Cheryl Shops

I tend to harp on The Row a bit; I don't think what they're doing is super original—which is taking classic items and making the best possible version of them, at obscene prices—however you can't deny how influential they are on fashion at the moment. (Yeah, I'll admit I'm eyeing those flip-flops too, but I'll be ordering the Amazon dupe instead.) We can thank their Gala pant for the proliferation of pajama pants on the market the last few years; I was resistant to this silhouette at first because thin elastic waistbands usually don't sit right on me (I am a little thicker through the middle and also in my 40s) and call me old-fashioned, but to me an elastic waistband plus wide-leg pant equals pajamas. And while the teenagers who attend the high school on my block are not shy about wearing pajama pants in public, again, I am in my 40s, which means I'm either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. Then again, the upside of being in your 40s is that you don't care as much what people think about you, so I decided to give the pajama pant silhouette a try. Of course, I don't have $1,090 in my budget, so I set out to find a good dupe of the Row's Gala pant. 

The Zara textured weave pant

I had been eyeing J.Crew's Stratus pant but having recently had a poor experience with them, I decided to keep looking. The textured weave pant caught my eye at Zara primarily because the green color on was on sale, and when I tried it on, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it was. The fabric is a really lightweight viscose/polyamide blend with a lightly crinkled texture to it that looks intentional, not like you were too lazy to iron it. The rise is not too high, which I appreciate as a short-torso person. I find the inseam to be on the longer side; I am tempted to take up the hem an inch but that feels almost like a waste of money for such an inexpensive pant. (Then again, after seeing these photos, I still might.) As a bonus, they have pockets, which I was not expecting—they're on the shallow side but better than nothing. I took a medium, which is my usual Zara size, and as you can see, they're quite roomy, but that's how they're supposed to fit. Like pajamas!

The Row vs. Zara

You may be thinking, "These look nothing like the Gala pant," and you wouldn't be entirely wrong. There are a few notable differences. For one, the Zara pant has a drawstring and the Gala doesn't. In fact, the entire waistband is different—Zara's has more of a cinched, paperbag effect while The Row's ends with the elastic at the top. The other biggie is the texture; Zara's has a more exaggerated vertical crinkle whereas The Row's is more flat, with a very subtle honeycomb effect. The Gala also does not have pockets, which is a deal-breaker for me. For $1,000+, someone should be able to figure out how to put in pockets. (C'mon, even J.Crew did it.) Which leads me to my biggest point: is the Gala pant worth $1,090? If you can afford it, probably yes. But to me that seems like a ridiculous amount of money for a pair of synthetic-blend pants with an elastic waistband and no pockets. Just saying. 

What to wear with them

Because I don't want to look like the high school kids down the block (ed. note: no need to worry), I went ultra-polished with the rest of my outfit. My lady jacket is also from Zara and might be one of my all-time favorite Zara purchases—reminder, it's ok to shop at fast fashion stores if you are planning to wear what you buy there for a long time. Because these pants are on the longer side, they benefit from a little heel, so I added a pointy-toe slingback (yep, the same ones I was wearing last week). Finally, I saw a woman carrying the smaller version of my circa-2010 Marc Jacobs bag a few weeks ago, so I pulled mine out of storage. I had forgotten how much I love this bag—just like the high school kids, I am into vintage too! 

OUTFIT DETAILS: Zara jacket Toteme top (current version) | Zara textured weave pants | Bells & Becks Aurora shoes (c/o) | old Marc Jacobs bag (similar on The RealReal)