Review: Swrve Cotton Trousers

I <3 Swrve. I have been smitten with their clothes since I first saw them, and own a disproportionately small amount of their stuff compared to how much of it I'd like to own (you may recall a previous review of the sweatshirt I didn't take off for months).

Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I headed down to their office/warehouse in downtown Los Angeles to pick up some pants and say hello, after getting my Polar watch battery replaced at the "authorized service center". Since then, I've been doing what I'd like to call some "extended product testing" on the Cotton Trouser, which most people would just call "wearing them every time you ride."
First off, let me say that I knew they were nice people from my interactions on the phone and by email, but Matt and Muriel are just super people. It was great to finally meet them, and I enjoyed my visit. It's really an impressive operation to see, all the stuff is made onsite, so I got to see the magic happening.

First, let me regale you with the factory details (in green), and my responses to them (in black)...

DETAILS: our new cotton trousers are formal enough to wear at the office but come with the same bike-friendly features of our knickers.
I don't work in an office now, but have in the past, and can testify that they would have, in fact, passed the Business Casual dress code requirements for the Washington Mutual Mortgage Company. That said, I wear them to ride to work as a bicycle mechanic and find them dashing for both.

features include:
- low waist in front to prevent your belt from digging into your gut
I wear my normal fat leather belt, and never have that silly indentation you get with other pants. So for this one... True.
- higher waist in back to stay respectable and to keep you warm
It's weird, I always always feel like my buttcrack it hanging out, yet whenever I reach back, it never is. Maybe I just like touching my butt.
- articulated knees for a better fit on a bike, office chair, or barstool
This is one of my favs. I used to get ingrown hairs on my knees because I refused to shave, and the Dickies/jeans I rode in rubbed funny. No longer an issue. OMGTMIBTW.
- seamless gusseted crotch for comfort
Sounds dirty. I never noticed a problem with other pants, but these are really comfortable in the saddle.
- zippered back pockets fit a mini U-lock
I have carried a mini U-lock in said pocket after leaving the donut shop.
- two front pen pockets!
I'm married, and not a messenger, so I literally have no reason to have a pen that handy. Except at work, and there it's in my apron's pen pocket. I did carry a 4mm allen wrench in this pocket once.
- high quality YKK zippers throughout
It's true. No broken zippers.
- steel jeans-style button
Also true. If a magnet sticks to it, it's steel.
- reinforced pocket entry for durability
- 98% cotton, 2% Lycra for comfort
Mmmmm, durable comfort.

- stylish trim fit for everyday use
I'm never uncomfortable in these pants. 
MADE IN USA

::fist pump::

So here's the skinny; I love Levis 514 jeans. They're all I have worn for years now. And it was 527s before that. These fit close to 514s, which were even what I rode in most days (or Dickies trimmed to knickers). But these trousers have all the things changed about them, that you'd change about your jeans when you're riding. Room in the right places, pockets where you need them the size you need them with zippers to prevent you from losing stuff.

Oh yeah when you roll up the left leg there's a reflective strip inside the leg. How dope is that?

Conclusion: After 400+ miles, I'd buy these pants again and again. They truly made my commute, and days at work, better.