Shoddy sewing, impulsive behavior, & “Replacer’s Remorse”

I recently posted about “Looking for travel pants recommendations,” mentioning TravelSmith’s “8 days a week” slacks.  I’d purchased a pair and was wondering if anyone could offer up a glowing recommendation for another option.  After posting, the hem on one of the legs on the ’8 days’ slacks decided to unravel a bit (uh, for the record, they didn’t make it 8 days before this happened).  As is my habit with any clothing I purchase online, I’d stuffed the plastic/Tyvek bag (and the receipt) under a stack of tee shirts in my closet.  Out it came, and off they went – along with a note that I’d like a direct replacement.

And I’ve regretted it since.  The slacks were nice enough, but I was bugged by the fact that the hidden zippered pocket is on the front left of the slacks (I’m right handed), and mostly because the entire experience left me cold.  What’s worse, when I mentioned this experience in the post’s comments,  reader Paul Z offered that he’s experienced similar issues with TS products.  Perfect!

Several commenters mentioned REI adventure pants as well as Royal Robbins.  So naturally, given this input, I ordered a pair of Orvis pleated Microfiber Travel Pants.  It goes without saying that they’re more expensive than the TravelSmith slacks – hopefully they’ll be of higher quality!   But I rushed the decision; I’d bookmarked the page for these slacks and the REI Adventure slacks, but was bugged by the fact that the zippered pockets on the REI pants, although located on both sides, were below the standard pockets.  Without a great deal of deliberation, I ordered the Orvis slacks.

A few moments ago I went back and read the user reviews of these slacks on the Orvis site.  One of the first comments?  A complaint that the zippered pocket is on the left side.  Trust me:  I’m not clever enough to make up this stuff.

So, to review:  I now have two pair of slacks due here, both of which sport a feature I don’t like, and one of which fell apart after being worn a handful of times. Lovely.

A lesson here?  Take your time and do your research when buying online… or anywhere.  I let my workload and impulsiveness get the best of me in this case, and may very well end up with a third pair of slacks before this adventure reaches its conclusion.

Eventually, I’ll sort it out…   and will report back to you.

The Fine Print:  I have no connection to any of the firms mentioned in this post