Smart Joggers with Drawstring Waist and Straight Leg, One Size

Smart joggers you can wear to work

Italy Moda files these under sweatpants, and they are cut like smart joggers: a high waist with a tie, straight legs and a crease down the front. The maker suggests them for everyday outfits and for more formal work looks too.

The fabric is 55% polyester, 40% viscose and 5% spandex. There is one size, 95 cm long, with a waist that the table gives as 64 to 110 cm. Five colours are available now: light beige, greige, pink, brown and off-white.

At a glance

The piece: one cut, five colours

Each colour has its own model number at the wholesaler, from 210952 to 210960, and the description is nearly word for word the same for all of them. So is the size table. You are choosing a colour and nothing else.

The maker names four things: the high waist, the tie that lets you adjust it, the straight legs and the side slip pockets. The photos add two details the text leaves out. There are small pleats at the front under the waistband, and a stitched crease runs down each leg.

The supplier calls three of the light shades simply beige, so we describe them here by what the photos show.

Who they're for

For you if you want the comfort of a jogger and can't turn up in grey marl. The crease and the pleats do the work of a tailored trouser, and the waistband still gives.

One size sounds generous, and the waist range is. The other numbers are fixed, though: 104 cm across the hips and 95 cm in length. If your hips measure more than that, these will be tight.

Closer look: what the maker states and what the photos show

• High waist with a tie for adjustment (maker's data)
• Classic straight legs (maker's data)
• Side slip pockets (maker's data)
• Smooth, plain fabric in a blend of viscose, elastane and polyester (maker's data)
• Gathered waistband with a white drawstring (photos)
• Small front pleats and a stitched crease down each leg (photos)
• Hem at or just above the ankle on the model (photos)

Fabric and feel: viscose blend with stretch

The composition is 55% polyester, 40% viscose and 5% spandex. The maker says the blend is soft and breathable. With that much viscose a fabric usually hangs more heavily than plain jersey, and you can see that in the way the leg falls straight from the hip.

The spandex gives the stretch you expect from joggers. The surface is smooth and plain, with no brushed sweatshirt look, and that is a large part of why the trousers pass for something smarter.

Fit and silhouette: one size, read the numbers

The table gives a length of 95 cm, a hips width of 104 cm and a waist width of 64-110 cm. We read the waist range as the waistband relaxed and stretched. The tie closes the gap for a smaller waist.

On the model the hem lands at or just above the ankle, so on a shorter woman the trousers will be full length. The table also has a column called inseam with 32 cm in it. That can't be the inside leg of trousers this long, and it is more likely the rise, the distance from crotch to waistband. A rise of that height matches the high waist in the photos.

Size chart (cm)

Source: the maker's size table, the same for every colour. The column it labels inseam shows 32 cm, which is too short for an inside leg on trousers 95 cm long; it is more likely the rise.

Styling: heels or trainers

The photos show both directions. With pointed pumps or block-heel sandals the trousers look like a soft pantalon. With chunky white trainers they go back to being joggers.

For work, tuck in a shirt and let the drawstring hang, or tie it and hide it under a fine knit. The brown pairs well with cream and the pink is good with white or grey. The off-white pair is the dressiest of the five, and the one to keep away from red wine.

Occasions

These are trousers for long days: a working day at a desk, a train journey, a day of errands that ends in a restaurant. The maker says casual to more elegant, and that range is real.

We would not take them to the gym. They are called sweatpants, but the crease and the viscose blend are made for sitting and walking.

Care: follow the label

The maker's data we receive has no care instructions, so please go by the label sewn into the trousers. We would rather say that than guess.

Two general habits help. Tie the drawstring in a loose bow before washing so it can't slip out of its channel, and hang the trousers by the hem to dry so the crease stays sharp.

The wow detail: a crease on a jogger

A stitched crease on soft trousers is a small trick that changes how they read. It stays put after washing because it is sewn in, and it draws a straight line from pleat to hem. People see the line before they see the drawstring.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. The causes are matched to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals set by the United Nations, and you decide where your share goes.

Our promise

Ships from the maker's wholesale partner in Poland, inside the EU, with tracking. The wholesaler lists up to 3 days to prepare an order; within the EU delivery usually takes 2–7 business days after dispatch. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 14 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as the trousers are unworn and still have their tags. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 14 days and we refund you.

More trousers are in our trousers collection.