The 5 Best Summer Pants for Men in 2026: Breathable, Casual, and Dressy Trousers

Every year, when it hits summer, there’s this raging debate about whether grown men should wear shorts. But this article isn’t about that debate — it’s about what to do when you’ve decided to wear trousers in summer, or if you’re being begrudgingly forced to by a dress code.

Some trousers are smart, but plenty are casual.

To help me out, I’m interviewing a guy who knows more about menswear than I do: Peter from the YouTube channel Peter’s Prism, who crossed the river from Manhattan to join me in Queens.

The two of us are going to walk through different styles and fabrics for summer pants (many of them are emphatically not dressy), what to wear with each option, and the dos and don’ts that escape so many guys.

Trousers vs Shorts in Summer: What’s Wrong With My Chicken Legs?

Why can’t I wear shorts whenever I want? Especially if I’m not at work?

“If you get invited to your friend’s engagement party, don’t wear shorts,” says Peter. “If you get invited to a smart casual event, don’t wear shorts. If you’re trying to get dinner reservations at a nice restaurant, don’t wear shorts.”

If that sounds stuffy, think of it this way: if you’re entering someone else’s space, it’s your job as the guest to stay away from the borderline. If anything might be too casual, it’s best avoided. Hey, this is growing up.

I think the main thing to keep in mind is that even when shorts are smart enough, trousers are always smarter. Even if it’s at a casual bar, a guy in trousers will look more put together. Plus, trousers mean you can wear boots.

But this is not a guide to dressy summer trousers. We’re just discussing the best fabrics and products for wearing long pants when it’s hot.

1. Best Casual Summer Trousers: Fatigues

• Typically made of cotton sateen
• Very casual
• Good mix of durable and breathable
• Originally designed for jungle warfare
• Identified by patch pockets on the front

Fatigues are the best way to wear boots in summer — they started out as military pants, after all — but they also look great with high-top sneakers. I first discovered them when I heard them called the best pants to wear with a denim jacket.

Fatigues can be identified by the big patch pockets on the front, and they usually have flap pockets on the back, roomy legs, and button cinches on the waist that might let you get away without wearing a belt.

The typical fatigue pant is made of cotton sateen, a great weave for hot weather because it’s durable, breathable, easy to wash after you sweat in it, and it dries relatively quickly for cotton. These qualities, of course, are why sateen fatigues were once widespread in jungle warfare.

It’s pretty uncommon to find sateen and it’s worth experiencing, but I’ll list some brands below that make fatigues in other materials.

Our Favorite Brands for Fatigues

• Orslow is the undisputed king of this category, with an unparalleled selection of colors and fits of lightweight sateen fatigues, plus they mix in other fabrics every season. I’m rocking some of their chambray fatigues above with desert boots, which is a classic pairing.
• Left Field NYC make theirs in the United States in a good range of colors. The 12-ounce sateen is a little heavier than Orslow, but that makes it easier to wear in a wider range of temperatures. No button cinches at the waist, though.
• Engineered Garments is another brand that makes a ton of fatigues in a ton of fabrics. They don’t sell online, though, you just have to Google them.
• Tellason are well known for their slim fitting fatigues if you prefer that look.
• Flint and Tinder make a good straight leg fatigue with 1 percent stretch, if you prefer that kind of comfort.

2. Most Versatile Summer Pants: Lightweight Chinos

• Traditionally made with cotton twill, a flat front, and side entry welt pockets
• Great in both casual and business casual settings
• More summer-friendly cotton fabrics include seersucker, lightweight poplin, and sateen

Chinos are simple trousers with side entry slash pockets that are usually made of cotton twill that weighs around 8 or 9 ounces per square yard. Many will only consider your pants to be chinos if they’re made with cotton twill, but there are more breathable fabrics you can try (even if some purists will insist that they’re not real chinos).

Our Favorite Summer Chinos

• Poplin: Buck Mason’s 5.5oz poplin chinos are my all time favorites, I’m wearing them on the right. It’s 100 percent cotton and under 6 ounces.
• Stretch: Relwen’s Flyweight Flex Chinos are Peter’s choice: “They’re super versatile and have extra features to facilitate movement like darted knees, a gusseted crotch, and three percent elastane. I field tested them and found them very cool.”
• Sateen: If you liked the sound of sateen but want them on chinos, Benzak Denim Developers often has them.
• Seersucker: Brooks Brothers and J Crew are good sources of seersucker chinos, a 100 percent cotton fabric (I always thought it was synthetic!) that is, for my money, the best fabric for hot weather.
  
  “It’s lightweight, breathable, and woven with a puckered texture that keeps it from sticking to your skin,” says Peter. “That one feature makes it impressively comfortable in the heat.”

3. Best Wool Trousers for Summer: Tropical Wool

• Wool is naturally thermoregulating and anti-odor
• Tropical wool, also called high twist wool, is lightweight and has an open weave that maximizes hot weather performance

“Tropical wool is lightweight and defined by its open weave,” says Peter. “It’s a misconception that wool trousers can only be worn with dressy outfits. You can wear them with a loose top, or even a t-shirt and white sneakers, and it’s a great look.”

Our Favorite Tropical Wool Trousers

• Wills’ Rosedale Pants: A good option that can dress up or down, these also have two percent spandex. Synthetics usually aren’t amazing for breathability, but wool is simply a different beast: bioengineered over millions of years to be comfortable all year round, Peter found that the spandex didn’t mess with the comfort.
• Proper Cloth: Very good because they custom make your pants to your measurements at a super reasonable price with a really easy to use website. The downside is the wait, but you should have them in under two months.

4. Most Popular Summer Pants: Linen Pants

• Breathable, cool, moisture-wicking, and surprisingly durable
• Many brands sell linen blends that can reduce wrinkles

“Linen’s great because it’s breathable and cool, and when you sweat in it, it dries very quickly,” says Peter. “It’s also much stronger than many people think.”

Yes, it wrinkles like crazy. But that’s part of the charm: I once saw a brand describe a linen shirt as elegantly rumpled, a term I use all the time now. You’re not wrinkled, you’re elegantly rumpled.

“Linen pants are just the perfect alternative to shorts,” says Peter. “They keep you cool and make you look pulled together.”

Our Favorite Brands for Linen

• Alex Crane, based in Brooklyn, are by far my favorite place for linen. You can even mix and match several different kinds of pants and jackets to make creative, casual suits.
• Alex Mill make casual apparel that try as hard as anyone to produce “timeless” apparel. They’re Peter’s pick.
• Quince make an absurdly large range of clothes (and furniture, and supplements…) which includes inexpensive linen pants. Peter likes their drawstring options.
• Todd Snyder is a higher end option with many takes on linen, from smart side tab pants to Italian blends of wool-linen and cotton-linen.

5. Lightweight Summer Jeans

• Most jeans weigh 12 ounces per square yard; anything lighter will feel breezier
• Just note that denim is usually too dense to be a great summer fabric
• Some brands blend the cotton with linen or hemp to boost performance in the heat

The point of denim is to be durable first and not-stuffy second, so it’s usually woven a bit too tightly to be a particularly good summer fabric.

But some brands are good at offering lightweight jeans. The trick is to look at the fabric weight: anything under 11 ounces will feel light.

Our Favorite Summer Jeans

• Naked & Famous: Their fabrics change every year, but if their Spring/Summer collection is out, you’ll find multiple lightweight denim options that often include denim blended with linen or hemp.
• 7 for All Mankind use hollow fibers to create stretch jeans that are just 8.25 ounces. They’re not cheap, but they’re the lightest you’ll find.
• Oni Denim Co and Japan Blue are high end Japanese brands that usually have options for under 11 ounces.

Wrapping Up: Best Summer Pants for Men

That’s our guide to summer trousers, including both casual and dressy options, so you’ve always got choices no matter what.

Shorts are often perfectly appropriate, but when they aren’t — and especially if you’re not sure — opt for one of these breezy alternatives.