Ronin Hakama - Green

浪人 (rōnin): "a masterless samurai."

Every January, students across Japan sit the University Entrance Common Test over a single weekend, the opening round of what Japanese has long called shiken jigoku, exam hell. Students who miss the university they wanted often spend the next year at a yobikō, a cram school, and try again. They're known as rōnin: masterless, between schools, fighting for a place on their own.

Slate green here means gray with a cool green cast, the color of river stone. The legs balloon out past the knee, then the hem crops short above the ankle in rounded flaps that overlap front and back. Two flap pockets sit up near the waistband, and the cotton-linen has a soft crinkle.

A year of studying deserves an elastic waist, and these have one. The gray-green sits between the red and the black among the Japanese pants, easy with black or white on top. Give it to anyone taking a second run at something: an exam, a driving test, a whole new career.

• Fabric: cotton-linen blend, lightweight and breathable
• Waist: elastic
• Pockets: two front flap pockets
• Leg: wide harem cut; split, layered hem cropped above the ankle
• Sizes: jeans-style waist sizes 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in, 172 lb wears 32; 5 ft 11 in, 198 lb wears 34

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.