Yeung Chin Embroidered Pant

A loose weave is a decision with consequences and it is worth knowing what they are. Setting the yarns further apart lets air through, lets light through, and lets the structure of the cloth show as structure rather than as a flat surface. It also gives up abrasion resistance, which is why most trousers are not made this way. Cut straight through the leg, so the cloth is not being asked to do anything a loose weave cannot do, and finished at the hem by not being finished at all. A hem is normally where a maker declares the garment complete. Leaving it raw declines to make that declaration, and on a loosely woven cotton it means the edge will keep moving for a while and then settle. The color is given as Black and Cream. How the two sit together is not something we can tell you from a distance.

Why we selected it

We wanted a trouser where the cloth was the subject rather than the cut, and loose weaving is the plainest way a maker can say that. Almost nobody does it in a trouser, because it is the garment least forgiving of an open cloth.

Yeung Chin came to his own label by way of running design for a mass-market Hong Kong retailer, and the clothes carry both halves of that: they are strange, and they are engineered.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton, very loosely woven. Straight leg. Raw hem. Made in Hong Kong. Color: Black and Cream.

Fit notes

Straight through the leg rather than tapered, so it hangs from the hip without narrowing. A loose weave has more give than a tight one at the same weight, so the trouser will move with the body rather than holding a line against it. The raw hem is a live edge. It will fray a little further and then stop, and where it stops depends on how it is washed rather than on how it is worn.

Styling

With the Oversize Shirt, which is loosely made in the same fiber and argues with it least. With the Crop Vest Jacket over a plain top. With the Belt, since a tassel wrap sits on an open weave better than a buckle does.

Care

Cotton takes a machine wash and takes heat, which is why almost all the damage done to cotton happens in a dryer rather than a washer. On a raw hem that matters more than usual: a hot, rough cycle keeps taking the fray further, and a gentle wash and an air dry leaves it where it is. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Embroidered Long Pants are pure cotton trousers doing something else entirely at the surface, with a lace overlay run the whole length of the leg. Everything we carry from Yeung Chin is listed together.