In Review: TheTieBar Stretch Chinos – $60
About the Author: Stephen Knight is a photographer / videographer who founded its aknightsstyle and Itsaknightslife. His mission is to tell the story of people through style, food, music, and dancing. Catch his stuff on Instagram and YouTube.
Last time I reviewed a product I spoke about the growing trend of brands making functional clothing that can be used for more than one purpose. The Tie Bar is now starting to bridge the gap between office clothing and casual wear with their new chinos.
Three colors. Navy, Granite, and Sandstone. All slim fit.
The Look
At first glance you can tell these will lean a little more professional than casual, but for something that you would be possibly wearing in the office, that’s probably what you would want in the first place. These are not a rumpled and beat up “broken in” style chino. There is a crease down the middle of the leg that comes out of the box and solidifies it’s “sharper” look.
These pants are new in the lineup at The Tie Bar, and launched with three colors: navy, “granite” and “sandstone”. All of them are on the “deeper” side of they color spectrum and should play very well with both semi professional and casual events. On the website they look about a shade lighter than they do in person. They have a standard 4 pocket layout (buttoned on the back), but I would like to have seen an extra small coin pocket at the top (I keep my Airpods case in these pockets usually and have grown accustomed to having them). Meanwhile, and this might seem like a small detail to some, but the fly is really well made. It’s looks stealthy and blends in. Just a small detail I came to appreciate with these.
The Fabric
These pants are supposed to move with you, and with 3% spandex mixed in with cotton, I can confirm that these pants were extremely comfortable to wear. These are supposed to be non-iron, which are pretty hit and miss with me, but take that as you will. No clear indication on where the fabric was sourced from, but it does have a soft touch to it. I’m pretty happy with the way these feel.
Size 30—32 on 5’10” / 170
The Fit
Now I won’t lie, for my personal body type, the tie bar is usually a brand I ALWAYS have to take in with a tailor. This time was different though. I have a 5’10 / 170 lb. frame, and these fit me perfectly (the slim version). There was enough room in the seat area, but they also hugged my upper thighs the perfect amount. The tapering of the leg was pretty solid also, but could probably be slimmed down even more for my personal liking. These sit AT the waist, or maybe just below, and look good with a shirt tucked in or out. (WARNING: I would not recommend wearing these pants with too casual of a shirt, the contrast in style would look out of place. Polo or nicer will work.)
Final Thoughts
Outbound shipping should be free since they’re over $50. Return shipping should cost you $5.99 via a pre-paid label. Now, with Chinos and wool pants all over the map in terms of pricing, these coming in at $60 seems plenty fair, especially considering that these can be used for BOTH the office and for casual events. Although these lean a little more formal than casual, pairing these with a nice button down or even a polo can really allow you to do what these were created for: use for both work and play.
