There are few brands that are as widely known for their trousers as Gramicci.
Sure, Gramicci is much more than a trouser brand today, but the company made its bones producing legwear for hardy granite big wall climbers.
The brand’s founder, Mike Graham, had originally been producing climbing harnesses for Chouinard Equipment, and then when Chouinard Equipment became Patagonia in 1980, he helped Yvon Chouinard create Polypropylene underwear.
But with Graham being an eccentric climber from the golden era of Yosemite, he was hardly achieving creative satisfaction through his hand in the production of underwear, and in 1982 he began experimenting with his own designs…
After a short while of tinkering, Mike had produced the first pair of Gramicci pants – a lightweight pair of cotton slacks that had a gusseted crotch and over-ankle cuff – design cues influenced by martial arts clothing. The pants were produced with freedom of movement in mind, something the brand would later turn into one of its core mantras.
Mike’s pants flew out to freedom-of-movement-hungry-climbers in Yosemite, and far beyond. The relaxed fit and bright colours were met with mass popularity eventually leading to them being adopted by a streetwear crowd.
Over the course of Gramicci’s history, they’ve produced a fair few iterations of their classic pants, and you’d be forgiven for getting slightly confused by all the technical jargon used in an attempt to differentiate each pair…
So, to try and clear up some of the confusion, for your (and our own) benefit, here’s a crash course on all of Gramicci’s most important pants.
The one that started it all, the one that everyone knows about and ultimately the most important. The Gramicci G Pants are the brand’s signature legwear model and incorporate all of the features that made Mike Graham’s pants so popular in Yosemite in the ’80s. The G Pants are made of hard-wearing cotton twill and have a relaxed but slightly tapered fit, gusseted crotch and a low-rise. If for whatever reason you don’t already own a pair of Gramicci pants, this is a good and logical place to start.
A sort of blend between climbing pants and painter’s pants. Originally designed in the early 90s, the Gadget Pants are Gramicci’s offering of an ultimate pair of utility pants. The most undeniably most important part of the Gadget Pants is the wraparound pockets – they stretch around the side of your waist and onto your behind, so instead of having two front pockets and two rear pockets you just have two massive pockets. They’ve also got a webbing strip that runs around the right pocket, prime for carabinering all manner of objects. Other than the pockets, the Gadget Pants have a relaxed and straight-legged fit.
Some Gramicci Pants can cause confusion by having a name that doesn’t really correlate to what they’re about, but you needn’t worry with the Loose Tapered Pants. A cross between a pair of G Pants and military pants, the Loose Tapered Pants have large fatigue pockets, but also a wildly different fit to their counterparts. The waist and thighs are very roomy, but as soon as it gets to the knee, that changes, with a sharp taper to the hem. The Loose Tapered pants are also cropped at the ankle, so if you’re taller than 6’3, these might not be for you, but we’re coming on to something that will be very shortly.
As we were just saying, some Gramicci pants names don’t correlate all that well to what the product is actually about, case in point – the Rock Slide Pants – but don’t worry we’re here to clear the air. The Rock Slide pants are the baggiest pants that Gramicci make, with the fit being inspired by 90s utility trousers. The fit isn’t the only roomy feature of these pants though, the rear pockets are massive, and there’s also the addition of side cargo pockets.
The NN Pants are the more serious, older brother of the G Pants – characterized as such by their low rise and slim fit. The NN acronym stands for New Narrow, although they’re not all that new to Gramicci’s legwear range – originally a Japanese design, the NN Pants were devised in 2005 as a streamlined alternative to the G Pants. Besides the slimmer fit, these are also constructed of a more stretchy cotton twill, so perhaps we should alter the previous statement to say the more stretchy, older brother of the G Pants. If you’re wanting a pair of Gramicci pants to wear to the office, these are your best bet, and if you’re short, they also come in a cropped rendition – everybody wins.
The Mountain Pants were reintroduced to Gramicci’s line-up as part of their OG series, now we’re sticklers for anything nostalgia-inducing, so it’s safe to say we’re a big fan of these. Cut from a heavy-duty canvas with reinforced knees, these are probably the most outdoor-climbing-ready pants Gramicci currently offer. Outside of the tough fabric and knee implements, the Mountain Pants also have large rear pockets that are reminiscent of climbing pants of the ’80s, especially Patagonia’s Stand-Up pants, but given that Mike Graham and Yvon Chouinard were mates, we’ll let him off the hook for the similarities. The Mountain Pants have a regular fit with slightly tapered legs – no funny business.
I know what you’re thinking, these are just the Loose Tapered Pants with a more intriguing name, and you’re partly right with that assumption. The Ridge Pants are a non-cropped version of the Loose Tapered Pants – same fatigue pockets, same gusseted crotch, same loose fit, just longer. If we were in charge of naming products at Gramicci HQ we would’ve just called these the Looooseee Taaaaaaaapered Paaaaaants, you know, because they’re loooooooonger.
If pure, unadulterated comfort is what you’re after the Swell Pant is undoubtedly your best bet. Soft brushed cotton, a fit that would give the Rock Slide Pants a run for its money, and a fully elasticated waist all make for the ultimate chilling pants from Gramicci. We were going to make a joke about these being a swell pair of pants, but Gramicci has already done it on their website – well played.
