Big Fits With fadepants
Reviewing a pair of one of my favorite baggy pants and the brand that made them!
Have you ever been on a mission to get a specific item of clothing, and even though it seemed relatively easy to do at the time, every piece you saw just didn’t do it for you? For a minute, I was trying to expand my collection of baggy jeans, and even though a pair of them seemed rather easy to get, each pair that crossed my path had something about them that didn’t feel right—sometimes, you can tell just by looking at the picture that a particular pair of pants will be perfect for you, and at the time I didn’t feel that.
That was until I stumbled upon fadepants thanks to the IG explore page—honestly, it’s quiet for Zuck, but the explore page can like get it. I’m always going to stan independent designers who are making cool clothes, and if I’m being real, I’d rather give my money to someone more connected to the culture than a massive brand who’s just trying to make a quick buck. Sometimes it feels like brands are just doing the opposite of what’s hot right now, and when you find someone who’s tapped into a specific culture while creating some great clothing, you have no choice but to sit back and listen.
Let’s break it down before we go any further; I was looking for some serious baggy jeans that were made with a mid to lightweight fabric—I needed something for skating because doing so in heavyweight denim with no proper leg room is not an option. Yeah, I definitely could have got myself a pair of Big Boys from Polar, but I wanted something different. When I saw that fadepants was making a variety of great-looking baggy pants and that the creator behind this brand was a skater, I knew I was right at home.
Unfortunately for me, the pants I wanted were sold out, so I was stuck waiting around for a new drop to hit my feed. During that time, I ended up connecting with Tevin, the brains behind fadepants, and he ended up blessing me with a pair of his upcoming 12oz pants that will be dropping on September 28th!
These pants are great for both chilling and skating—a perfect combination if you ask me—now, I know that a lot of you don’t skate, so this information might be irrelevant, but those that do will know what I mean when I’m talking about legroom; it’s important! The chocolate brown color with hints of red turned these into a unique color. They’ve been really fun to wear with a variety of different color shoes I own—something I don’t usually do. If you’ve been an avid reader of the SNL blog, then you know that contrast stitching has a special place in my heart to the point where I can never say no to owning something that features this detail. Flower pocket lining is a fun little touch that reminds me of my grandma’s place; I love this detail. Something also crucial that I think fadepants did right was the size of the pockets; they are big, but not big enough where you can feel the lining swooshing on the inside of the pant!
Enough about my thoughts on the pants, though, let’s get down to business! The history behind fadepants starts during the pandemic, when Tevin should have focused on his architectural studies but instead ended up using most of his time on repairing the pants he ripped skating using only a needle and a thread. After a while and lots of practice, Tevin discovered his passion for sewing, but the real level-up moment was when he secured his first sewing machine.
"I made tote bags and leather pouches using only a needle and my hands. I discovered I had a passion for sewing, my mom bought me a sewing machine and the next day, I made my first pair of jeans!” - Tevin.
The pandemic/lockdown was a time when almost everyone was picking up some hobby, and while many of us ended up going back to our regular routines after things lifted, many emerging designers stuck it out and have now found new passions with a solid following behind them that support their ideas; fadepants is one of those ideas.
“It was out of necessity that I made my own baggy pants. Finding some in my city wasn’t really easy, and it was always a struggle. The pants were always too large at the waist, and I always had to put on a belt while trying to stuff extra fabric inside, so it was important to design my own pants to be baggy with a fitting waist.”
Going back to my original comment about baggy pants—It might seem easy to find a pair of baggies, but little things like the waistline, inseam, or whatever else will make this mission much harder than you might think. Having a brand like fadepants come in with the right mindset led to the creation of amazing pants that end up fitting perfectly. I’m pretty sad that I missed out on the past releases, but hopefully, we will see more options as the brand continues to grow. Currently, fadepants operates out of a garage—a real Apple moment—of Tevin’s home, where each pant is conceptualized, designed, created, and later shipped to their happy customers.
The next drop is coming on September 28th via the fadepants website, featuring the chocolate/brown jeans made out of 100% cotton, 12oz tainted denim, assembled using polyester thread, and the fun flower lining I spoke about earlier. Although the brand is relatively new, it’s been really exciting to watch Tevin do his thing and create a great pair of baggy pants that I really enjoy. I’m thrilled to see how fadepants will continue to grow down the line!
What’s next for fadepants? Glad you asked:
“I really want to throw pop-up stores all around the world and finally meet the community. I’m going to keep making pants but I also have projects for some goodies and accessories, I just want to do it the right way and try to find local suppliers.
I haven’t thought about collabs yet as I’m still trying to focus on myself and Fadepants’ identity, but I’m really curious to see what could be brought to the table if that would ever happen, also, working with new people would be an exciting experience to me!”
In case you missed it, check out last week’s newsletter on the hottest coats to get right now—
Love this article!
Saw your post about these a few weeks back - thanks for the tip, definitely copping 👍