Wearing these pants, to some fashion enthusiasts, is akin to carrying “it” bags.
For many people, pants are just something to wear. But for some fashion enthusiasts, pants are a way to flex their taste and show they are in the know.
To members of this crowd, like Maddie Bailis, wearing certain pants is akin to — and may even edge out — carrying ‘it’ bags.
“It’s a signifier of understanding a fashion moment, like a handbag,” said Ms. Bailis, 33, the director of merchandising for the clothing brand Kule in New York. “Many people have designer bags these days. You can get them in the airport, on The Real Real, you can buy them fake on Canal Street. They don’t have the same weight they once carried.”
Also, prices for luxury handbags have risen so sharply in recent years that even some of the wealthiest consumers are hesitant to buy them, said Luca Solca, a senior analyst in luxury goods at the research firm Bernstein.
Ms. Bailis owns two pairs of pants that she said were easily recognized by women who closely follow fashion. They are the Basic pants from Pleats Please (starting at $375), the line of accordionlike clothing founded by the Japanese designer Issey Miyake, and the Tie pants by Brooke Callahan ($155), a designer in Los Angeles who previously worked in public relations for the French brand A.P.C.
