In midlife, I prioritize roomy designs that helped me move with ease. I had been searching for that freedom all along

A few weeks ago, getting dressed to take my kids to a comics festival, I put on a pair of tapered maroon jersey pants. My 10-year-old looked at me and said: “Whoa, I’ve never seen you wear tight pants before!”

They were hardly fitted, but it’s true that I favor my beloved elastic waist, barrel leg Ilana Kohn Abe pants, which make me feel more like myself than any other item of clothing I’ve owned.