My first office job occurred during my college years. At the time, I had nothing in my student wardrobe that would be appropriate for business casual work attire. I remember thinking I had two options, Express or Banana Republic. I felt Express was more budget-friendly and the clothes were less "stuffy" (remember I was still a teenager!), so off I went. I managed to stock up on a week's worth of trousers and button-up shirts. Then for the rest of the summer, I just mixed and matched tops with different bottoms. I didn't end up giving BR a try at all.

As I've progressed in my career in the years since, I find myself going back to Express whenever I need work pants, even though I'm no longer a poor college student. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, or in this case, if a style works, why go elsewhere. While I have many pants that no longer fit, there is one pair that I bought sometime between 2005-2008 (I believe) that is still my favorite work pants ever. They're the Express Editor pants in gray. So when I decided to replace my camel pants a few weeks ago, I turned to the Editor pants once again.

There's been some changes to the Editor pants since I bought my gray pair from a few years ago. Most noticeably vanity sizing. The current 00 fits pretty much the same as 0 from back then, albeit slightly bigger and longer. The fabric also feels thicker on the camel color (note neither pair is lined).

My favorite thing about these pants (aside from being super comfortable) is that they're machine washable. Not only that, my gray pants come out of the dryer wrinkle-free. Amazing.

From now until Sun. 12/15, take 40% off everything at Express. The camel Editor pants are marked down to $41.94. Browse all available Editor pants here.

On a different note, a few people have asked me how my Gap cowlneck sweaters have held up since I've been wearing mine an awful lot. Many reviewers on Gap's website say they've experienced a lot of pilling. Perhaps I subconsciously took note and was careful when I wore mine because I haven't noticed the same issue. That is, until now. After I took my sweaters to the dry cleaners, there are now noticeable pilling on both. Argh! I guess I was just putting off the inevitable. It seems worse on the black sweater for some reason. Also, comparing the before-the-dry-cleaners vs the after [pic above], it also looks like my sweater shrunk =/ So just a heads up if you're considering a purchase. I plan to use a sweater shaver (found at Old Navy's checkout line) to see if I can fix the problematic areas. I'll also be prolonging the cleaning times between wears.