Nicholas Daley Pullcord Trouser- Navy

The pullcord is the detail the trouser is named for and the one that explains it. A long cord left deliberately exposed at the waist, with a D-ring hanging loop beside it, is a piece of function borrowed from military and workwear patterns and then made obvious rather than tucked away. Daley does this repeatedly across the line. He takes something utilitarian, keeps it working, and lets it be seen.

Beneath the cord the trouser is a straight-leg corduroy, which is the least fussy shape he cuts, and across the body of it are set panels in a contrasting fabric. Corduroy is a cut-pile cloth, so it takes light along the wales and holds colour with a depth that flat cotton cannot manage. Set a matte or a waxed panel into that pile and the two surfaces read as two entirely different materials from across a street, which is exactly what they are meant to do.

Why we selected it

We selected this trouser once and then took it in three colours, which is further than we usually go with any single style. The reason is that it solves an unusual problem: it is plain enough to wear on an ordinary day and specific enough that it could not have come from anywhere else.

Exposed hardware and visible function are Nicholas Daley constants, and the Pullcord is the trouser where they are most legible.

The colour

The navy is the one that does something different with its panels. Where the black and khaki pairs set a flat waxed cotton against the corduroy, this pair sets wide-rib corduroy against the body cloth, so the contrast is between two pile surfaces at different scales rather than between pile and no pile. Wale is the ridge and the count is how many run to an inch, so a broad-rib patch against a finer body reads as a change of rhythm rather than a change of material. It is the subtlest of the three and the most technically interesting.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, made in England. Straight-leg corduroy with large rib corduroy contrast patches, pullcord at the waist, D-ring hardware. Colour: Navy.

Fit notes

Straight through the leg, waist adjusted by cord rather than fixed by a closure. Corduroy softens across the first season and holds its shape. Because both cloths here are corduroy, this pair moves more uniformly than its siblings, which have a rigid waxed panel in them.

Styling

With the Lee Shirt, indigo against navy, which is better than it sounds. With the Waffle Crew Neck in black. Navy is the easiest of the three to place.

Care

The black and khaki pairs carry waxed cotton patches, which cannot be washed at all. This pair appears to carry corduroy patches instead, which would make it washable where they are not. Until you have that confirmed with us, treat it as though it were waxed: no machine washing, brush when dry, sponge marks with cold water. Never press corduroy flat with a hot iron. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Pullcord Trouser in black corduroy and the Pullcord Trouser in khaki corduroy set waxed cotton against the pile instead. The Pullcord Short is the short, and the Crew Neck Waffle in black the knit above it. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.