The Edit: This post is my firsthand review of the Nani Trekker Pant as the best pants for apron belly I have found, tested on my size 14, XL, 5’5″ mom body in Hawaii. I tried the pant in both a Large and an XL and photographed them side by side in three colors (Espresso, Black, Summit), and I break down the waistband, the four pockets, the no metal construction, and the matching top trick that covers an apron tummy without hiding you. Written for midsize and plus size moms who want comfortable, cute pants for travel, lounging, and casual walks, and for anyone deciding between a Large and an XL before they order.

Use my code SALTYVAGABONDSFALL15 for 15% off at naniswimwear.com, or shop through my links and the discount attaches automatically at checkout. That is the highest code out there, and I will explain the fake 50% off thing further down.

At a Glance

Nani Swimwear Apparel	Nani Trekker Pant Collection
Piece	Nani Trekker Pant (wide leg, elastic waist, cinch cord)
My size	14, XL, 5’5″, apron tummy and hips, mom of two
Sizes I tried	Large and XL, side by side
My pick	XL for comfort and the flowy on trend look
Stay at chart size if	You want a closer, legging type feel and do not mind your tummy showing more
Colors I photographed	Espresso (XL), Black (L), Summit (L)
Color I am buying next	Terra (charcoal, not straight black)
Pockets	Four total, a regular and a zip pocket on each side
Hardware	None. No metal anywhere, nothing to tarnish in salt air
Cinch cord	Runs through the pocket, scrunch it or leave it straight
Trade offs of sizing up	A bit longer, scrunches more
Regular price	$94 (check the site, apparel goes on sale)
Where to buy	naniswimwear.com through my links, select styles at REI
Code	SALTYVAGABONDSFALL15 for 15% off, try it on top of sale prices

What Is an Apron Belly, and Why Pants Are the Problem

An apron belly is the lower stomach that hangs over the waistband, the part that shows up after babies, after weight changes, or just because that is how your body is built. Mine is from two kids and a body that has been a few different sizes. The reason it is such a problem with pants is that most waistbands land right on it. A band that is too tight cuts in and pushes everything up. A band that is too loose slides down under it. So the search for pants for apron belly is really a search for a waistband that sits, stretches, and stays put without squeezing.

Why the Trekker Pant Works on a Size 14

The Trekker Pant is a wide leg pant with a soft elastic waist, and it is having a moment for a reason. It is cute, and it is a different spin on the basic wide pant women are already wearing everywhere. Here is what makes it work in real life.

The cinch cord runs through the pocket. You pull it to scrunch the leg and it sits ruched and a little feminine, or you leave it straight and you get that wide, slouchy leg look. I like it scrunched. It looks more girly and it photographs really well. The scrunch is also practical. At the beach or crossing a stream I can pull the legs up high enough to get my feet and ankles wet and keep the rest of the pant dry.

Four pockets, and two of them zip. Each side has a regular pocket and a zip pocket that is just as big. So your card, your keys, your chapstick, whatever, zips in and does not fall out when you sit down or bend over. If you have ever dug a car key out of the sand you know why this matters.

There is no metal on them anywhere. This is the thing most reviews will not mention and it is the one I care about most. I lived on a boat for a while, and I learned the hard way that metal hardware on swim and outdoor pieces turns green, tarnishes, and takes the fabric down with it. These pants have none of that. No zipper pulls to corrode, no metal rivets to rust, nothing to react to salt air. For anyone who lives near the water or spends time on a boat, that alone makes them worth the price.

They are lightweight and loose. They feel like something you could lounge in, do yoga in, wear with socks and Birkenstocks, throw on with Reefs, or actually take on a walk or a hike. Same pant, all of those.

Large vs XL: The Honest Fit Comparison

I ordered the Trekker Pant in both a Large and an XL because I wanted to know exactly where the line is for my body, and I want you to be able to see it too. I photographed both.

The Large fits, technically. It is tighter through the quads down to the knee, so it feels more like a legging than a wide leg pant, and the band is tighter too. It is not painful, the fabric stretches. But it makes my apron tummy way more accentuated. If I wore the Large I would be spending the whole day thinking about that one area and trying to cover it, which is exactly what I do not want to do in a pant I bought to be comfortable in.

The XL is the one I am keeping. It is looser through the leg, the band sits without cutting in, and it stays up. My stomach still shows some, because I am an XL with an apron tummy and that is true in every pant on earth, but it is not fighting me. I wanted the band to sit as loose on my torso as it does on the model, and at my size that is not really going to happen, and honestly that is fine. It fits how I would expect a pant to fit me.

The two trade offs of sizing up. The XL is a bit longer, and it scrunches more when you cinch it. I count the extra scrunch as a plus, but if you want a cleaner, straighter leg you will notice it.

So here is my rule for the Trekker Pant. If you want comfort and you want to style it with the cuter cropped tops for the on trend look, size up. If you want a closer fit that feels more like a legging and you are not worried about your tummy showing, stay at your chart size. Both work. It just depends on how you want it to look and how comfortable you want to be. For me that answer is the XL, and the two Larges are going to my daughter Addison, who is a medium and will get the exact look you see on the model.

One more honest note. I thought about whether a XXL would give me the fully loose look I originally pictured. It probably would. But I am losing weight right now and I am not going to buy a size I will be out of in a few months. If you are in a stable place with your body, a XXL is worth trying if you want it even looser.

The Matching Top Question: Hide It or Not

This is the part I actually wanted to write, because the pant is only half the outfit for anyone with an apron tummy. The top decides everything.

If you are not trying to hide it, the Nani Summit Floral or Terra Modal Valley Tee is cute with the Trekker. It is a soft cropped tee that hits right at the belly button, and if you like that look, that is the look. I show it in the photos on both the Large and the XL so you can see what you are getting.

If you are trying to hide it, here is what I do. Wear a longline bra, one of the matching Nani tops, or a Nani swim top you already own underneath, and then put the Summit Sundrift Button Up over it and button only the bottom two buttons. That covers the apron area completely while still showing a little skin up top, or you button higher and show none. Either way you still get the flowy, put together look. It reads slimming without you having to think about it, and nobody knows there is a strategy happening. If you want to see which Nani swim tops actually work under a button up, I tried five of them on this same body in my Nani swimwear for moms post.

Personally, the Valley Tee is not the top for this pant on me. It sits too high and I would want it longer to feel good. The Basin Essential Tank or a swim top under the button up is where I land. It just depends on your comfort level and how you want to roll.

The Colors, Side by Side

I photographed the Espresso, Black, and Summit next to each other so you can see what they actually look like in real life instead of on a product page.

• Espresso is the perfect brown. Warm, not orange, and it is the one I kept.
• Black is a true black.
• Summit is a steely gray blue that matches the Summit Sundrift Button Up and Summit Floral tee exactly, so you can build a set.
• Terra is the one I do not have yet and the one I am buying next. It is a charcoal instead of a straight black, which I like more.

Everything Mixes, and I Think It Is on Purpose

Something I noticed after having several Nani pieces in front of me at once. Every color sits in the same range. It is like when you pick swatches in Canva and keep them all in one hue family. The reds, the oranges, the blues, the browns are all different colors but they all read as the same palette, so everything works with everything. I do not know if that is intentional, but it means you can buy a few pieces and get a lot of outfits out of them. The Trekker Pant in any color goes with every Nani top I own, and the Sky Cloud Travel Hoodie even has the same side scrunch as the pant, so the two were clearly made to go together.

Where I Actually Wear Them

These are travel pants as much as anything. They are light, they have real pockets, and they look intentional in photos, which is the whole reason I brought them to Hawaii. I would wear them on a plane with the Cloud Hoodie. I would wear them to lounge. I would wear them with a swim top underneath to walk down to the beach, then take them off and I am already in a matching suit. And yes, you can hike in them, but I want to be clear that I am not a hiker. I am a mom who likes to look cute on a nature walk and get the photo. If that is you too, these are for you.

If you are heading somewhere tropical and want the swim side of this, my Nani swimwear review and my swimwear for moms try on cover the suits on my size 14 body.

Is There a Nani Swimwear 50% Off Code?

No. If you see a coupon site promising a 50% off Nani code, it is lying to you. Every creator code for Nani is 15% off, mine included, and 15% is the highest you will find anywhere. What those sites are actually seeing is Nani’s own site wide anniversary sale, which marks some styles down up to 50%. That is a sale, not a code.

Here is the part that actually saves you money. Depending on the sale, creator codes can stack on top of sale prices. It is not guaranteed on every promotion, but it works often enough that you should always enter the code first and see what the cart does. Worst case it gets declined and you still have the sale price. Best case you get the markdown and another 15% off. Either way you are never worse off using a creator code, so make it the first thing you try at checkout.

My code is SALTYVAGABONDSFALL15. Use it at checkout, or click any of my links and it attaches automatically. Right now the Espresso and Black Trekker are marked down from $94 to $75 on their site, so try the code on top of that. For the longer version on the brand itself, sizing, fabric, and how the code works, read my full Nani Swimwear review.

Nani Swimwear Trekker Pant FAQ