A Detailed Guide To Every Type Of Men’s Trousers

There are perhaps more men’s trousers options available nowadays than ever – which makes selecting the perfect pair of men’s designer trousers a little tricky. And that’s before you get into the intricacies of what men’s trousers are considered formal, smart, casual, or somewhere in between those options. Brush up with our handy guide, covering types of trousers from men’s suit trousers and men’s tuxedo trousers to men’s chinos and cargo trousers

Men’s Suit Trousers

Men’s suit trousers are perhaps the most classic item of menswear on this list – and they should be a staple in your smart wardrobe. As the name suggests, men’s suit trousers are designed to be worn with suit jackets as part of a matching set. But that’s not always the case. As dress codes have relaxed, it’s not uncommon to see suit trousers worn with a simple shirt, knitwear or even a polo shirt to the office (see also: Paul Smith’s Modern Working Wardrobe edit).

Suit trousers are usually woven from wool, in a worsted or plain weave, but the addition of finer fabrics like mohair and cashmere can make them more lightweight – as can more casual fibres such as cotton and linen. As well as fabrication, men’s suit trousers can also come in a variety of fits, with slim and straight-leg cuts being the most common.

Men’s Tuxedo Trousers

People often assume that tuxedo trousers are just black men’s suit trousers but that’s not the case. Proper men’s tuxedo trousers differ in both material and style. Firstly, you’ll never find belt loops on a pair of tuxedo trousers, as the addition of one would ruin the clean lines of a suit. They will also most often be made from a similar material to tuxedos: worsted wool or wool barathea – a traditional formalwear fabric. But most importantly, tuxedo trousers are distinguished by a unique feature: a side stripe or ribbon running down the outside seam – a hangover from the same detail on military dress trousers.

Men’s Dress Trousers

The terms men’s dress trousers or dress pants can be a little confusing, because they can encompass a variety of styles – in some cases it is synonymous with tuxedo or eveningwear trousers and, in others, it can mean men’s suit trousers or smarter men’s tailored trousers. It can even, on rare occasions, refer to military uniform trousers. In any case, if you see a pair of trousers labelled as dress trousers, you can safely assume they’re considered a more formal men’s trouser option.

Men’s Cargo Trousers

Like so much of menswear, cargo trousers (otherwise referred to as combat trousers) owe their popularisation to military gear – but unlike tuxedo trousers, which borrow from much older uniforms, cargo trousers are a relatively new invention. They’re defined by a large number of pockets with pockets and closures that are often designed to carry larger items and the most classic styles are often made with hard-wearing fabrics like cotton canvas, twill or drill. With the rise of the workwear trend (not to mention the Y2K one), they’ve become much more popular. Though they’re almost exclusively seen as a casual item, you can now even shop Paul Smith for smart cargo trousers – a more formal, tailored style that feels particularly modern.

Men’s Chinos

Sometimes called khakis on the other side of the pond, men’s chinos are essentially the ultimate smart-casual men’s trouser. They are most commonly spotted in a neutral tan, olive green or navy colour and are cut for a flattering straight or slightly slim trouser fit. Because they sit somewhere between formal and casual, people often ask what shoes to wear with chinos? And the answer is almost any pair. Boots, sandals, sneakers, loafers, and Derby shoes will all look great with men’s chinos.

Men’s Wide Leg Trousers 

Just like the so-called hemline index in economics, you can often gauge the state of fashion by the styles of men’s trousers that are in and out the spotlight – just think: the 1970s had flares, the 1980s drainpipes and the 1990s bootcut jeans. Fashion has never been freer than it is right now, but we’d argue that the men’s wide leg trouser is the defining shape of the decade – at least so far. Whether the looser silhouette is achieved through pleats (see more on this below) or cut, men’s wide leg trousers can be particularly flattering and are considered a smart alternative for wearing with suits and shirts, albeit they are considered a more fashion-forward choice.

Men’s Pleated Trousers

There was a time when pleated trousers were considered old fashioned – thankfully, as vintage clothing has become more accessible and TV shows like Mad Men debuted to roars of approval, they’ve seen a resurgence in the last decade or so. And good thing, too: pleated trousers aren’t just flattering, they’re also particularly comfortable, thanks to the extra fabric folds (usually one or two) at the front at the waistband. As a rule, pleated trousers should sit a touch higher on your waist than regular men’s suit trousers and are considered a tad smarter than classic chinos. The fit of men’s pleated trousers can be tapered, wide or standard, but we’d advise avoiding anything too skinny through the thighs as this’ll create an unwanted and odd-looking billowing effect at the top. 

Men’s Corduroy Trousers

Much like pleated trousers, corduroy trousers (and blazers, now we mention it) were fairly recently considered the scorn of the style world. It’s hard to put your finger on why cord has made such a resounding comeback, but it likely has a lot to do with the mid-century revival mentioned above. In any case, cords or corduroy trousers are now a timeless wardrobe classic, but they really come into their own in autumn and winter since the velvet-like textured fabric, made of uniform ‘wales’, is warmer than most. Fun fact: the name comes from an eighteenth-century cloth called ‘duroy’, itself thought to be derived from the French du roi or ‘of the king’. Make of that what you will.

Men’s Linen Trousers

While linen – which comes from the flax plant – has been around for centuries, its popularity has risen dramatically in recent years. Natural, lightweight, and breezy, it’s the perfect summer fabric bar none and can be used to make everything from tees to suit jackets. There’s no one-size-fits-all style of linen trousers, though – they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: at the smarter end, you can invest in linen suit trousers or dress pants, while on the more casual style, there’s drawstring linen trousers that are more suited to wearing on the beach or by the pool. Look out for linen-mixes in fabric, too.

Men’s Sweatpants

The best thing about the relaxation of dress codes is that style now puts a great deal of emphasis on comfort as well as good looks. While you can hardly credit the pandemic and our bouts of working from home for the rise of men’s sweatpants, it probably had something to do with why they are much more acceptable “outside attire” than they ever used to. Historically, men’s sweatpants were reserved exclusively for sporting contexts and they were invented in the 1920s for athletics and running. But you’d be surprised how little they’ve changed in over 100 years – even now, men’s sweatpants still tend to be made from cotton-jersey. But recent years have also seen the introduction of something novel: the smart sweatpant, which aims to bridge the gap between suit trousers and sweats.