alternative clothing

ChiPants

Gramicci

kilts

sporran

WW I sporran

One of my passions has been Emergency Medicine and the related rescue arts. Starting during my adventures in Boston, my rock climbing gear fetish included specialized clothing. Soon after I moved to the San Francisco and joined the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit I encountered Gramicci clothing.

Most interesting to me were their pants and shorts. Both made of the same cotton twill in a variety of earth tones, they feature a similar type of crotch gusset as the earlier ChiPants. (Gramicci claim a patent; I searched but couldn't quickly find it.)

The pants are very, very comfortable. This style couldn't be used in any mildly dressy situation, but that works fine for my lifestyle.

So why did I stop buying them? Well, that seamless crotch gusset panel wears out much more quickly for me. I'd have a good-looking pair of pants, but without a crotch. Yes, I could have had a tailor repair them (at a cost similar to buying a new one), or perhaps experimented with my vintage Singer sewing machine, but I have a life (and offspring). Time is too precious, and I got too unhappy with the piles of almost-good pants in my closet. (I burned a few of them each year at Burning Man, giving them a busy course of Ranger duty before the big burn, but I'd have prefered pants without this design flaw.)

My replacement? When bifurcated pants are necessary I use Popper's khaki battle-dress uniform (BDU) pants. They made them for me when I was in the service, and again when I'm a civilian (and might not want that natty camoulflage pattern all the time :-). Ripstop cotton blend, comfy, inexpensive.

When bifurcated pants are unnecessary, Utilikilt.