What Pants To Wear This Fall?

What Type of Mens Pants Are in Style This Fall?

Why grey linen works in the heat

Linen is the sensible fabric for a hot, humid trip, and grey is an easy colour to wear it in. Flax fibre is hollow and moves moisture in and out quickly, so linen trousers feel cooler than most and dry fast after a wash. The catch is that flax doesn't spring back once it's bent, so grey linen pants will be creased before lunch. Grey hides some of that. Light grey looks good with white, cream and dusty blue, and charcoal works better against beige, olive or burgundy.

Beach and resort days

For the beach, go relaxed: a loose leg and a drawstring or elasticated waist. They're comfortable on a long flight and fine for walking around a harbour town. Wear an open-collar linen shirt, or just a plain cotton T-shirt, with sandals or canvas espadrilles. That's enough. The same outfit takes you from a beachfront lunch to a sunset dinner without a change.

Weddings and evenings

A tailored pair is worth packing if there's a destination wedding or a dressy dinner. Look for a flat front and a straight leg, with a firm waistband so they hold their shape, and wear them with a white, pale blue or sage shirt and brown loafers. Read the invitation first, because linen trousers won't pass for strict black tie and they will crease whatever you do. Autumn is the awkward season, since linen is a warm-weather fabric. A cotton-linen blend is a fair compromise: it wrinkles less, but it also breathes less and can feel warmer in humid weather.

Packing and care

For a week away, take two pairs: a tailored one for evenings and a relaxed one for everything else. Both go with the same white, cream and blue shirts, so packing stays simple. Hang them up when you arrive and avoid folding them along the same line each time. At home, air-dry them on a hanger instead of using the tumble dryer, and iron them while they're still slightly damp if you want them smooth. Or skip the iron. Creases are part of how linen looks.