant does silk more harm than wear does. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Mel Pants are linen and silk tailored to a taper, and the Costa Pants are linen alone. Everything we carry from Cortana is listed together.