Mai Gidah Corduroy High-Waisted Trousers with Button-Closure and Pockets

Everything a high rise does, it does above the hip. The leg below is a plain work-trouser leg and does not need to be anything else, because raising the waistband moves the point the leg appears to begin from, and a leg that begins higher reads longer without a single change to its cut. That is the whole argument for a high waist and it is usually made badly, with a rise so extreme the trouser becomes the outfit. This one is measured. The cloth is the same heavy black-and-white corduroy as the worker jacket, two colors running wale by wale in the color called TV-Static, and corduroy is a good choice for a high waist because it has enough body to sit flat at the front rather than folding. Ninety-five percent cotton with five percent elastane. Made in the Netherlands.

Why we selected it

Corduroy trousers are usually bought in a single flat color and worn as the quiet half of something. These are not quiet, and they still work as trousers, which is the difficult part.

Mai-Gidah cuts more than one garment from a cloth it likes, and this trouser and the worker jacket are the same corduroy in the same color.

Materials and construction

Ninety-five percent cotton and five percent elastane, woven as a corduroy in black and white. High waist, work-trouser cut. Color: TV-Static. Made in the Netherlands.

Fit notes

A high rise sits at or above the natural waist, so it should be chosen on the waist measurement and not on the hip, and it is worn with the shirt in rather than over. The corduroy has body and will not cling at the thigh. The elastane gives at the knee and the seat and returns, which is what keeps a stiff cotton trouser from holding the shape of the last person who sat down in it.

Styling

With the Corduroy Worker Style Jacket for the full cloth. Otherwise with the Shortsleeve Tunic Shirt tucked, so the waistband is doing its job, or under the Sleeveless Jacket with Extruding Pockets.

Care

Brush along the wale rather than across it, and clean corduroy less often than you think you should. The elastane sets the limits: cool water, no tumble dryer, and no hot iron, since heat is what an elastane does not survive. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Extra Classic Trousers are a straight leg in wool rather than corduroy, and the Shortsleeve Tunic Shirt with Wraparound Collar is a short-sleeved shirt in cotton with a collar that stands or lies flat. Everything we carry from Mai-Gidah is listed together.