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.

Best Linen Pants for Vacation: CDLP Semi-Tailored Trousers

CDLP

Semi Tailored Trousers

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 ways 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 Trousers

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.

Percival Linen Everyday Trousers

Percival

Linen Everyday Trousers

Looking for red carpet-ready linen pants that won’t break the bank? It’s virtually impossible to find a better value than Percival’s, the UK-based indie menswear upstart with a celebrity following more pedigreed than a Wes Anderson flick. Size up for an extra relaxed fit to really maximize your airflow.

Reiss Kin Adjuster Slim-Fit Linen Pants

Reiss

Kin Adjuster Slim-Fit Linen Pants

The slim-fit cut and classic-leaning crease will keep these in your rotation for years; the side buckle and periwinkle hue will make sure they keep your attention the whole way through.

J.Crew Big-Fit Pleated Glen Plaid Linen Pants

J.Crew

Big-Fit Pleated Glen Plaid Linen Pants

Drake’s Games Pleated Linen Pants

Drake’s

Games Pleated Linen Pants

Much like Hot in Herre, Drake’s’ ultra-elegant linen trousers are a certified summer classic you’ll want to play on repeat. Unlike Nelly’s ecstatic ode to undressing, though, they’ll inspire you to stay clothed no matter how hot it gets.

Buck Mason Loomed Linen Fatigue Pants

Buck Mason

Loomed Linen Fatigue Pants

If it helps, you can think of Buck Mason’s military-inspired fatigue pants like regular ol’ chinos, but with the windows rolled down and Tyler, the Creator playing on full blast. Channel his energy with a pastel sweater vest and kiltie loafers and you’re bound to end up on a future grandkid’s summer mood board.

Dries Van Noten Linen-Blend Trousers

Dries Van Noten

Straight-Leg Linen-Blend Trousers

The best way to honor Dries’ contributions to the menswear canon, is, of course, buying more Dries. The Belgian designer’s airy linen trousers might eschew his telltale prints and patterns in favor of a subdued navy linen, but the languorous, unbothered silhouette is as Dries as it gets.

Royce Hill Linen Work Trousers

Royce Hill

Linen Work Trousers

Even if the only manual labor you’re familiar with is lugging your laptop to and from the coffee shop, you’ll still appreciate the hard-wearing details on this Brooklyn up-and-comer’s work pants.

Alex Mill Standard Pants

Alex Mill

Standard Pant

Looking for something similar to the Banana Republic pick but without the blended fabric? Alex Mill’s chino-inspired pants feature a single pleat, slash hand pockets, welted rear pockets, and a relaxed-but-not-sloppy fit cut from pure 100% linen fabric.

Frank Leder Pleated Drawstring Trousers

Frank Leder

Pleated Drawstring Trousers

Frank Leder’s PJ-adjacent drawstring trousers feel like the type of vintage gem you’d stumble across scouring the estate sale of a 19th-century tycoon. Which, to be clear, is the biggest compliment we can give ’em—or anything, really.


What We Looked For

If months of hardcore testing taught us anything, it’s that the best linen pants for men are still largely subjective. The GQ office is just as varied in body type, stylistic preference, and budget as the rest of the world; if you polled our colleagues, you’d be hard-pressed to land on a single winning pair in any category. By and large, though, we gauged the merits of each pant we tested across three key metrics: quality, fit, and price.

Quality, of course, is a broad and ambiguous term, but for our purposes, it meant mostly limiting our search to pants made exclusively from linen—or those with other natural fibers, like cotton and hemp, blended in. Synthetic materials aren’t always a no-go, but they tend to interact with natural fibers in unpredictable ways. Linen, on the other hand, has been around for thousands of years; the kinks in the fabric are natural, the kinks in the process that yields it have been worked out. We strived to prioritize options made with linen sourced from fabric mills we recognize and respect, but “strived” is the operative word here—every pair of pants on this list is worth your time, regardless of the zip code it calls home.

Thought quality was a head-scratcher? It’s nothing compared to fit. To narrow our search, we primarily focused our efforts on the three major silhouettes in pants right now: the straight fit, the slim fit, and the relaxed fit. Because we couldn’t help ourselves, you’ll find a smattering of baggier silhouettes—and one or two downright voluminous options—in the mix as well, which, frankly, complicated the process considerably, but ultimately paid off.

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