The Best Linen Pants for Men Make Shorts Look Goofy
Few garments conjure the type of impeccable warm-weather vibes you should be chasing right now like the best linen pants for men. There's something inherently “lounging yacht-side in Lake Como” about them, from their naturally rumpled look to their easy, breezy feel. Luckily, you don't have to venture to the South of Italy to harness that OOO energy on the daily. The right pair will help you look like the coolest, most elegant version of yourself no matter where you wear them—and save you from the indignity of trying to separate your thighs from your jeans after a long day sweating through the mid-July heat.
And we’re not the only ones who think so. Brands of all stripes are churning out linen pants for men in a ton of different shapes and sizes, with plenty of wild-style patterns, colors, and pockets thrown in for good measure too. Running low on shorts during laundry week? You can wear these suckers with everything you’d normally pair with their 5” counterparts, and a heck of a lot of things—unstructured blazers, silky button-ups, funky T-bar sandals—you normally wouldn’t. Ciao, bella!
The Best Linen Pants for Men, According to GQ
- The All Day, Everyday Pick: Banana Republic Italian Herringbone Officer Pant, $200
- The Retro-Elegant Pick: Stòffa Straight-Leg Linen-Twill Trouser, $550
- The Scandalously Affordable Pick: Gap Linen-Cotton Pull-On Pants, $60
- The Spring Wedding Pick: Todd Snyder Italian Linen Sutton Pant, $298
- The Menswear Head Pick: Evan Kinori Two Pleat Pant, $745
- The Jeans-Adjacent Pick: Alex Crane Cham Pants, $155
- The Ultra-Chill, Ultra-Comfy Pick: CDLP Semi-Tailored Trousers, $275
The Best All Day, Everyday Linen Pants
Materials: 59% linen, 41% cotton | Fit: Mid-high rise, straight leg | Waist: 30-36 Length: 30-32 | Colors: Navy, Khaki
Linen pants have the habit of making you look like you're on vacation, even if you've got zero PTO left. But Banana Republic avoided that pitfall with ease by focusing on the materials and the design details. The Italian-milled fabric blends linen and cotton to balance breathability and cut down on wrinkles without finishing it with a weird anti-wrinkle finish. Coupled with a high rise, straight fit, and vintage-inspired military details, they absolutely will go off at cocktail hour on Friday and come back just as hard at brunch on Sunday.
The Best Linen Pants for Work and Play
Materials: 100% linen | Fit: Mid rise, straight leg | Sizes: IT46-54 | Colors: Navy, Khaki
Striking the balance between dress and play requires a surgical eye, that, if done wrong, can turn out less like a majestic pegasus and more like a horrific lab experiment (we're still recovering from the dress-shoe-sneaker-sole era). Stóffa managed to perform a triple bypass with their eyes closed because these pleated trousers somehow strike that business-casual vibe perfectly and does both sides of the hyphen better than most. The preternaturally chill trousers look great with loafers, sure—but they'll also up the dressy factor considerably when you wear ‘em with strappy leather sandals. So if you’re ready to lock in at the office but go hard on your well-deserved vacation, you only need one pant.
The Best Value Linen Pants
Materials: 53% linen, 47% cotton | Fit: Relaxed | Sizes: XS-XXL | Colors: Black, Olive, Gray
Good-quality linen pants can run you a pretty penny. And when you'll spend the next four months living in them, it makes sense to invest in a decent pair. But Gap's pull-on pants remind us that there are always exceptions to the rule. The fabric is 53% linen and 47% cotton so you can get the benefits of both materials minus the excessive wrinkling. The silhouette is an easy, slightly relaxed fit and the adjustable waist is perfect for sizing up or down depending on the fit you're after (or how big of a meal you plan on having). They come in a slew of classic colors as well, which is great news because for just $60, you don't have to choose just one.
The Best Linen Pants for Spring Weddings
Materials: 100% linen | Fit: Tailored | Waist: 28-38 Length: 32-34 | Colors: Black, Olive, Gray
Todd Snyder's pedigree for tailored clothing is so good that you'd have to really put some effort into making his impeccable trousers look bad. These impossibly elegant trousers pay homage to a classic British military silhouette—and all the big fits to come. Pair these with your favorite button-up linen shirt to tap into your inner rakishly relaxed Italian guy or take things down a notch with a beat-up denim jacket and retro sneakers. But of course, these dressy slacks sync up well with its matching suit jacket but can take to a contrasting navy blazer just as well. So whether you're getting dressed for a regular ol' Tuesday or polishing up for a spring wedding, consider yourself sorted.
The Best Linen Pants for Menswear Heads
Materials: 100% Belgian linen | Fit: High-waist, baggy tapered | Sizes: 28-36 Length: 32-34 | Colors: Varies
Evan Kinori's approach to clothing is slow, methodical, and subtle, a monk-like meditation on menswear that defines much of artisanal clothing. Each piece is crafted in small batches to a ridiculously high quality and if there's one piece in that defines the EK universe, it might be the Two-Pleat pant. It's extra-roomy with a defined taper and clean break, made with finished seams throughout, corozo nut buttons, and a Hollywood-style waistband. But the kicker is the fabric, a Belgian linen with a fine yarn and tightly woven plain weave. It's got a ton of texture, rumples beautifully, and will make you feel, in every sense, like the coolest guy in the room.
The Best Jeans-Adjacent Linen Pants
Materials: 100% European linen | Fit: Mid-rise, straight-leg | Sizes: 28-36 Length: 32-34 | Colors: Varies
If you identify as a jeans guy but can't stand to wear your denim dungarees above 78 degrees, don't worry. Alex Crane's all about linen. Seriously, nearly every part of the brand's catalog has linen in it so of course they've basically mastered the medium. The brand's Cham pants feature jeans-style details like the hand pockets and metal top button but are made from a super soft, breezy 100% European linen. They've got a classic straight-leg silhouette that'll sync up seamlessly with a pair of Vans or some classy loafers and they come in a gang of colorways and patterns, each of which use all-natural dyes.
The Best Linen Pants for Decadent Lounging
Materials: 58% Tencel Lyocell, 42% linen | Fit: Relaxed | Sizes: IT44-54 | Colors: Umber, Off-White
Finally, pants that feel like pajamas but look a million mays away. CDLP's pants would make anyone feel like royalty in their own home, which makes them the perfect pants for taking a “Me Day”. But when they look this good, why wouldn't you show them off? The fabric blends linen with with a healthy helping of lyocell, a silk-alternative fiber that feels impossibly smooth with a gorgeous sheen. The result is a pant that you don't really wear so much as luxuriate in. Even then, the crisp center crease gives it a dressed-up feel that totally disguises the fact that you stumbled out of bed.
More Linen Pants We Love
Abercrombie & Fitch
Loose Linen-Blend Permacrease Trouser
For stuffy weather and stuffy social situations, these lightweight joints will help get you through without breaking a sweat. Pair 'em with your cleanest pair of dress shoes and a crisp button-up for when you want to make a good impression on the in-laws or keep it casual with an airy camp shirt and beach-bound sandals.
