As I mentioned in my What I Bought post back in January, I wasn’t sure if I could rock linen culottes. But $80 for Ichi Antiquities pants (or Ichi anything) was just too good of a deal to pass up (plus I had some eBay bucks burning a hole in my pocket so I got a bit of a discount too). Well I’m so glad I didn’t decide to pass up these pants because they are so good. So good in fact that I decided to do a little outfit challenge for myself by styling these pants for 5 days straight (most days I didn’t end up wearing the outfit all day but the point was to start in the outfit and “dress up” so to speak). And after the 5 days I love the pants even more!
The beauty of these pants is that they at first glance looks like a skirt. I’ve always been a huge fan of pants that looks like skirts (hello skorts from the 90s). I especially appreciate that these pants look like a A-line skirt since it gives me that cute skirt look but can’t get blown up in the wind.
I also love that these pants have an elastic waistband so really they feel like PJs (or so comfy I can do yoga in them lol). I can wear the pants higher-up on the waist so that it cuts off right below the knees. Or I can sag it down so it looks like a petticoat underneath my pink Ichi dress (my first Ichi Antiquities review here). These pants are so versatile! As for sizing, they come as one size and I have read they fit comfortably up to size 12 (I do find the one size fits all sizing problematic and exclusionary but at the same time many Asian brands don’t have the awareness yet about size inclusivity).
The linen quality is great (I discuss the linen quality of Ichi Antiquities in comparison to other brands here). And what I love most of all about these culottes is the subtle polka dot pattern. The dots are like a velvet type texture, but in the same black color so it’s really a contrast of textures instead of color. So subtle yet so effective.
I have no idea how old they are and when they were released, but a quick scan of Ichi’s Instagram shows me that it was not in the last 3 years. They currently have other styles for sale in the same silhouette. There’s a wool tartan one here and a linen cotton blend white pair here.
I have to say, this was one of my best eBay purchases of all time (yes, of allll time). I love Ichi Antiquities but tbh their stuff can be so expensive. So getting Ichi secondhand is really awesome. The deals are few and far between. But if you keep scouring eBay and the internet in general, there are good Ichi deals to be found!