We Found Casual Pants That Are as Comfortable as They Are Stylish (2024)

To put it simply: today's best casual pants for men work well for a lot of different dress codes. "Casual" is a broad category with a multitude of sub-styles, including everything from reliable jeans to performance pants. All of that variety can get a bit overwhelming when shopping for a new all-purpose, every day pants. So to help you sort through them in a quick and orderly fashion, we broke down the vast types of casual pants for men into nine essential styles based on fabric and function. Each style has four options covering a wide range of prices. So no matter your budget, preferences, or needs, this list has you, or rather, your legs covered.

The one attribute that binds all casual pants for men together is that these are the bottoms you'll want to live in. We love our joggers and track pants as much as the next guy, but if you’re heading out in public and you don’t plan on breaking a sweat, we recommend dressing up. But that doesn't mean you need a pair of stiff dress pants pants to look well put-together. These casual pants strike a balance of comfort and style, and look great for most settings that don't require a black tie dress code.

A good pair of casual chinos, for example, should have a relaxed fit, and have sufficient give in the cotton to provide ample comfort. Then there are travel pants that look like business casual slacks that can take you to the tarmac, boardroom and everywhere in between. We’ve also got military-inspired cargo pants, old fashioned workwear pants, and much, much more. So the next time you just need pants, you’ll find what you’re looking for right here.

Jeans

Arguably, America’s greatest contribution to the world of menswear is denim. The miraculous material that matches everything and gets better with age has never gone, and will never go out of fashion. Jeans are the most fundamental style of casual pants for men because they work in absolutely every guy's wardrobe. Having a go-to pair of jeans that fit just right is the ultimate style. No matter where you sit on the stretch debate, anywhere from 100% cotton raw selvedge to “gimme all the elastane,” the overall effect is all the same. Jeans just work every time.

Read more: Best Jeans | Best Jeans Under $100 | Best Athletic-Fit Jeans | Best Dad Jeans Best Flannel-Lined Jeans

Chinos

You could call chinos the gentleman’s alternative to jeans. Some guys just aren’t into denim and choose these casual pants as their default instead. We fully support this decision, and recommend chinos for every guy. Traditionally made from 100% cotton—although modern chinos have polyester and elastane—you get ample give, breathability, and durability. Some haters knock on chinos as bland business casual attire, but you should look at them as a blank slate. You can build a boatload of looks on top of these simple pants. The best part about chinos is that they come in a wide range of colors. We recommend starting off with a khaki, navy, or charcoal pair, before exploring all the other color options out there.

Read more: Best Chinos | Best Khaki Pants | Best Chino Shorts | Best Lululemon Men's Pants

Cargo Pants

Just like with chinos, cargo pants transitioned from military to civilian dress after WWII. As it turned out, having a couple big pockets on your hips is both incredibly handy and pretty stylish. Admittedly, most of us don’t stash things in our cargo pockets these days unless we’re hitting the traiks. That doesn’t make these casual pants any less useful, though. Cargos have gone in and out of fashion many times over the years, but they are very much in right now. The military vibes play well with a collared shirt and blazer combo or a hoodie and bomber jacket duo.

Read more: Best Cargo Pants

Travel Pants

A relative newcomer to the casual pant canon, travel pants utilize the latest fabric tech so they feel like a second skin, while maintaining an office-ready look. The core purpose for this style is to wear them while traveling or commuting for (you guessed it) work. After exhausting “research” from virtually our entire editorial staff, we can tell you that these pants work well beyond business travel. We love them for lounging around the apartment, vibing at work, and pretty much any social activity imaginable.

Read more: Best Travel Pants

Dress Pants

Thankfully, the overall rules of formal dressing for both work and social gatherings have relaxed in recent years. A blazer is still always a good choice, as are leather dress shoes, but there are much more comfortable options available in pants. Pulling from the casual side of dress pants provides a little more range of motion and a little less delicateness to the fabric. You’ll find some wool blends and some cotton chino fabric cut into a more formal design. These aren’t exactly suit pants, but they aren’t far off. To turn things around, you can style them with sneakers and a t-shirt for a comfortable high-low look.

Read more: Best Dress Pants | Best Corduroy Pants

Performance Pants

As the name suggests, these are casual pants for men that provide athletic performance. Many of the options use the same fabrics as track pants and joggers, but cut into a chino-or dress pant-inspired design. They have artificial fabrics, with some cotton mixed in, to offer plenty of stretch and minimal weight. You could run, lift, or play sports in any of these pants if you really wanted to (though we wouldn't recommend it). However, the idea is to provide exceptional comfort for going about your everyday life or putting in long hours at the office.

Work Pants

Work pants come from the rich heritage of clothing worn by American laborers. The steel workers that built the Empire State building and the train engineers that ran America’s early rail system, just to name a couple professions, all wore really cool pants. A little over a decade ago, those industrial era designs that were built to be ultra tough, became a big part of popular men’s fashion. Yes, the best work pants offer maximum durability, but they also just look really cool. You’ve got elements like reinforced knees, carpenter pockets, and water resistance. Modern brands have elevated the classic style by using tech fabrics to make things lighter and more flexible.

Read more: Best Work Pants

Five Pocket Pants

Almost like jeans, but not quite, these casual pants for men use fabrics other than denim to make the five pocket design used for most jeans. This most often includes a cotton canvas or corduroy, but can range anywhere from stretchy polyester to fine Italian wool. Straying away from denim gives up some durability, but these alternative fabrics are usually softer and provide a much broader range of textures and colors. Not only is the five pocket design very functional, it provides a casual edge to fabrics like cotton chino and wool. That makes for ideal styling with flannel shirts, leather jackets, and boots.

Drawstring Pants

If you really consider what makes sweatpants more comfortable than casual pants for men, it has a lot to do with how the waist is secured. Drawstrings make all the difference and fortunately, there are plenty of great slacks available with this relieving alternative. Some have an elastic band sewn into the waist, while others have a standard waist with a drawstring threaded through. This style also includes a variety of fabrics, ranging from athletic tech fabrics to suiting-inspired wools. The best part about a good pair of drawstring casual pants is that, as long as your shirt hangs over your waist, no one will know the difference. It’s like a comfortable little secret. That's why we highly recommend these pants for the office and any casual occasions that involve dancing.

Read more: Best Elastic Waist Pants | Best Drawstring Pants

How We Selected

Brad Lanphear is a style pro with more than a decade of experience testing pants. For this story, he and Deputy Commerce Editor Christian Gollayan tested over 70 casual pants in the past year, and evaluated their construction, comfort, and just how great they looked. They also combed through hundreds of five-star reviews from e-commerce sites they trust, and also scanned through countless Reddit threads like r/malefashionadvice, for unbiased opinions on the best casual pants to shop.

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