Busting your buttons after stuffing yourself full of Thanksgiving goodies is a total faux pas. So how do you indulge and engorge without the post-meal awkwardness?
Chef Chris Cosentino has the answer: the Gluttony Pants, which have three buttons, allowing you to expand the pants’ waist without putting on a show.
“Everybody has that Uncle Tony who eats too much and has to unbutton his pants at the table,” said Cosentino, who designed the pants.
Cosentino, executive chef of Incanto restaurant in San Francisco, Calif., and an offal specialist, says being labeled a pig shouldn’t be offensive, as pork was his loving inspiration for designing the pants.
The buttons are even labeled “Piglet,” “Sow” and “Boar” (the same way he labels portion sizes at his restaurant), and are made of bone — “the only thing you can’t get down your throat,” Cosentino said.
“There have been some misconceptions about the Gluttony Pants — I’m not trying to promote obesity or overeating, it’s more about fun,” he added. “It’s not always a bad thing to overindulge — I’m not saying sit down and eat a 100-ounce T-bone, but it’s OK to overdo it once in a while.”
In honor of Thanksgiving, the pants’ fabric, a deep caramel color, is an homage to turkey, with the pockets lined in the burgundy color of cranberry sauce.
And what glutton’s wardrobe is complete without a large napkin to tuck into his shirt and catch the spills of his feast? The Gluttony Pants come with one featuring images showing the evolution of the foodie, from being fed as a child to gorging on truffles and wine and eventually being fed as an old man.
The pants are sold by San Francisco-based website Betabrand and sell for $100. Owner Chris Lindland says they’ve been flying off the virtual shelf since they debuted in August.
“We’ve sold about 600 pairs, and that’s a lot for a small clothing company like us,” Lindland said. “We’re on our third production run — I’m just really surprised how popular they’re becoming.”
Currently the Gluttony Pants are available just for men, in sizes 30 to 42, and there aren’t any plans to make them for women — although Lindland says plenty of ladies have been buying them as a joke for the hungry men in their lives.
“This is really for people who dig food,” said Lindland. “And we think people are still going to be interested in it after Thanksgiving.”
For his part, Cosentino says he rocks his Gluttony Pants on a regular basis and loves using them as a conversation piece. But he has yet to upgrade from “Piglet” to “Sow.”
“I haven’t had to move to the next button yet,” he said. “But then again, we haven’t hit Thanksgiving.”