5-Wale.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice that the man thatching the roof of that sensational thick-walled cottage in Dorset isn’t merely wearing corduroy pants, but extra-wide-wale corduroy pants.

Aha! The Broadway director driving to work from Snedens Landing in his Aston Martin is wearing, naturally, very-wide-wale pants.

The abstract-expressionist artist roughing it in his $2 million loft in SoHo is wearing, what else, enormously-wide-wale pants.

What is at work here is evidence of a worldwide, but unspoken, preference: Wider is better.

(Wales are the soft, velvety ribs of corduroy. The fewer the wales per inch, the wider they are; the wider they are, the more handsome. Why? God works in mysterious ways.)

I had to go to some lengths to find 5-wale corduroy and am pretty confident that you will appreciate it when you see it and wear it. Lustrous and velvety, but thick and deep and bumpy. Very uncitified; striking just the right note of dressing down when worn with a contradictory upscale sports coat or vest.

5-Wale Cords (No. 6408). Italian cotton corduroy from Duca Visconti, the best. Unmatched rumple. Flat front. Two on-seam side pockets, two rear pockets, both buttoning. Dress-pant details including fully constructed waistband, suspender buttons.Made in Portugal.

Hemming (max: 37") or cuffing (max: 34"), add $2 per pair.

Please note that altered items cannot be returned. Take care to provide your accurate measurements when ordering.