Dishin’ with the Diva

Adventures in Packing – Ex Officio Convertible Pants

So, not to brag or anything, but one of the happy side effects of travel for me tends to be weight loss. When traveling, I do a whole lot more walking than I do at home, plus I’m much more active and tend not to spend much time bored, so I don’t snack as much as I usually do.

Now, I own a couple of pairs of convertible pants (which have the zippers on the legs so you can make them into shorts), but I only brought one pair with me. They’re by Ex Officio, and I bought them a couple of years ago when I was a couple of clothing sizes larger than I am now. Thing is, the waist on them still fits about right, even though the cut of the rest of the pant is baggy enough that they have a certain resemblance to clown attire.

Yes, there is elastic in the waist, which I must have been stretching to get them to fit before. But to me, if they’re going to fit right in the first place, the elastic shouldn’t have to stretch. That’s more for mobility or those days when you have a little more of the local cuisine than maybe you should have. Shouldn’t be a day-to-day necessity.

That’s not to say such pants are a bad buy. They weigh next to nothing and can roll into a surprisingly small bundle, so they take up very little precious luggage space. But if you’re in the market for a pair for yourself, know that the Ex Officio brand may be a bit smaller in the waist than your average pair of khakis.