Loose Leaf : Hacking the Coe Trouser
and a mini fall mood board
This one is FREE TO ALL! Enjoy!
I was speaking with my partner a few weeks back about the evolution in pants in recent years (he is also a designer). The Covid era saw us in sweats, the hibernation years. Post Covid the term “hard pants” came into play which we quickly adapted after too much time in fleece and spandex.
We went back to our staples, our more workwear inspired silhouettes. There was the explosion of double fronts/double knees that have just as quickly disappeared from my algorithm. Then the rise in jeans making, a workwear staple that will never go out of vogue.
Now it seems we are wanting to dress up a bit more and broaden our fabric horizon for lower body silhouettes. There’s a new curiosity in tailoring with the release of more “trouser” styles that I am here for it deeply.
It does however make me wonder how long this will last and I personally hope to slow down with diving in trend first. Then on the business side of things I’m wondering, how can I best contribute to needs vs wants? Is there a limit? Or does the limit not exist? What is next for the Daughter Judy pant department in 2025?
I’d love your thoughts.
Til then I’ve got two widely requested hacks both involving the beloved Coe Trouser.
The first hack blends the Coe with the Worship. A barrel leg pant with the front pockets of a classic pair of jeans. Heavily inspired by the boom in popularity of styles such as the B Side Lasso, Tibi Sid, Agolde Balloon Jean, etc, etc, etc.
This one is straight forward and you don’t need to consider anything beside your normal waist and hip sizing. The rest is really just changing the pocket shapes.
The second is elastic-ating™️ the Coe. I wrote previously about how I just recently made these as shorts and I’m slightly irritated that I didn’t make these earlier as we’re now moving into the cooler months. They are perfect.
The biggest consideration here is hip size. You’ll be adjusting the waist to fit your hips since this turns the Coe into a pull on silhouette. I personally do my hip circumference plus 1 - 2” (2.5 - 5cm) for wiggle room considering most fabrics have give (this however is something you may need to explore). I also keep hip shaping at the side seam instead of just going straight down because I find it to skim over my hips nicer and not flare out.
As always, reach out with any questions! qcc@daughterjudypatterns.com
I’ve started packing for my upcoming cross country move and as I put things in boxes I’ve been going through my non summer clothes seeing if I can lighten the load. It’s been tempting to keep some things out for right now but I’m getting very excited for layering and being in the Northeast for foliage season.
A few things I’m looking forward to wearing this fall;
Blazers - similarly to my above pant comments about tailored bottoms, I’m feeling the shift stronger this year towards blazers and tailored jackets. They are reliable classic staples. I also feel like a lot of brands that weren’t making them before are making them now and thankfully we’re getting back to a closer fit and not the oversized “Kardashian” silhouette of the past few seasons.
Loafers - over the past few years I’ve been investing in more leathers shoes to add to my assortment and aid in playing the wrong shoe theory game. I recently bought some penny loafers that I’m still trying to figure out but am enjoying the change and challenge. I think I’m in need of a few mesh pairs of the Raven sock here to accessorize.
Big Scarves - the gold star of autumnal layering and easiest way to make you feel “put together”. I’m feeling the resurgence of large silk or silk-like scarves and making them a bigger focal point instead of tucking them inside your coat. Sweaters as scarves is also such an easy way to add color, texture or interest.
Next Loose Leaf : The next Loose Leaf will be in a month since I’ll be en route to the east coast early October (our normal bi-weekly cadence). I’ll be starting to talk about creating a home sewing pattern business over the next few issues. The next specifically on what my calendar looks like and then answer your questions in the following!
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Personally, I never got into the soft pants trend—nothing but respect for secret pajamas enjoyers, but I like to feel held in when I'm out and about! So I'm excited to see the pendulum swing back to something more tailored, which has always been my personal style. I've finally given up on finding RTW pants for my office job that aren't made out of cheap stretch fabric, and I have an Adams/Coe mashup on the brain (Adams base with the pockets from the Coe) that I'm hoping is going to give me my perfect pair of chinos. I really like the idea of fun-but-not-toooooo-fun trousers for work: I want to look put-together and not always boring, but I don't want to be thinking about my clothes all day and I don't want my coworkers to be thinking about my clothes all day. So for me any innovations in the classic-ish trouser and shirt field are welcome!
Just finished some elastic waist Coes and I am obsessed with them, I love them, and I can't wait to wear them every day for the rest of my life. Thanks for the instructions-- my pair turned out *nearly* perfect. This could totally be a me problem, and I'm open to any advice on how to fix this, but I had issues with the back pockets gaping at the top after adding the elastic. Since I made my pair with linen, the fabric is slouchy enough that I might be able to get away with it. I can imagine that the problem would be more noticeable with heavier fabrics. For my next pair, I would probably attempt to lower the back pockets a bit, move them towards the center back seam, and cross my fingers that that would fix the problem.