Attn: Mark McNairy x ACL & Co. Painter Pants

Painter, or carpenter, pants are usually viewed in the same light as cargo pants as most people have a bad taste in their mouth from all the terrible versions they have seen over the years.  It's tough to think about this stuff without conjuring up images of whatever discount warehouse store your mom used to take you back to school shopping.  The best thing to come out of all the recent trending styles some of us have grown to love or hate is the rethinking of classic rugged aesthetics.  A perfect example of this are the painter pants Mark McNairy has done for ACL & Co.  I've been fortunate enough to see these pants in personal and as it stands now are the only version of the classics I could picture myself wearing.  The fit, like most of Mark's pants, is spot on - it's slimmed up, but not even remotely approaching skinny nuthugger syndrome.  I guess you could call it a slim straight if you really want to get into semantics. Regardless, it's a confident fit that would work on most, if not all, guys.  The details and fabric are typical McNairy fare.  The cotton twill is sturdy yet breathable and lends itself to year round wear.  Pockets and loops adorn the pant legs and seat - some extremely functional (carrying cell phones, keys, pocket knife, pogs, what have you), others admittedly for form.  Overall, it was tough not to pull the trigger, but after buying some new Bastian gear I'm not exactly lighting my cubans with burning bearer bonds, although that would be kinda awesome.

-L.A.S