FINDING THE RIGHT PAIR OF PANTS BEFORE GOING MINIMALISTIC BLACK
DISCUSSING DIFFERENT PANTS & JEANS TYPES & HOW WELL THEY FIT INTO THE MINIMAL MINDSET
DISCUSSING DIFFERENT PANTS & JEANS TYPES & HOW WELL THEY FIT INTO THE MINIMAL MINDSET
FINDING THE PERFECT STANDARD PANT
Was not as easy as one could think it is. But at the same time, once I set the right criteria and ordered all the ones to fit my criteria, it suddenly all fell into place and I found the right one I am as of writing this pretty sure I will buy multiple pairs of these
of in order to
GO FULLY MINIMAL
It all started years ago. For the first few years of my life till my teenage years, I hated shopping. It was a chore. It meant trying on all these ugly clothes in classic big stores, but not clothing stores, but rather: All-In-One big department stores you found all over Europe. Like Karstadt. It usually meant trying on all of these clothes. Clothes I didn’t deem to be chick anyway. But rather ugly.
THEN IT ALL CHANGED
Once I discovered, there actually were stores dedicated to clothes. With clothes that
ACTUALLY LOOKED GOOD
HOPEFULLY
I FELL IN LOVE WITH H&M
They simply offered the stuff I had dreamt to shop for years. And all it took was to simply: visit a store As simple as it sounds. Previously I just couldn’t imagine myself actually “being allowed” to shop there. And then to wear actual cool clothes like the ones they offered there. After years of wearing stuff, I actually didn’t like, and also lots of used stuff from relatives
BUYING NEW, ACTUALLY COOL CLOTHES
Was a gamechanger for me. And the store that changed the game for me was H&M. This is probably one of the reasons I came back to this store and company again and again for years and I also was:
WHEN I DECIDED TO BUY MINIMAL BLACK PANTS
I actually wasn’t sure yet, whether it would make sense to go for grey or dark grey options instead of pure black. For chinos or for jeans.
FOR YEARS I HAD BEEN STUCK WITH CHINOS
I found them also at H&M years ago. When there was a chino trend happening, at least in my perception. I found them and I stuck with them over the years and since my way of thinking back then was already pretty similar to the way I think nowadays, after an extensive test period of a single pair, I bought another one of the exact same type; then went all-in
AND BOUGHT MULTIPLE PAIRS
in all the colors that seemed right to me. This was the result, at least the one from the most recent purchase.
ONLY ONE PROBLEM
Back then I really liked baggy. And also found it the most practical. Since I was and still am using my bike quite often, the pants I wore simply had to be comfortable enough for this purpose. They basically felt like
SWEATPANTS, BUT WITH SERIOUS CHINO LOOKS
And these still hold up. The looks and the pants. I wore them for the last 5–6 years almost exclusively. Additionally, I had first one, then two pairs of blue jeans and three pairs of trekking pants. Multifunctional. With lots of pockets. And since I always found myself in need of lots of pockets, for example whenever running around taking pictures when traveling and in need of a place for a lens cap, SD-card, power bank, camera battery.
I STUCK WITH THE TREKKING PANTS WHENEVER I NEEDED THOSE
But as I grew older I had to find out, all of these purchasing decisions were kind of based on the assumption:
BAGGIER WAS ALWAYS BETTER
This meant for me, 1,82m and on average on the leaner side that I bought and then was stuck with pants with a width of usually 32 inches. But in reality, my waste is indeed more made for: 30-inch pants.
I SIMPLY BOUGHT ALL THESE PANTS OVERSIZED
And also overlength. Both strategic decisions. I usually tried on all the different size and lengths. Because when cycling in winter: you don’t want your pant to let in the cold because it’s too short. combinations from width 30–34 and length 30–34. Only one other problem though,
I NEVER DID FULLY GET THESE WERE ACUTAL REAL MEASUREMENTS
I actually could use. Therefore I just tried all the different versions. And because I bought them oversized and I didn’t know about width and length [since in Europe there are also other pants sizes] so widely used these days, I was pretty happy when I found the above mentioned.
ANOTHER STRATEGY WHEN IT CAME TO CLOTHES
Was then to simply prepare the different stacks with clothes that fit and I liked and just randomly pick one of each. Always from the top. And adding clothes fresh from the laundry to the bottom. One shirt from the top of the stack. One pair of pants. You get the idea. Therefore I got rid of 10min of choosing the right outfit for the day. Which previously often took quite some time. Because
I RANDOMIZED MY OUTFIT
Since the different stacks of course had different amounts of items. This system allowed me to have in general three different types of pants, the above-mentioned, but still being able to reduce my outfit decisions to a minimum. And whenever I needed a specific color or type, I simply could choose without the randomized stacking system.
BUT OVER THE YEARS
The thing about them being so baggy began to annoy me. It simply meant I could never wear normal pants without a belt. Since they simply were too wide. But I still didn’t change up things,
AFTER YEARS OF WAITING
my pants finally began to dissolve. Before I simply had stuck with my past decisions and therefore past pant purchases. Because let’s face it:
YOU SIMPLY DON’T GET MUCH FOR WORN CLOTHES
SELLING ON EBAY OR ON THE FLEA MARKET
Usually doesn’t result in much cash. I actually sold the second, the washed-out jeans for 10€ on eBay, since these pair was even wider: 33, and was the first one to be dumped in order to embrace a
FUTURE WITH NORMAL PANTS
Was the thing I hoped and still am hoping. I can live. But I still have all of the above mentioned pants. And this is a problem. Still. But for once many of them have small holes already, this means I can then finally dispatch them without feeling guilty because of financial and environmental considerations, but I also
FINALLY CAN BUY NEW ONES
and therefore replace another round of clothes with their minimalistic or rather: functionalistic and standardized counterparts. Wearing the same stuff every day reduces decisions even more. If you only have one pair of pants, but you got multiple pairs of these pants, then
ALL POTENTIAL OPTIMIZATION PROCESSES
In front of the mirror are simply cut by the “non-availability” of options. Here are a few principles I applied over the years in my past purchasing decisions, not only in regards to clothing
always go for black. In almost every single item whether it’s a stereo, a pen, a phone, a phone case, a notebook, an external screen, a smartwatch, a smartwatch cover, a toiletry bag, a guitar chair, any cable, headphones, mice, studio lights, rucksacks, bags. You name it. Black is the single most available color option in the world I’d say. Therefore: Black items or variants usually have a bigger trading volume, therefore lower prices. For example: if you want “the red phone” then after prices dropped after the initial release, you almost always have to pay more for the red phone, instead of the black one.
stick with the thing mostly available. This also means these are the items: with the most accessories available. With the most conversation happening about them. Ever tried to find a case for a Nokia on the beach? Well, you probably only got iPhone cases offered there. And with reviews online becoming more and more a thing, if you get something many other people also have, the chance that solutions to potential problems arising out of your purchase, like your notebook, is higher and these solutions, therefore, are already out there. Because someone else already encountered the problem before.
try to find something good, something that lasts for years. Like the above-mentioned pants. Therefore: I don’t have to worry about this type of physical good for years, literally.
only buying clothes, when I felt like: they actually could be worn with anything I already had and had the “star power” to make these items look better. This meant over the years I just got rid of about 90–95% of clothing purchases, because very often: individual items just don’t have this “power”. This actually just is a way of: only buying the items you really like. Instead of buying things because of other reasons. This also reduces doubt later on. Because if you are unsure when buying things, the uncertainty usually doesn’t go away later on. In front of the mirror trying to pick an outfit in the morning for example.
NOW APPLYING THESE PRINCIPLES & LEARNINGS
My new pair of “standard pants” should therefore fulfill the following criteria
fit without the need for a belt
fit like a normal pair of pants instead of the oversized look
be either black or dark grey
as cheap as possible: this means I can easily buy multiple pairs without worrying about the price too much. [Every item you purchase has the opportunity cost of a small cashflow from an average return on invested money]
stretch: I discovered this only in recent time: you don’t actually have to have baggy pants in order to be able to also move a little bit in your pants without the risk of tearing them. Restricting your movements when biking for example. You can go much tighter in terms of fit, if the pants just have a proper stretch
this also means: you can wear your “allround pant” or rather “allround jeans” also for the occasional basketball game whenever either don’t have the time to switch clothes, or you simply don’t have any other pants or shorts.
this introduced another idea: What if you also could do things like running, biking, hiking just with your normal and standard pair of pants? Therefore getting rid of the need of additional sports shorts or pants when traveling. Or in general when going minimal without traveling.
Therefore being able to pack much quicker. And lighter. Since your stuff is more similar to the “packed travel stuff” at any point in time. Therefore making traveling easier.