Years ago in a thrift store, I found the perfect pants. The formal look of slacks but without the obnoxious vertical slit pockets. The stiffer fabric and sensible pockets of jeans but with a more genteel cut. I now know these were golf pants, and I wear them every day for work.
I have an upcoming wedding, semiformal, indoors. I’m not in the bridal party, nor am I escorting anybody in the bridal party. Can I wear golf pants to this event, or do I need to go buy slacks, or even a full suit? I’m not opposed to buying a suit, I just want to know what my options are.
Edit: The specific pants I wear to work are these but I might buy something a little nicer for the event.
Can you now describe what you think a genteel cut is, and what you think a contemporary cut is? A lot of people think that “contemporary” means “slim,” which is just not true. And I still have no idea what you mean by “genteel” here.
Okay, these are polyester five pocket pants with no crease. They are extremely casual. I would not wear anything remotely like this to a wedding, myself… although I wouldn’t wear these in any event, but I suppose that’s a separate issue… Try to find some chinos with a crease. Maybe from J. Crew? Eh, all I’m seeing on sale is these, but they’re straight up white, so maybe something else.
In 2023, people do both of those things in sweatpants. Dress standards have melted away for most of life. And that’s mostly a good thing, but it gets tricky when you need to know what to wear.