Is it spring yet? I’m ready for spring, mostly for the daylight, as our weather here in San Francisco only rises by a few degrees. It’s perpetually in the 50s to mid-60s degrees Fahrenheit here, so I don’t often get to wear warm weather clothes. But that’s not stopping me from reviewing spring clothes. Today, I’m taking a look at two pairs of chino pants from Everlane: The Slouchy Chino Pant and The Easy Chino.

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The Slouchy Chino Pant

If you keep up with me on Instagram, then you already know how I feel about these, but I thought I should do a proper blog review. So, here we go! I saw these in the Choose What You Pay sale in December, which I wrote about here. (BTW, many of these items are still on sale.) At the time, I thought: these could be cute or they could be frumpy. Well, there’s only one way to find out. So I ordered them.

The reviews were kind of all over the place in terms of sizing, though most people seemed to agree these pants run big (makes sense since they’re slouchy). I ended up ordering my regular size, one size down, and two sizes down.

Here’s how they look on a 5′ 10″ model. They’re pretty cropped on her.

And here’s how they look on 5′ 4″ me after taking them right out of the package. Um, no thank you.

I’m wearing a size 2, which is the same size that the model’s wearing. It’s one size down from my usual size. My usual size definitely felt too big, though it would have sat lower on my hips, and two sizes down was too tight across the waist for me. I’m generally a fan of high-waist pants, and these have an 11.5″ rise, but in an unflattering granny kind of way. I guess the pleats don’t help here either. I used to categorically not wear any pants with pleats. My opinion on pleats on pants has changed over the years, but this is just NOPE.

Nope, not flattering from the back either. The inseam is about 25″ and landed right above my ankle bone.

They look cuter when you put your hands in the pockets, but the verdict is still: frumpy! Maybe if you’re really tall, they’d work. (I feel like I say that a lot because I just assume everything looks better on taller people.) Well, I guess you know how this ends. I returned them. The pre-shrunk fabric seemed nice quality, though. It’s a lightweight cotton with 2% elastane, but it doesn’t feel too thin. Seems like you’d have to iron them a lot to keep them from looking wrinkly all the time, though, which is something I personally can’t be bothered with.

The Easy Chino

I honestly had no intention of trying the Easy Chino because the Italian GoWeave Easy Pants were such a disaster on me and I figured they were cut similarly. But I found myself needing to throw something in my shopping cart to score free shipping, so I put these reasonably-priced pants in there.

Here they are on a 5′ 9″ model.

And here they are on petite me.

These pants also run big, so I also sized down. Again, the model and I are both wearing size 2. I’m wearing the same shoes and T-shirt (but in another color) as I did in my try-on of the Slouchy Chino above for the ease of comparison.

They’re hmmm … not bad! Are they the most flattering pants ever? No, they are not. They’re roomy in the thighs (and I got thick-ish thighs), but then again, they’re easy pants, so they’re supposed to be loose. I think they actually look better in real life than in photos, but maybe I’m kidding myself.

I found them to be comfy and easy to style since they’re just plain black pants. I’m not going to lie — I love the elastic waist. (Is this so predictable or what, though, since I’m getting older.) The rise is 10″ so it’s medium, but on the high side and the inseam is 26″.

These are also cuter when you put your hands in the pockets. (Maybe all pants are.) The fabric (100% cotton) is not as smooth and crisp as the Slouchy Chino. These seem more casual, but also less wrinkly. Pleasantly surprised, I decided to keep them.

I haven’t worn them out much yet because, you know, 50 to 60 degree San Francisco weather, but I’m prepared now for warmer weather. The few times I’ve worn them, I noticed that they tend to sag a little bit as you wear them. (Definitely can’t put my phone in a pocket as that weighs the pants down and makes them sag.) I sometimes have to pull them back up to my waist. A belt would help with that, but there’s no belt loops. It’s a small annoyance though. I find myself reaching for these on the weekend when I want something comfy, and well, easy, to wear.

Both pants, by the way, are made in ethical factories in China, but in different cities.

UPDATE 6/17/19 – Now that we’ve had some warmer weather and I’ve gotten the chance to wear the Easy Chino some more, here are a few ways I styled them.

This is my comfy and casual running-out-the-door to grab coffee outfit. I think this works because the boxy tee is a bit short so it doesn’t cut me in half.

Here I cuffed the pants. (This is with two folds. They stayed in place no problem.) Rolling up pant legs or shirt sleeves is one of my quick tricks for looking a little more pulled-together. I tucked my tank top in and then wore a gauzy striped shirt over it. I often tie button down shirts in the front like this to make them shorter. Again, it’s all about giving myself better proportions.

I have to say, these pants have really grown on me. They’re true to their name: Easy. I’m contemplating getting them in another color.

UPDATE 7/23/19 – I just realized that I forgot to talk about one aspect of these pants: what they look like when you sit down. Well, they’re bunchy, perhaps because of the pockets, which are a good size. This is not ideal, but it’s not a deal breaker for me (and I’d rather have good pockets).

I’ve been really into this look lately, which I call my faux jumpsuit look.

Also, I wanted to report that on my last trip to Everlane’s San Francisco store, two colors of Easy Chino were available. Out of curiosity, I tried on a size 0 — two sizes down from my regular size. While they looked better in a way (they were slimmer in the leg, though that defeats the point of them being relaxed), they felt a bit tight in the crotch and thighs when I sat down. In any case, the try-on affirmed that going down one size is the right size.

I’ve been wearing the Easy Chino a lot lately and am surprised by how often I reach for them. They’ve loosened up in the waist a little bit (the elastic is not as tight as when I got them) and the black has also faded slightly from washing and air drying. Overall, they seem to be wearing well. I wore them on a four-hour flight recently and they were comfy. Happy with this purchase and am definitely getting more pairs in other colors.

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