On the 24th of Christmas it’s traditional to be thinking of others. Gifts, wrapping, bags of nuts, decorative oranges impaled with cloves… broadly that kind of piss. The committed clothesman however, thinks of himself. Relentlessly refreshing e-store home pages in anticipation that, any second, they’ll go to sale. Prior to Christmas, a few indie stores do and a few notables don’t. The Hip Store in Leeds has tossed a bunch of stuff into sale (although I’m still waiting for the McKinleys) and these Bleu De Paname cords are as good a bargain to spotlight as any.

Down from £135 to £81 and available in all key sizes, there are two ways of looking at these. You could say, they’re a good bargain, from a fine company. Or you could say, there’s a reason no fucker has bought these, they’re bumhole brown and they’ve got too many buttons. It’s true, the buttons are, what you might diplomatically refer to as ‘a feature.’ There’s a lot of ’em. A lot of pocketing, a lot of flaps, a lot of fastenings – like a very polite bondage trouser.

Personally, I like the deets. I like the wooden buttons. Keep your fit simple up top and let the trousers tell the story. The colour on the other hand is gentleman’s choice. Gotta be honest, it wouldn’t be my first choice. My first choice would be the nice navy ones The Hip Store also stock. And I think The Hip Store know this. You’ll notice they are still priced at £135. So, you know, happy fucking Christmas.