Everything is high rise! EVERYTHING! No, wait. I’m sorry. That’s a lie. Everything is high rise unless it’s ULTRA HIGH RISE. I have long legs and a short torso, so I really don’t need to emphasize that. Additionally, I have an apron belly and I never feel comfortable having it on display like it is in high rise pants.

I work in tech for a large company and have to be in office 4 days a week. My office is fairly casual, but I’d like to dress a little on the nicer side since I’m in management and hoping to keep climbing (dress for the job you want, and all that). I think quality jeans are fine since I can pair them with a nice blouse and a blazer, but please. My kingdom for mid or even low rise jeans in the 14-16 range 🙏

I've been on a quest for the past couple months to improve my work wardrobe, starting with my pants options, and I thought I would share it with you all.
Context

• I'm 32F, 5'6", 180 lbs. I carry most of my weight in my stomach and hips, and fall on the pear/apple end of the body fruit spectrum. I can wear anywhere from a 12-16 in pants.

• I work in a business-casual office that leans business (ie, no jeans) and am in a creative role within a stodgy industry. I'm trying to level up my office wardrobe to ensure I'm taken seriously for leadership roles.

• I live in Chicago, so being warm in the winter is of the utmost importance (no cold ankle bullshit).

Where I started: my current work pants wardrobe

I pulled out all my fall/winter pants and set aside the ones that didn't fit anymore to donate. I was left with the options below, which leaned a little more causal or were only good for very specific use cases.

• Old Navy olive green, bootcut corduroys (size 12) – like, but casual

• Loft Brown wide-leg corduroys (size 12 curvy fit) – like, but casual

• Ann Klein black, slim leg crepe ankle pants (size 14) – good for dressy occasions, but no stretch or pockets

• J. Crew Factory black ponte pants (size L) – need to retire these, but they're comfy and acceptable with a long sweater

• Brass black wide leg jeans that don't really look like jeans (size 12) – like, but casual

• Vintage wool black and white houndstooth trousers – need to get hemmed

My requirements

Clearly I needed a couple pairs of slightly dressier business pants. I wanted a straight or slim leg pant with functional pockets in a neutral mid-weight fabric that I could wear year round. Ideally, I wanted to be able to wear the same pair of pants with boots, flats, or sneakers so I was looking for around a 29" inseam. I liked the idea of something with elastic in the waist for comfort, but didn't want it to take away from the level of professionalism. My price range was up to $120.

What I tried

***indicates kept. This list doesn't include the half-dozen pairs I tried in-store at Macy's because I can't remember the brands.

• J. Crew Kate straight-leg pant in four-season stretch ($118) – Ordered a size 14 and they were too small in the waist. High-quality fabric. Didn't reorder in the next size up because the leg was very straight and I wanted to find something slightly more slim.

• Eloquii Kady double-weave straight pant ($80) – Ordered a size 14 and they fit pretty well, maybe a little big in the hips. They looked more like more chinos than I wanted, and the fabric felt a bit cheap. I almost kept these as an interim solution until I found something better.

• Eloquii 9-To-5 stretch work pant ($80) – Ordered a size 14 and they were too small everywhere. Fabric was generally meh.

• Eloquii straight leg doublecloth pant ($90) – Ordered a size 14 and they fit but were on the verge of being too big. Nice fabric, nice drape. I liked these, but definitely would consider them wide-leg. Didn't keep.

• ***Target (A New Day) high-rise tapered ankle knit pants ($25) – Ordered a size L on a whim after seeing them in the store in a different color. I knew these weren't what I was looking for, but I was getting tired of shopping. Super comfy, but wouldn't consider these office-appropriate for me. Kept as an elevated sweatpants for WFH.

• Abercrombie Curve Love Sloane ($90) – Tried on a size 33 Short in store in a color I didn't like. Good fit, okay fabric (a little lightweight for my preference). I was interested in ordering black or navy but they were always out of stock in my size online. Might still pursue these if I can get over the millennial mindfuck of shopping at Abercrombie as an adult.

• ***Uniqlo smart ankle pants ($50) – Ordered an XL and XXL; the XL just barely buttoned, the XXL was pretty perfect. I had been on the fence about ordering from Uniqlo because they run small and I had trouble reading their size chart, but took a chance because I wanted some new HeatTech leggings anyway. These pants wound up checking almost all my boxes. At a 28" inseam, I may not be able to wear all my boots with them, but they also come in a tall if I want more length. Just ordered two additional colors because the price point is low enough.

Lessons learned

1. Decide on your requirements – It was easy for me to make decisions because I had a clear spec list. I would recommend developing this after fully assessing what you already own and where the gaps are. If I hadn't done this, I think I would have gotten distracted by wide-leg cuts since that's what I gravitate toward and have an easier time finding, but my wardrobe audit suggested I didn't need those.

2. Kiss a lot of frogs – I was in the fortunate position of being able to decide that I would be in a buy/return cycle for about six weeks. I normally hate return shipping fees, but elected to conduct this search almost entirely online to expedite the process.

3. Try new brands – I had never shopped at Eloquii before and was pleasantly surprised even though I didn't wind up keeping anything. Especially as a mid-size woman, it can be demoralizing for the biggest "straight" sizes to frequently be too small – it was a nice psychological break for almost everything in that package to fit or be too big. On the flipside, my keepers were a brand I had largely written off as too small for me. Do I love buying something in an XXL? Not really, but I also found myself caring less as this experiment went on because I just wanted some damn pants!