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There’s no underestimating the versatility of the best white pants come summer. Whether you’re heading to a bonfire, dining al fresco or attending a sweltering outdoor wedding, the lightest-colored trou (in all its various iterations) is well equipped to handle whatever swanky occasion you have on the summer bucket list — except those hot-dog related — all while capturing the easy, carefree essence inherent to the balmy months ahead.
Best White Pants for Men
We can sense your hesitancy. No, they will not get excessively dirty. (Also, just grow up an carry a stain stick.) Yes, they will make you look like Alain Delon on an annual St Tropez holiday. Or Evan Mock ripping Tre flips in a pair of AirPod Max headphones. In fact, the power of neutral-colored pants is in the blank, stark canvas they provide: the hue is inherently malleable, ready to telegraph chill, beachy, nonchalant or elegant at a moment’s notice.
All that to say, with the days of summer still to come (and Labor Day months away, as if that mattered) there’s no more apt time to pick up a pair (or two or three). Below we’ve gathered the best white pants we could find, from linen drawstring trousers to hefty fatigue pants, taking into consideration the many activities you have planned and the different silhouettes/fabrics they’ll require. Go ahead and grab your favorites to pair with your already-purchased sandals — just watch out for mustard.
Shop the Best White Pants
Drawstring Pants
I’ll go on record here to suggest that there are no better pants for summer than a pair of crispy linen drawstrings, especially in an angelic white hue. The look is refined yet relaxed, casual but dressy and a total flex that anyone can pull off. Wear ’em with a boxy tee. Wear ’em with a breezy camp collar. Hell, wear ’em with a crochet tank, if you’ve been spamming crunches. Just wear ’em.
Jeans
Do not let anyone convince you that white jeans are hard to pull off. Do you have a white tee or black tank? Boom — the perfect summer outfit. Just remember the rules of denim have changed. It’s 2024: upgrade the slim-straights to a relaxed, or better yet, something downright roomy.
Chinos
Chinos get a bad rap. The bread and butter of business causal aren’t actually unflattering, or even outdated — their reputation has just been colored by the dorkiness of tech chinos and stretchy pants. Ignore the spandex-infused styles and opt for a tasteful straight-leg chino to pair with your blue oxford instead. It’ll be a real curveball from your know taupe-colored ones.
Trousers
Summer isn’t all fun and games. The are formal dinners to attend, fashion weeks to flaunt at and weddings to crash. With the influx of formal events, you’ll need a solid pair of proper trousers, preferably in a creamy white or dashing ecru, and preferably with a bit more intrigue than your average Men’s Warehouse pick-ups.
Utility Pants
Given their tendency to be cut from thick, rugged cotton, the utility pants — an expanse that includes the classic work pants, dungarees and fatigues — might seem unfunctional for summertime heat. This is wholly untrue: there are plenty of styles lightweight (or relaxed) enough to pull off at the Dimes Square dive bar, granted you wear your rattiest, tiniest tee with them.
Designer Pants
As you might expect, the well of white pants from big designer labels runs deep, with names like established names like Lemaire or Zegna and relative newcomers (I’m thinking Bode here) all offering some variation of a pristine white trouser. They’re expensive, yes, but you get what you pay a for — that is, a pair of swagalicious white pants that’ll do your talking for you this summer.
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