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The ‘best casual pants for men’ is a pretty broad category. Unless you're talking about tuxedo pants or sharply-creased dress trousers, every other kind of pant is casual. (Hell, even the swankiest dress pants can feel as laid-back as busted blue jeans if you know how to style them.)
One pant that maybe feels a bit too casual for public display? Sweatpants. Don't get us wrong—there's no better way to spend a lazy Saturday than swaddling yourself in fluffy fleece. But sweats should largely be reserved for You Time, whether that involves curling up on the couch with a good book or indulging in your husband meal while binging The Golden Bachelor. You could certainly pop down the block for a quick coffee in 'em, but you'd be mortified to run into someone you know along the way.
So perhaps you're here, bleary-eyed and bone-weary, after a long, exhaustive search for a pair of wrinkle-resistant dress pants to buy before your next flight. Perhaps you find yourself in desperate need of a spiffy pair of business casual pants you can break in before the first in-person meeting you've had in over a year. Or perhaps, spurred by nothing more than a deeply-felt desire for change, you finally bade your ratty sweatpants adieu—sad!—and are eager to try something else. Anything else.
Whatever the reason, whatever the occasion, whatever the cut—slim fit, straight fit, classic fit, relaxed fit—there's a pair of pants here for you. Whether you're looking for sturdy twill chinos you can wear with your slubbiest T-shirts, heavily-pleated trousers you can wear with a big, bold, button-down, or newfangled cargos you can wear with everything else, the right pair of casual pants for men are calling your name. And luckily for you, you don't have to look far. Because we sifted through a near-endless array of pants (so many pants) to compile a list of all all the best options available today.
Obvious—maybe too obvious. But if you googled a phrase as general as ‘casual pants for men’, you'd better expect a completionist answer. Jeans have been around for well over a century and it's hard to imagine society without the indigo-dipped five-pocket pant. They were originally designed for hardworking Gold Rush hopefuls and eventually spread to the masses to reach heights few other garments have. Bring them back to their roots with some honkin' leather work boots, or rock them day-off mode with a hoodie and sneakers, or pair a light wash option with a button-up shirt and a tailored blazer. There's not a situation that the right pair of jeans couldn't slot into, which makes them a requisite for every closet.
They make a compelling argument for the best men's pants ever, but in an effort to not ruffle too many feathers, we'll limit the Levi's 501 to the best jeans. Levi's invented the five pocket blue jean after all, and they're just as great today as when they first came on the scene. If you take just one lesson away from this, let it be this: if you don't have a pair already, get yourself a pair of Levi's 501 jeans.
Madewell's revival sees the brand harping on what made it great in the first place—denim.
Next-level cotton with impressively convincing distressing and a dialed-in fit? Count us in.
Chino is a hearty twill fabric lauded for its military-grade sturdiness. Over the last half century or so, chino pants have evolved from standard-issue army fare to civilian-life staples, helped along by cosigns from notable prepsters and the Ivy League set, including one particularly dashing U.S. president with a penchant for summering in Hyannis Port. They still come in every shade of khaki imaginable, but these days some of the coolest pairs on the market subvert the fabric's neutral origins via unexpected colors or patterns—sometimes both. Not sure what to wear to an upcoming date/park hang/exploratory trip back into the office? Chinos are aways a safe bet.
These days, chinos are more stylish than ever. And if there's one pair to cop right now it's certainly the J.Crew Giant-fit Chino. It was one of the very first viral pieces to come out of creative director Brendan Babenzien's tenure. But it's success isn't just because of the clever product name. It's made with heavy cotton twill, a high rise, and a truly wide-leg. If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought they came out of a high-end vintage store. Turns out, they do still make 'em like they used to. The Giant-fit chino comes in an array of great colors and now you can even grab them in a couple of beefy corduroy fabrics too.
Look, J.Crew's not the only one making very good and humongous pants.
Japanese Relaxed Fit Selvedge Chino
Gloriously wide fit pants with upgraded materials like Japanese selvedge twill—need we say more?
Like chinos, khakis remain a perennial classic of casual American style. (Can't quite wrap your head around the difference? Chino is a fabric; khaki is a color.) Khakis derive their name from the particular shade of light brown that became ubiquitous in the U.S. after World War II, when returning GIs adapted the bottom half of their hard-wearing uniforms to the rigors of civilian life. Once relegated exclusively to off-duty fare, khakis—a color that now encompasses everything from plain Jane beige to mossy olive green—have long since crossed over into the realm of work-appropriate attire. In their simplicity, they remain a reliable template for designers' freakiest projections.
While J.Crew's Giant-fit chinos do come in a khaki color, we realize that not everyone is into such voluminous silhouettes. Alex Mill's classic khaki pants are the platonic ideal of the genre—mid-rise, a handsome straight-leg silhouette, and a sandy twill fabric. Plus, for those who weren't keen on the built-in cuff that the J.Crew versions have, these Alex Mill joints come with a plain hem.
A teensy amount of elastane goes a long way in making these some of the most comfortable chinos out there.
Sorte Pleated Cotton-twill Wide-leg Trousers
Behold, the portal to your quietly luxurious lifestyle.
It's tough to beat the cargo pant when it comes to sheer utility. Even in their simplest form, the ultra-practical and—you guessed it—military-inspired trousers include discrete pocket space aplenty, making them the pants you should wear when you want to run errands without lugging a mostly-empty tote around with you. Over the last few years, capital-D designers and big-box brands alike have updated the menswear staple, tweaking the proportions and adding as many (or as few) pockets as they please. Which means it's easier than ever to find one in the perfect fit, whether you're looking for a relaxed version you can wear with trail-ready boots or a slimmer take cut to stack perfectly over a pair of simple kicks.
Gap's cargo pants hit a lot of marks for us: a relaxed fit, cargo pockets galore, solid quality materials, and, crucially, a great price point. They may not come in a wide range of colors, but khaki and olive are really all you need when it comes to these. While they look ace with some hefty boots, don't be shy to experiment. Try wearing them with some dress shoes and a swanky sweater to balance out the utilitarian energy.
Iron Forge Hemp Canvas Cargo Pants
They might not be literally forged from iron, but Patagonia's built-tough cargos can handle the rigors of a light hike, and then some.
Ralph gonna Ralph—and when it comes to these vintage-inflected cargo pants, we're gonna let him.
We know what you're thinking—dress pants are not casual pants. To that we say, “open up your mind, bro." See, any pant can be a casual pant if you really use your head. (Jury's still out on whether that rule works the other way around, but the evidence so far doesn't look promising.) Separate your tailored trousers from their matching suit jacket and they can be free to a whole world of style possibilities. Dress pants can look surprisingly casual and fresh with a plain tee and a pair of canvas sneakers. Super billowy, paired with a breezy camp shirt and elevated leather sandals, and you're about ready for a summer vacay. The key is more simple than you think: treat 'em like any other pant in your closet.
Banana Republic's Norte pants will make you rethink what dress pants really are. The glitzy black velvet fabric is primed for the red carpet, sure, but untethered from its matching jacket the Norte pants can be way more versatile than you think. Try it with a light wash denim shirt and sneakers or sport it with some horsebit loafers and a grey hoodie—there are no rules.
Flat Front Classic Fit Wool Gabardine Dress Pants
Crisp, classic, and all kinds of cool.
That's checkmate, folks. This game goes to Sir Paul Smith.
Stretch Fabric Weekday Warrior Dress Pants
What do you get when you cross-breed the old-fashioned durability of your most weathered jeans with the forgiving comfort of your favorite joggers? A new generation of performance-oriented pants, genetically modified to be harder, better, faster, and stronger than any other pair in your wardrobe. If you prefer your pants described using more tech-y jargon than a standard IPO filing, these wrinkle-free, moisture-wicking bad boys are for you.
The commute to work can be fraught with obstacles that can turn your perfectly pressed dress pants into utter rubbish. But the Bonobos Weekday Warrior dress pants are built to handle everything a bustling 8am commute can throw at you and still look like impeccable when you eventually do get to the office. We love that they come in almost 20 different colors, not to mention a huge size range across five different fits.
Super breathable, stretchy, and wrinkle-resistant, these Nike Dri-FIT pants will leave you feeling fresh as a daisy after a long day on the green.
The Lululemon pant you didn't know you needed actually isn't made for the gym.
It was nearly three years ago that GQ collectively freaked for Dickies' sturdy-as-hell painter's pants. Since then, prices for Carhartt's quintessential double-knees have reached truly astonishing heights, and every cool guy in a trucker hat and lug-soled loafers wants in. Thankfully, the style's popularity doesn't mean it's lost any of that initial luster—if anything, its sustained appeal means you can now scoop a pair without dinging your credit card. Every brand worth its salt makes a version of the silhouette, from longtime stalwarts of the workwear scene to some of the hippest names in the streetwear universe. Find one that's right for your budget and never look back.
The Dickies Original 874 pant is a must-have for every closet. They're tough, they're cheap, they fit astonishingly well. Plus, they can stand in as a pair of dress pants if you're in a pinch. The sheer range and value you're getting from one pair of pants is almost unmatched.
You may not even know how to hammer a nail, but you certainly can nail a great fit in these carpenter pants.
Double the knees, double the steez.
If there's one thing we remember from grade school it's that the sports coaches all had sick on-field style. And while the aerodynamic shades and New Balance trainers accounted for much of their swag, it was really the swishy track pants that set their whole style ablaze. Today, track pants are hotter than ever thanks style gods like A$AP Rocky and designers like Grace Wales Bonner. They're usually made in some sort of synthetic material like a windbreaking nylon, or a bouncy poly blend, and feature extra panelling and even bold stripes running down the outseam. Extra points for track pants with bold colors and dizzying patterns.
The Great Track Pant Revival wouldn't be anywhere without Needles. Are there more chill track pants? Definitely. Are there cheaper track pants? You betcha. Are there cooler track pants? Not many. In a lot of ways, that's what made the Needles Track Pant the perfect version to garner attention for the genre and years after A$AP first championed them, they're still as cool as ever. They come in a new fabrics and colors every season so you can let your fashion freak flag fly, year after year.
Adicolor Classics Firebird Track Pants
It don't get much more classic than this.
Fear of God Essentials built its following on steezy loungewear in earth tones, but if you're looking for something more subtle, these are the pair to get.
Drawstring pants, you might think, rub up dangerously close to sweatpants, the very garment we're explicitly avoiding at the moment. But drawstring waists aren't synonymous with fleece. See, the gloriously forgiving drawstring waist can be applied to all kinds of pants—every category on this list, even. When fused with denim or cargo pockets, or even dress pants, the drawstring has the power to cozy-fy any pair of pants without looking like you belong on a sofa with a pint of ice cream. Besides that, who wouldn't love a belt built into their pants?
Part dress pant, part pajama pant, Maryam Nassir Zadeh's drawstring pants are a thing of hybrid brilliance. They're made of a luxurious striped wool suit pants fabric that has the elegant drape of a pair of Savile Row trousers, with the comfort and ease of your favorite jammies. Dressed up with a button up and loafers, or sleazed down with some Birkenstock Bostons and a thrashed hoodie, these pants are the answer to most sartorial problems.
Geomtric Print Interlocking G Silk Print Pants
If you say lasagna is a noodle (it is), then this built-in belt counts as a drawstring.
The Best Chino Pants for Men Will Help You Clean Up Nice Than You Think
The Best White Pants Are Way More Wearable
The Best Khakis Pants for Men Under $100
Cool, Convenient Cargo Pants for Men to Give Your Looks Some Storage Space
Men’s High-Waisted Pants Are Exactly What Your Fits Need Right Now
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By The Editors of GQ
By Avidan Grossman, Yang-Yi Goh, and Gerald Ortiz
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