The London Lounge

Gents,

I am in need of expanding on my casual wardrobe and I've been searching for some decent cord trousers. I've commissioned two pairs from British MTO manufacturer Bookster, but their production time is somewhat underwhelming, so I have begun considering to buy off the peg.

Does anyone know a good source? I am looking for high rise and not too slim cut. None of these a dominating the market at the moment, unfortunately, so I hope someone can point me in the right direction

cheers.

I am happy with those I have bought from New and Lingwood.

Cordings.
Frog in Suit

One of your members in the UK advised us to use this firm for high rise cords:

http://pakeman.co.uk/menswear-trousers.php

Michael

Thank you for the replies.

Something was failing with Pakeman's payment service, so I tried Cordings.

The trousers seems quite solid; the cloth is nice and heavy and the details look reasonably well done. The rise is somewhat lower than what I would prefer ideally, but it's okay for casual trousers. Their shipping was extremely fast. I'll try out Pakeman's soon-ish as well.

If you find the time, would you take a tape and measure the rise, from the trousers' top in front (upper end of waistband) to the crotch seam (and tell us the trouser's waist size for reference)?

I just received a friendly answer from Hoggs of Fife, saying the measurement for the moleskins was 32cm, and 30cm for the heavyweight corduroy trousers. I'd asked about a 38" waist.

I'd bet the Andover Shop will have (or could have made) the thing you're looking for. They can do higher rise, and will gladly do forward pleats.

I would suggest Bill's Khakis corduroy pants. I purchased a pair of the Cordings model. I am a very big fan of their moleskins, but the fit of the cords are different. By the way, Bill's are made in the USA, and are bomber gear.

Got a friendly and quick answer from Cordings and Pakeman's, too. I had asked: could you tell me how high the rise of your moleskin and your cord trousers is (38" waist), from the upper end of the waistband to the crotch seam?

Cordings: moleskin 13.5" [34.29 cm], corduroy 12.5" [31.75 cm]
Pakeman: moleskin and corduroy front rise 12.25" [31.1 cm], back rise 16.5" [41.9 cm]
Hoggs of Fife: moleskin 32 cm [12.6"], corduroy 30 cm [11.8"] (heavyweight corduroy)

I keep in mind that measuring techniques may vary.

I wear Hoggs of Fife all the time for outdoor work etc. Very tough and comfortable they are but I have found that I must buy at least one size too large as they have shrunk on me at least.
Pakeman Moleskins are a bit dressier than Hoggs, and I wear them for much of the rest of the time, they are very comfortable but liable to a lot of creasing as they seem to be a lot lighter.
Cordings I have not tried but am now tempted as they have a slightly different grass green colour which I think I like.

Are you serious about the shrinking, or did you mean they, er, shrunk on you now that winter's here? Wouldn't ask generally, but it might make a difference for possible orders.

Subjectively, would you say there's a differenec in fit, especially concerning the rise?

Haven't bought any for two years so maybe they have changed. But I had to buy size 36 to shrink to my 34 waist.
Pakeman don't seem to shrink but I would hot wash before turning up.

Thanks!

My Moss Green Cordings are 10" from crotch seam to top of waistband and that's for a 30" waist. That's about 2" less than what I would prefer, but 12" rises seem a rarity in the RTW business. I look forward to receiving my MTO ones from Bookster. They have now been under way for 12 weeks, but here's hoping they'll be done before Christmas.

As for shrinking, I'm curious to see how much my Cordings shrink since I was foolish enough to have them altered before washing. Fortunately, there's still room for a slight shrinkage waist-wise, but I couldn't afford losing much lenght.

If they shrink, they will do so lengthwise, so consider having them dry cleaned instead.