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Work pants with soft, elastic waist

Around The Farm
#21

To get started, I’ve ordered the terry hanes (love that price!) and some well reviewed (also cheap) yoga leggings. Am eyeballing these overalls:

They don’t look to have any elastic at the waist, what do you guys think? I’ll probably pick up a pair or two next time I see them on sale. I wish the sizing was like the pants instead of s/m/l!

I was a little worried anything with a drawstring risked riding on the hip bones? The scrubs are juuuust past my “take a flyer” price point :joy: so I don’t want to go nuts buying different styles or brands that aren’t going to work.

A lot of people who have this procedure do wear dresses instead of pants, but I’m always FREEZING and need the cover/warmth of pants, even in summer. I’m the kind of person who’s in long sleeves until about 80 degrees and it’s got to be over 100 for me to wear shorts. That’s been one concern with scrubs, it seems they’re often pretty thin?

This is just such a weird question, thank you all for helping me work through it!

2 Likes
#22

I’ve been wearing the Hanes for 5 years and Amazon says I’ve ordered 11 pair, so that’s how much I like them. LOL They’ve all worn out in the seat or knees after heavy use and I’ve never had any issues with stitching. If you think they’ll work after washing, I would suggest ordering more right away. They can disappear for months at a time or the price will randomly shoot up to $25.

I’ll have to look for it but I know of a sheep producer that loves Carhartt overalls and made a “fashion” video about some new ones.

#23

Nevermind, she was just replacing a worn out pair with the same and showing their leggings.

Amazon does have some cheaper options for overalls but I’d stick with Duluth if you already like them.

#24

Thankfully, Duluth runs sales so regularly that no one should ever pay full price for any of their stuff. Those overalls ARE a bit eye wateringly expensive at full price (although I have worn through very few pairs of pants over the years, they do hold up well.) I usually buy at 30-40% off and never have to wait too long!

I’ll definitely build out the wardrobe as I find stuff stuff that fits & feels good. I didn’t really expect to need different pants past the initial incision line healing period but WOW those screws are RIGHT THERE and it really doesn’t feel good at all to have any amount of pressure on them. :confounded:

3 Likes
#25

That’s probably a solid plan. Rubbing around screw heads sounds distressing.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

#26

I don’t see any elastic in those. If I recall correctly, you wear a very small size pants so I’d just stick with the smalls. (god does this sound creepy, but you had mentioned Duluth not making a size small enough for you and I was looking for a gift for my mom and used your sizing advice to order it… ok that still sounds creepy I’m so sorry…)

Coveralls are the ones that end up having the elastic at the waist more than overalls.

Best of luck, and keep us posted!

#27

For on the farm, your regular pants a size or two bigger and suspenders may work.
Some nice cut sweats, not the baggy ones to go to town.
No one blinks at those as street clothes any more.

#28

:joy::joy::joy:

No worries, you don’t sound creepy. I am really pretty thin, and did post about having a hard time with Duluth’s smallest size still being too large last year. I feel like there’s a little foreshadowing here, because what was bothering me so much then was the belt that was keeping my pants up riding on my hip bones & causing bruising. I bounce between 2 & 4 depending on season and the 2s get big at the end of summer. With enough pudding cups I might get up to a 6 before I can drop the crutches :sweat_smile:

1 Like
#29

For something to wear out and about, in the barn or in public, cheap jeggings might do the trick.

I basically live in these: https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/west-loop-dark-denim-leggings-medium/ID=prod6158868-product

With only two pockets on the jeggings, the overalls are a much better option for actually working. But the two back pockets on the jeggings have been surprisingly functional for phones, etc. I do chores in them, I ride in them when I don’t feel like putting on breeches, then I wear them into town and don’t feel embarrassed when I run into a dozen people I know.

#31

I have to laugh that most of us would probably not think twice about dropping $$ on something to make animals comfy, but draw the line at $20 on pants for ourselves. :rofl:

I forgot that I ordered these leggings a couple years ago. They are really comfortable and a brief look now showed some of the size/color combinations are in the $10-15 range. They have nice pockets and tend to stay up better when loaded.

1 Like
#32

Not sure if the waistband would be in the right spot for what you need, but for what it’s worth I have Carhartt Force leggings that have a zipper pocket that is big enough for my phone (and additional pockets that hold plenty of horse/dog treats). They are a nice study fabric too, and come in different weights.

I haven’t had any issues with them falling down when the pockets are loaded up, but I’m pretty hourglass shaped so that helps. :smile:

Carhartt Leggings

#33

Any overalls will do. Most farm stores ( Family Farm Center , Orschelns , Dickey Bub in my areas) carry regular denim or insulated once the colder weather sets in. They would be considerably less costly than the firehouse brand and you have the ability to try them on before you buy.

Anything with that stretchy fabric will be comfortable but you will also have all manner of barn related gunk stuck endlessly to them every time you get near enough…

1 Like
#34

I will vouch for Duluth in having consistent fit, durability and great customer service. Occasionally they miss the mark but their standard items are usually a good deal when on sale. Even at the regular price of $100, the overalls are a bargain with the generous return policy.

#35

I just keep stealing my SOs spent overalls with holes and such in them. I think most of his are dickies. I sew the holes and cut the legs shorter. Perfect for gardening.

They are men’s so the crotch length is long. I lust after a ladies cut pair, but have so many of his old ones I can’t justify it. Tell me if you like the Duluth ones, I think I can smell a pair for Christmas! :slight_smile:

#36

I have about 15 pairs of the high waisted version, regular and Capri, I pretty much live in them. I’m fairly high waisted and as I recall the elastic waist sure above my hip bone. Also they have a wide waist which keeps them put

#37

Patagonia is having a sale. I have some terrific hiking pants from them. Sort of like these. Might work? They sit a bit low.

I have been living in the Lands End utility pants this year. Great pockets, nice midweight fabric, look good enough to run errands. Never thought I’d love elastic waist pants but there ya go. :joy:

#38

@Simkie is there a way to create padding above & below the screws, such as with adhesive felt pads like these

Something like this might increase the range of possibilities. I worry that even if you size up the overalls-- as you move around and work it’s inevitable that the stiff fabric will end up brushing against your surgical area.

May do better with a lightweight blousy version like this (and just be resigned to replace them frequently because you’ll be hard on them) https://m.lightinthebox.com/en/p/women-s-fashion-chino-breathable-soft-daily-weekend-overalls-jumpsuit-pants-plain-full-length-pocket-black-green-gray_p8702974.html

#39

@EssexFells padding over the screw site might help, but could be a pita for every day? I’ll keep that idea in mind, though!

Pants are kinda in a few categories:

Sweats for the next couple weeks while the incision heals. Think I have this pretty well covered.

Pants for real world activities where sweats won’t cut it. Incision will be healed but pants can’t sit on my hips. I’m bony enough that my regular pants hang on my hip bones, and now they’ll be hanging on the screws. Youch. Yoga pants? Fancy sweats? Scrubs? I’d normally wear jeans, but they sit on my hips. Maybe super stretchy & soft high waisted jeans would work, but we’re really taking about leggings then right?

Work pants for when the horses come home. That won’t happen for awhile, but I’m a planner! :joy: The incision won’t be a thing at this point but pants still can’t ride on hip bones.

I’ve talked to others with this surgery, and it’s leggings and sweats until the screws come out (12 ish months) but they don’t have the “need tough pants for work” issue.

I’m flying a bit blind because I can’t like… go out and try stuff on. I also not in an area with farm stores beyond TSC, and they’re not exactly well stocked.

So far I’ve picked up the terry hanes, which have been fine for hanging out at home, but I should have ordered a small & would really prefer a sturdy elastic waist vs a drawstring.

Also got leggings–I think the brand above but super similar if not–and the waist feels good. I think they’ll work later but are awfully hard to get in and out of right now. It’ll be a bit before I can reasonably wear stuff that I have to peel off.

And ordered the scrubs I linked, but they’re not here yet. I’m hopeful about the seemingly high waist with thick elastic and loose legs.

Once the Duluth overalls go on sale, I’ll pick those up, too, and see. As long as they’re not hanging on the screws, it should work…(hopefully!)

It’s a start, haha! And more thanks to everyone weighing in, lots of angles here and I appreciate the insight.

#40

I typically leave the drawstring hanging, loosely tied or one side got sucked into the waistband during a wash cycle and I pulled it out the rest of the way. You may need a different size if the pants are drawstring dependent.

#41

Yeah, should’ve ordered a small. I always have a hard time with sizing :-/

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