My First Fashion Review: Edun Pants
This is exciting! My first fashion review!
My ever-perfect wife Andi (of the nation’s premier ethical-apparel store, Arboretum) brought home to me a new pair of black pants by Edun. Owned by the ever-righteous Bono, Edun is, according to its website, “founded on the premise of trade, not aid as a means of building sustainable communities. The company works on a micro-level to help build the skill sets of the factories where the clothes are produced.”
I own a few Edun pieces, but never before had I sported the pants (Omega Twill Chinos), as I’m a Rag & Bone man to the core (my all-time favorite men’s line - also available at Arboretum, btw). And while I love you, Bono, these pants pretty much suck hard. The fit is fine for a skinny bastard like me, but two massive complaints:
UNO: No belt loops. While this is absolutely rad in a pair of women’s pants, it’s a joke for men. Men are generally bigger (though at 6′1″/165 I’m not exactly massive) and fluctuate in actual pounds more than do women. This means we need belts to make adjustments for those days when our bowel movements are exceedingly large. Without a belt loop, I have days where they fit just right and others where I can’t wear them.
DOS: The front “pockets” are laughable! They’re deep enough to hold six, maybe seven Tic Tacs. Try putting a mobile phone or a money clip in there and you’re bound to be frustrated. After some work, I did manage to squeeze my money clip in, but it came popping out whenever I sat down. Oddly enough, shallow front pockets are another feature commonly found in women’s pants. I suspect women are quite concerned with maintaining nice lines in front. Most men need those pockets to put things in. Hence the pocket in the first place. I won’t even get into the ‘flying wings’ that are the back pocket flaps. When I have time I’m going to unstitch them by hand.
There are darned good reasons clothes are built differently for boys and girls. The reason is called gender-differentiated ergonomic requirements. Whoever is designing for Edun seems to live in a fantasy world where men and women have identical builds and social requirements.
Bono, if you’re out there, I’m rooting for your line. Your wife’s line. I’m rooting for just about everything you do. I highly respect the noble mission that you’ve set out to achieve with the Edun line. The Africa-to-Africa production cycle is fantastic.
I’m sure my wife and her partner are going to be aghast that I’ve given a less than glowing review to a product they carry. However, my duty is to be honest. And, honestly, these pants are shite. Bono - pick up the phone and call Rag & Bone. Maybe they can loan out their designer.
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Six or seven Tic Tacs? Are you sure you aren’t exaggerating? That sounds like a lot to me.