The wind blows high and the wind blows low

[venta]

Help me, o LJ.

My trousers are all wearing out. I need new trousers. I want to purchase what I would call "combats" and what the rest of the world seems to call "cargo pants".

The gods of fashion say that combats for girls are not in fashion this year. No one sells them. At least, no one that I can find.

I should like my trousers to be:

- not ridiculously flappy wide, but
- not so skin-tight that you can't actually get anything in the pockets, and
- cut for girl-persons, and
- available from a real, physical shop[*] that I can really, physically go to and try them on.

I should also prefer a plain colour (in fact, I'd prefer black) rather than a print designed to hide camels.

Yes, I know the obvious answer is "army surplus store". However, I've not had a lot of luck of late with them selling trousers designed for girl-persons. I'm sure there are girls in the army, but I'm not sure what happens to their trousers.

Has anyone seen any of these rare creatures in the wild, available for purchase?

[*] Yes, really.

Comments

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I cannot help you, but I must admire the Scottishness of your chosen lyrics :)

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Marks and Spencer? They have these ones but only in khaki or purple.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/Pure-Cotton-Straight-Cargo-Trousers/dp/B0060ETPXS?ie=UTF8&ref=sr_1_2&nodeId=331133031&sr=1-2&qid=1326295828&pf_rd_r=1H0JD5CGGKCF7A6VH17S&pf_rd_m=A2BO0OYVBKIQJM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=43097030&pf_rd_p=215570647&pf_rd_s=related-items-3

[venta.livejournal.com]

Thanks, they certainly look worthy of investigation. My local M&S doesn't have them (or didn't, when I looked there recently), but it sounds like other Ms&S may have to get involved.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Uniqlo is good too. There's a big one on Oxford Street.

(I find their women's sizes a bit on the small and long side, but have had success buying combat shorts in their men's section, and you're a lot taller and slimmer than me anyway).

[venta.livejournal.com]

Uniqlo didn't have any in before Christmas, but I should have another look in now they've probably got new season stuff in. I've never bought clothes there, so no idea where I fit in the sizing spectrum...

[hirez.livejournal.com]

If you're used to English/US vanity sizing, take care. Their stuff is lovely, but accurately sized.

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

Outdoors/hiking stores may well have army surplus type stuff, but with real sizes!

[venta.livejournal.com]

I've been looking in that sort of area, but all I've found are the Craghopper-style trousers. Which have a terribly sensible, worthy, hiking look to them - which I could probably cope with, were it not for the rather sizeable price attached!

[lnr]

Actually I've just bought some in the sale on their own webpages: £14.10 reduced from £47 quid - but they weren't a very combatty style.

http://www.craghoppers.com/buy/kiwi-pro-stretch-trousers-regular-length-190119

They do have other styles too. And being a bit stretch they do fit very comfortably IME - though I'm not sure on this particular pair as they haven't arrived yet - my previous pair was a couple of years old and a size bigger.

[lnr]

These are probably more the style you mean, come in more sizes in black, and are even cheaper:

http://www.craghoppers.com/buy/classic-kiwi-trousers-regular-length-138306

(They also do a short length, but I'd guess you're a regular?)

[lnr]

Oh, but you'd have to find a shop to try them in, bugger. Sorry.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Well, finding a shop which sells Craghoppers shouldn't be too difficult :)

The second pair you posted aren't exactly what I'm after, but they're pretty close so definitely worth bearing in mind, thanks!

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Also Blacks are in the process of going bust so track down their closing down sales!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Oh, are they? I didn't know that. That's a shame. There's a Blacks in my local shopping centre...

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

Administration rather than insolvency, with multiple interested parties circling, if this is anything to go by:

http://www.insolvencynews.com/article/show/Blacks-enters-administration-for-pre-pack-sale_2

[lnr]

Closest I got to this sort of thing was Next cargo shorts last year: which fitted perfect in the waist and bum but were so tight in the legs you couldn't actually move in them. Sorry.

[phlebas.livejournal.com]

Not a fan of combats, but I can sympathise a bit as it seems my bum is the wrong shape for me to buy any trousers this year.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Without wishing to make personal remarks, I'm sure your bum is the correct shape and the trousers being marketed are the wrong shape :)

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

I could do with some combats. Haven't bought any for years. I'm not really adding anything with this post, except that I call them combats too.

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Uniqlo is my usual port of call; I have two pairs of cargoes I bought in sales last year. Of course, this means there will be none in their range this year.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Not that I expect it's very relevant to you, but I've been unable to get good combat trousers of the boy variety this year either. I eventually found a brown pair that I liked for £40 (!!!), but was forced to give up on good black ones.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

For actual combats, Silverman's in Mile End may well be the place to go. I can't recall their URL, and the website was pretty poor last time I was their, but they're basically the shop equivalent of the quartermaster's stores. And they do mail order as well as counter sales.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks for the tip!

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

No problem. They're also pretty much the supplementary supplier to the armed forces - and have a range of different combats.

[venta.livejournal.com]

According to their website (http://www.silvermans.co.uk/VisitUs/tabid/87/Default.aspx) (which I guess has got it together a bit), they are also supplier of footwear to HM the Queen!

Although I am of course now picturing the Queen in a pastel two-piece, hat, pearls and assault boots.

Hmm, Silveraman's seems pricier than I'd hoped, going by the website.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

picturing the Queen in a pastel two-piece, hat, pearls and assault boots
[grin] I can see that!

Hmm, Silveraman's seems pricier than I'd hoped, going by the website.
Aye? I've not bought anything sizable there for a while, but the couple of belts that I picked up last year were pretty reasonable, and the Norge was competitvely priced, too.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and I call them combats too ... unless they're British Army green, in which case they're "Lightweights", for reasons of military nomenclature.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I'm sure telling a man his trousers are lightweights is the sort of thing that might get you called out at the mess :)

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

IIRC, "Trousers, combat, lightweight", though it's been quite a few years since I was in the role of quartermaster.

[dr-bob.livejournal.com]

May be worth poking around TKmaxx just in case as they tend to have a seriously wide variety of styles. Assuming the women's range is like the men's.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yup - a failure in my local TackyMaxx was indeed what prompted this faintly despairing post :)

[serpentstar.livejournal.com]

I usually buy 5.11s from here: http://www.polimil.co.uk/acatalog/Trousers.html