No matter what last-minute crisis led you here, frantically searching “the best casual pants for men,” we’d guess that your needs are pretty broad. After all, aside from capital-T Trousers—y’know, the ones with crisp creases down the center, and ideally a pleat or two by the waist—aren’t all pants casual? Well, therein lies the rub—and, most likely, the source of your particular pants-related headache.
Nowadays, the line between casual and formal has all but disappeared, and the former is more a matter of styling than anything else. Which is liberating…until it isn’t. If all pants can be casual depending on how you wear ‘em, which ones are actually worthy of the moniker? That’s where we come in.
Whatever the reason, whatever the occasion, whatever the cut—slim fit, straight fit, classic fit, relaxed fit—there’s a pair of casual pants here for you. From flat-front chinos you can wear with your slubbiest T-shirts to heavily-pleated khakis you can wear with your boxiest button-ups, the right pair for your specific needs is immediately below.
The Best Men’s Casual Pants, According to GQ
In This Guide
Jeans
If any pant defines “casual,” it’s a pair of straight-up blue jeans. Since the 1800s, 5-pocket denim has reshaped fashion, pop culture, and history. That kind of longevity comes down to durability, utility, and LeBron-like versatility. They’re everyday drivers with a tee and sneakers, but they can also ground a suit or embody a punk mindset when held together with a few safety pins. They’re equally at home in dive bars and design studios, on stage or on the subway. No other pant adapts like denim, which is why jeans aren’t just the best casual pants—they might be the best pants, period.
Read more: The Best Jeans for Men
Chinos
Over the last 50 years, chinos have gone from military-issue staples to civilian must-haves, embraced by prepsters and Ivy Leaguers alike. They still come in every imaginable shade of khaki, but today’s best pairs remix tradition with unexpected colors and patterns. And while plenty are tricked out with stretch, moisture-wicking fabric, and wrinkle resistance, the true classics are cut from crisp 100% cotton. Not sure what to wear to a first date or a business casual office? Don’t overthink it. Chinos walk the line between polished and laid-back better than just about any other pants in your rotation.
Read more: The Best Chinos for Men
Khakis
Like chinos, khaki pants are a cornerstone of casual American style. But here’s the distinction: chino is a fabric; khaki is a color. The name comes from the dusty light brown hue that took off in the U.S. after World War II. GIs brought them home, and their off-duty uniforms sparked a new wave of civilian dress. Today, “khaki” spans a full spectrum—from plain-jane beige to mossy green—and while once strictly off-duty, it’s now office-appropriate, too. In their simplicity, they remain a reliable template for designers’ freakiest projections.
Read more: The Best Khaki Pants for Men
Cargo Pants
If SUVs were pants, they’d be cargo pants. They mean business. They’ve got attitude and style. They’re purpose-built to take on the grueling elements like snow, rocky terrain, and going to the farmer’s market without a tote bag. Big-name designers, big-box labels, and indie upstarts alike have taken a stab at the high-capacity pants, but none of them have really elevated them to black-tie limousine status. Which means, go ahead, wear them with sneakers, flip-flops, boots, and everywhere that’s not a formal affair.
Read more: The Best Cargo Pants for Men
Dress Pants
Allow us to blow your mind: Dress pants can be casual pants. Separate your tailored trousers from their suit jacket and suddenly they’re fair game. A crisp pair looks unexpectedly cool with a plain tee and canvas sneakers. Go big and billowy, throw on a breezy camp shirt and leather sandals, and you’re vacation-ready. The key is simple: treat your dress pants like any other pair in your closet.
Read more: The Best Dress Pants for Men
Work Pants
Your definition of “work” pants can vary wildly depending on how you pay the bills. But what we’re referring to are pants made for functionality and hard labor, the tough-as-nails trousers built for real-deal workwear (counter to what our job titles are here at GQ). Pants with double knees, pockets for tools, and fabric that’s not necessarily friendly at first. The style’s popularity speaks to the appeal for a practical, durable, hard-wearing work pant that won’t ding your credit card. While blue jeans will forever and always be the best everyday pant, a pair of work pants can sub in without missing a beat.
Read more: The Best Work Pants for Men
Track Pants
Grey New Balance notwithstanding, it’s a pair of swishy track pants that gives sports coaches their aerodynamic swagger. 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. Thanks to designers like Wales Bonner and far-out brands like Needles you’ll find them formed out of all kinds of materials in every color under the sun. As such, don’t be afraid to wear them everywhere else that’s not a gym.
Read more: The Best Tracksuits for Men
Drawstring Pants
Sweatpants are the obvious and most casual pants here, but drawstring pants go well beyond your comfy old pair of joggers. You might not think a little ol’ drawstring could warrant its own category. But that tiny adjustment to the waistband has the power to turn any pant into a looser, louchier version of itself, like a very chill Jekyll and Hyde situation. Or better yet, it’s like your regular pants on vacation mode. When fused with denim or breathable linen, or even dress pants, the drawstring has the power to cozy-fy any trouser without looking like you belong on a sofa with a pint of ice cream.
Read more: The Best Elastic-Waist Pants for Men
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
How We Make These Picks
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)
