The Corduroy Pants Shielding Me From Canadian Winter Finally Went on Sale

For more corduroy pants we love, start with our comprehensive guide to the category—and then double-check your closet against our list of winter menswear essentials.

Canada is making headlines. Heated Rivalry has become an international phenomenon, our Prime Minister is eliciting standing ovations at Davos (meanwhile, our former PM has been, uh, dating Katy Perry), and, don’t look now, but our menswear scene is genuinely popping. It’s not all double denim—though, to be clear, we’re doing that pretty well too, bud.

It feels like every week a new brand is emerging from the Great White North, and Vancouver’s HAVEN is among those leading the charge. The store has long carried one of the best selections of menswear on the planet (it’s a go-to for brands like A.Presse, Satisfy, and Kapital) but its own brand has become the main attraction. As we noted last fall, the HAVEN label operates in its own lane: mostly made in Canada, built from Japanese denim, specialized technical fabrics, and Loro Piana wool that all genuinely balances performance and design.

Last spring, I got my hands on a pair of HAVEN’s Cotton Twill “Shop” pants. Tailored in feel, but with the kind of technical details (a zipper pocket, a roomy crotch gusset) HAVEN is known to factor in, the Shop Pant is part of the label’s Permanent Collection: Core silhouettes available year-round, but constantly refreshed in new fabrics and colors.

Simply put, they’ve been a small revelation. Like most of HAVEN’s gear, they’re automatic—easy to wear and easy to build around, plus made with a super-dense all-cotton weave that I beat up all of last summer. With that in mind, I went back looking for a more winter-ready pair. The mid-weight Japanese cotton corduroy pants caught my eye.

They’re not done in the chunkier wide wale cord I’ve reached for in the past, but the more refined texture suits the elegant cut perfectly, with none of the unwanted shine that can sometimes come with corduroy. They’re also of medium weight, so while they’re cozier than twill, they still feel perfect with a pair of long johns if I’m out for an extended period. (Though, honestly, any fabric in the lineup is a winner: HAVEN’s brand manager Nick Roethel told me he’s been living in the Loro Piana Storm System version five days a week.)