Navy Trousers

[Russell Street]

Andyland is going nuts squabbling about the aesthetics and class demarcations and history of odd navy blue trousers.
Honestly, I was never a fan. It's just a dark color to hide down below, and there is the blue-collar association that a dirt-hiding color will have. Plus, it does tend to look like part of a suit.

Anyone have examples of odd navy trousers done well, or historical/cultural knowledge or just plain preference?

 

[Dropbear]

I like 'em for versatility. Though I am less of a fan when just worn with a shirt and not a sport coat.

 

[doghouse]

Wear them all the time.

 

[doghouse]

Also, I feel like this should be in the trainwreck thread.

 

[Journeyman]

Wear them all the time.

+1. Well, not all the time, but at least once a fortnight.

I typically wear them with a lighter jacket, sometimes a lighter blue one such as a light blue-and-white mini-houndstooth check jacket that I wear in summer, or alternatively with a grey, herringbone weave jacket or a brown jacket.

I only wear navy odd trousers with brown shoes, either calf or suede. I wouldn't wear them with black shoes as I think that would look a bit odd.

Here's an example of navy odd trousers in summer. The shoes aren't visible, but I'm pretty sure that I was wearing a pair of tan C&J Cliffords:

 

[Grand Potentate]

I've never seen a picture of you before.

 

[Journeyman]

I've never seen a picture of you before.

I don't post many because I usually don't have the necessary patience to take photos of myself.

Also, I'm carrying some excess weight so I'm not an idea photographic subject in any case.

 

[Grand Potentate]

I don't post many because I usually don't have the necessary patience to take photos of myself.

Also, I'm carrying some excess weight so I'm not an idea photographic subject in any case.

Before I realized it was a self portrait I kind of thought it was a photo of Stitches.

 

[Journeyman]

Before I realized it was a self portrait I kind of thought it was a photo of Stitches.

Oh, burn!

 

[Grand Potentate]

Oh, burn!

Lolz. I didn't even mean it as an insult. I went from the bottom up and saw a heavy set guy with facial hair. I thought you were being your normal kindly self and trying to post a Stitches pic as something approving.

 

[Russell Street]

I typically wear them with a lighter jacket, sometimes a lighter blue one such as a light blue-and-white mini-houndstooth check jacket that I wear in summer, or alternatively with a grey, herringbone weave jacket or a brown jacket.

This works. I generally prefer the trouser color to be a bit lighter than the jacket, but all my jackets are dark except for heavy tweed that won't work with worsted fabric. Is that the fabric others are using?

 

[Pauly Chase]

In terms of versatility, navy is on par with grey IMO.

Are we talking about solid or patterns? Dark navy chalk stripe (wool/cashmere blend) would look amazing.

 

[prince nez]

Before I realized it was a self portrait I kind of thought it was a photo of Stitches.

Dude, that outfit is way too imaginative for snitches. Also, clearly the subject is wearing nice clothes in a public place, as opposed to posing for photos on his porch before changing into a T-shirt and jeans to go annoy the workers at the family pawn shop.

 

[Jan Libourel]

I think navy odd trousers can work well with various shades of cream, tan, brown, olive and (I suppose) gray (although I don't own any gray odd jackets--just never fancied 'em). They can even work well with some shades of blue, especially if the latter are patterned.

Despite having had an above-average (I like to think) interest in clothes most of my fairly long life, the "no navy trousers" dogma was unknown to me until discovering forumland.

I fail to see how navy conceals dirt any better than any of the darker shades of gray or brown.

On a broader note, I fail to see why just because something wasn't "on" in the 1930s it needs to be proscribed for all eternity. I mean, the '30s were 80-odd years ago. The men of the 1930s certainly didn't emulate the styles of the 1850s, just to put matters in perspective.

 

[doghouse]

On a broader note, I fail to see why just because something wasn't "on" in the 1930s it needs to be proscribed for all eternity. I mean, the '30s were 80-odd years ago. The men of the 1930s certainly didn't emulate the styles of the 1850s, just to put matters in perspective.

This is cementing my earlier quip.

 

[Jimmy Frost Mellor]

Before I realized it was a self portrait I kind of thought it was a photo of Stitches.

This is not the place to be nasty to people. I've reported you to the moderator of Civility & Income Streams.

 

[Thruth]

I have never understood the "no blue" trousers rule either. I do not have fine worsted navy trousers, but I do have a pair of tweed and a pair of donegal ones. It is one of the so called "rules" that I completely disagree with.

 

[Russell Street]

I do not have fine worsted navy trousers, but I do have a pair of tweed and a pair of donegal ones.

The addition of texture likely does much. Flannel might work as well. Navy tends to suffer, IMHO, much like black in that it does not have a rich heathery range of colors, but one flat uniform one. That really adds to the Sansabelt vibe that I get. Similarly, linen doesn't annoy me.

 

[doghouse]

Navy blue AND Dickies. I'm full prole today.

 

[Russell Street]

Friggin dark colored chinos are for people that know some laundering secret that I don't know. I know about cold water and turning inside out and stuff.

Also, FWIW, plain woven worsted navy blazers do nothing for me either. I need some bit of color or texture.

 

[doghouse]

What's your problem laundering dark cotton pants? I don't seem to have any issue.

 

[Russell Street]

Fading and streaking, but I imagine the pro-grade workegear stuff is using tough dyes.

 

[doghouse]

I was thinking more my regular cotton trousers I get from Tyrwhitt and the like actually.

 

[Journeyman]

I was thinking more my regular cotton trousers I get from Tyrwhitt and the like actually.

I get my cotton trousers from Charles Tyrwhitt, too (well, CT for the more "formal" cotton trousers, if that's not too much of an oxymoron, and Land's End for more casual chino pants).

I just take them to the dry cleaner every six months or so and freshen them up with an iron and some steam in between dry cleaning.

My current few pairs (brown, beige and navy) have lasted me for a few years thus far and I've only just started to see a bit of fading on the navy pair. I wear the navy pair every 2-3 weeks, so I suppose that they're worn a bit more than 20 times a year.

 

[doghouse]

I get my cotton trousers from Charles Tyrwhitt, too (well, CT for the more "formal" cotton trousers, if that's not too much of an oxymoron, and Land's End for more casual chino pants).

I just take them to the dry cleaner every six months or so and freshen them up with an iron and some steam in between dry cleaning.

My current few pairs (brown, beige and navy) have lasted me for a few years thus far and I've only just started to see a bit of fading on the navy pair. I wear the navy pair every 2-3 weeks, so I suppose that they're worn a bit more than 20 times a year.

Yeah, I use them for daily work pants. Worn 1-2 times a week, and launder myself. The only ones showing any fading are my marine blue ones, and there are probably a year and a half old of twice weekly wear as they are my favorites.

The CT's are a great deal when you catch em for around 45 bucks!