The best casual pants are meant for one thing: slacking off but still looking good. On days when you don’t have back-to-back meetings, haven’t RSVPed to a co*cktail hour and dinner, or need not really, really impress anyone out and about, you’re gonna want to reach for some casual pants. No frills, no fuss, and you’ll never be overdressed for lunching or lounging.
We’re not talking about your favorite jeans here—though those can be, and often are, casual!—but alternatives: a pair of cargos you’d wear with a T-shirt, or maybe some track pants for when you’re feeling a little cozier. The key to casual pants is to be laid-back but not too laid-back.
They are unequivocally comfortable yet offer the necessary polish to still look and feel distinguished. And you have a plethora of options; there is not one be-all and end-all style. From the standard, dependable chino to the rugged cargo to the five-pocket, what constitutes the best casual pants is really dependent on the vibe you want to telegraph.
We’ve made things very easy for you, in the overwhelmingly broad world of casual pants. You’ve got chinos, cargos, performance pants, drawstring pants, and five-pocket pants in all price ranges...at this very spot! It is always important to consider the occasion at hand when getting dressed, and when that occasion allows you to take it easy, get your hands on one or more of the best types below.
The Best Chino Pants
The chino is usually made of pure cotton, sometimes mixed with synthetic fibers for extra stretch; it comes in every hue, khaki being the go-to. Since what feels like time immemorial (but really since the late 1800s), the style has been an integral part of a man’s wardrobe. In other words, we all need to cop chinos.
Amazon Essentials Slim-Fit Casual Stretch Khaki Pant
J.Crew 770™ Straight-Fit Stretch Chino Pant
Bonobos Stretch Washed Chino 2.0 Pant
RRL Cotton Chino Pant
The Best Cargo Pants
The cargo is the most utilitarian trouser out there—so much so that it’s also called a utility pant. It’s distinguished by a looser fit, a panoply of sizable pockets, and hard-wearing material (usually cotton or nylon).
RRL Regiment Ripstop Cargo Pant
Stone Island Tapered Logo-Appliquéd Stretch-Cotton Canvas Cargo Trousers
Carhartt Work In Progress Aviation Ripstop Cotton Cargo Pants
The Best Performance Pants
These pants are all about performance. (It’s right there in the name.) They are usually made of technical fabrics, so they’re equal parts durable and lightweight as well as resistant to chafing. Think of them like your favorite sweats, just tricked out, slimmed down, and ready to tackle anything the day throws at you.
Everlane The Performance Traveler Chino
Gucci Tapered Logo-Jacquard Webbing-Trimmed Tech-Jersey Track Pants
Outdoor Voices RecTrek Pant
Lululemon ABC Light Utilitech Pull-On Pants
The Best Drawstring Pants
Yes, sweats are the comfiest things on the planet, but you can’t wear them everywhere. If you want to have the ease of a stretchy waistband and the formality of regular pants, you’re in luck, because the market has never been so packed with drawstring trousers.
Todd Snyder Seersucker Madison Drawstring Suit Pants
Polo Ralph Lauren Stripe Linen Blend Pants
The Best Five-Pocket Pants
These are nifty, practical pants to put in your rotation. They have that same casual, familiar comfort of jeans—but with a slight twist. The five-pocket style is typically made from something other than denim, like cotton twill or corduroy.
Flint and Tinder 365 Pant - Tapered
Todd Snyder Straight Fit 5-Pocket Chino
J.Crew 770 Straight-Fit Garment-Dyed Five-Pocket Pants
Why You Can Trust Esquire
We’re not going to say something is great unless it’s actually great. Every product in Esquire’s round-ups is carefully curated by our fashion and e-commerce teams.
When it comes to casual pants, you can rest assured that we’re hand-selecting styles that we’ve personally tested, tried, and loved, along with styles that the rest of our fashionable colleagues here at Esquire endorse for their own wear. We’ve had to go through a lot of trial and error, and these comfy pants are the ones that are simply the best.
Every pick on this list (and our other lists!) comes from years of wearing different things, seeing what we love and what we don’t, and going from there. No two tastes are the same, and no two men are the same. Your proverbial mileage may vary. But if you’re looking for advice from folks who care (possibly too much!) about this sort of stuff, this is the place to start.
