jogger pants--why??? and why is it so hard to find 100% cotton pants?

My son likes sweatpant-like pants. I used to be able to go to the store and find nice stretchy pants in 100% cotton that didn't look like sweatpants. They were straight-legged and stretchy and even had little cargo-pants pockets. They looked nice enough that we could wear them to semi-formal events. Of course, every so often he'd wear them for play and get a hole in them. So I'd patch them, but they no longer look nice enough for nice occasions. So I went to buy new ones. But, when I go to the thrift store, they very rarely carry boys pants, and if they do, they're polyester or jeans. I've been looking for months. And, all the pants at normal stores are jogger pants. Jogger pants are roomy at the top, and tight down at the bottom. They don't look the least like dress pants. But, there were no better options, not even if I swallowed my eco-pride and bought a polyester-blend. So I bought a pair of joggers in desperation. My son is on the short side, and so I bought them in his size...and they look like highwaters! Ah!! Looking online, it looks like that's the intention: that these pants are not full length...so as to show off one's sneakers? My son wears soft star shoes, so these pants look ridiculous on him.

I just don't understand why all of a sudden these jogger pants are the style, and now I feel really old, because I'm cranky that I can't buy "normal" pants for my son. I mean, I'm sure people have been mad about changing trends for years--parents in the 70s were probably mad that they couldn't find non-bellbottom jeans, and parents in the 90s were probably mad that they couldn't find non-baggy jeans. So, I figure I'm probably in good company about hating changing styles.

But, since joggers are in style, does that mean they're nice enough to wear to nice occasions? By "nice," I mean wearing them to church where one would wear nice jeans but not sweat pants?

Anyway, I ran into the problem of only having 2 pairs of nice pants that my son would wear. So, I spent 4 hours today trying to find nice-looking stretchy pants that are 100% cotton. I just can't justify spending money buying new clothes that have non-natural fibres. I'll bite the bullet for used clothes, so I'm not contributing to more plastic, but I just can't justify buying new artificial fiber clothes. Do you know how hard it is to find 100% cotton pants that aren't joggers? Search functions on amazon and google are so wonky. When I search "100% cotton pants boys," I don't want to see results for polyester blends and mens underwear--I want boys cotton pants! And, there's no way that I can find on amazon to exclude search terms. I'd love to search "100% cotton pants boys -twill -woven -canvas" but amazon won't allow that. And while google will do that, it still thinks I actually want to see those things because they have good SEO or are paid ads. It's maddening!

If anyone knows where to find some nice, cotton, stretchy jersey pants that AREN'T joggers, I'd love to know where to find them!

If anyone has wisdom about dealing with changing fashions, I'd love to hear that, too!

Denim pants are usually cotton. I don't think they have to be blue. I've seen them in brown and the rusty brown and sort of an off-white that might be just no coloring at all. Not super stretchy, but you could get him some that are too big and get a stretchy belt.

I am an expert on changing fashions. I know that if I shop at the thrift stores, I am following fashion trends, just not from this exact date. I will catch up to whatever they're doing now, when they donate that stuff. The last time I bought new pants I was either 14 or 15. I'm now 54 and I either look super cool all the time, or I don't know what that looks like. And that suits me just fine.

I've got cotton khaki pants for him, and they're even roomie and have stretch waist bands, but the fabric itself isn't stretchy, so he refuses to wear them. Thankfully, those he's outgrown can be worn by my daughter, and they're a whole lot studier and roomie than most "girl" pants (which are usually very tight and "stylish" making play really difficult).

After hours of searching (and ranting on this thread!) I found a company that makes 100% cotton pants and shirts that are in stretchy fabric. They're even made here in the US, so I don't have to worry about having supported sweat shops (which is something I really don't want to do!) https://www.citythreads.com/