When To Wear White Pants For Men
White pants for men = swamp-ass averted. They give you a serious edge to both looking cool and staying cool during the summer.
Wearing White Pants For Men
So you’ve got to go to work, which means you’ve got to dress up a bit. But if you work in a 21st century office, if it’s not business casual all the time it’s probably business casual over the summer and it’s almost certainly business casual on summer Fridays.
You know what else it is over the summer? Hot. Like, Equatorial Africa hot.
It’s hot when you’re commuting. It’s hot when you get lunch, in some offices it’s even hot when you’re inside at your desk. But showing up to a meeting sweating like you just came from the gym is what the politicians call “bad optics.” Unless you live a very sheltered life–going from air conditioned home to air conditioned garage to air conditioned car to air conditioned office garage to air conditioned office, stopping only to eat lunch in your air conditioned office cafeteria–you’re going to have to face the elements at some point.
So you’ve got to have a game plan for getting through your day with swagger intact and swamp ass averted. Allow us to introduce you to your savior, the white pant.
“White pants,” you say, nearly falling off your seat, “I can’t wear white pants!”
You can. You can and you will after you see how we pair them with up with your favorite shirts and summer blazers.
White Pants For Men: The Looks
Blazer, Shirt, Pocket Square, Black Lapel.
This blue blazer is begging to be paired with white. The check pattern, which features white, is paired naturally with a white shirt, pocket square and, of course, white chinos.
This lightweight navy blazer goes together well with white pants for a classic, nautical summer look.
Brown and blue are a winning combination and when your brown blazer has flecks of white in the weave, white jeans are an obvious choice to complete the outfit.
This teal blazer and white pant combo is the best of both worlds. On one hand, you have a lightweight, breathable blazer, and on the other hand, you’ve got cool white pants that don’t take away from the main attraction up top.
Blazer, Black Lapel.
This one’s for the man who values a little contrast in their life through a teal blazer, pink shirt and white pant combo. You’re the cool guy going somewhere cool in this look.
When to Wear White Pants: To Stay Cooled Off
Because white pants reflect the sun, they help you stay cool in the long days of summer, reducing the aforementioned swamp ass.
When to Wear Pants: To Stand Out
White pants give you an edge by making you stand out from the crowd. Think about it. Who else in your office is wearing white pants? While the rest of the crew sweats it out in their dark slacks you’ll be chilling in white.
Can You Wear White Pants at The Office?
When denim is in the dress code, you can apply the same concepts as we did above with white pants to white jeans. When it’s hot but not blazing hot, white jeans add texture to your outfit and relax the look of a blazer.
When White Won’t Work
As much as we’ve sung the praises of white pants here, they are not always appropriate. There are business occasions when white pants aren’t somber enough, like a court date, and business occasions when white clothes can be difficult to keep clean, like a pie eating contest (OK, so pie eating contests are only business occasions if you’re a professional pie eater, but hey, a guy can dream). But those cases are rare. For many of us, white pants are one of the summer’s sharpest, and most overlooked, style moves making you more comfortable and more stylish in one simple step.
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Blue blazer, white pocket square of course, white and blue checkered shirt, white pants, and blue suede loafers. Need an idea for color watch and belt.
I have a light blue linen blazer with white to off-white buttons. Since it has white buttons, do I have to wear it with white pants? Would it look awkward if I wear it with navy pants? Thank you.
Are wide-leg white linen pants okay for a guy to wear?
Absolutely right.
how about white linen dress pants after labor day Hoildays,early fall living in Las Vegas NV area?EF
Wear those white linens with pride. We’re not big on rules 😉
How about a man on the big and tall side? Say 38×33. Asking for a friend.
White pants work for men of all shapes and sizes! We’d tell your friend to go forth to style-victory.
What kind of pants (material/style) is the model wearing the teal blazer and navy button down shirt wearing?
Hey Peter! The model is actually wearing slim-fit jeans!
Florida. White pants whenever.
I love in Florida. White pants whenever .
Are white trousers a bad choice for a NYE party?
Undoubtedly, yes. Unless you’re in the Bahamas and are talking about white chinos/jeans, NYE really isn’t the time for white trousers. If you like the idea of wearing white to a New Year’s Eve party, we recommend a white dinner jacket and bowtie accompanied by black tuxedo pants. Cheers!
A white dinner jacket is as inapproiate in winter as white pants. Both should be reserved for summer.
I think a black and/or grey combo shirt and jacket with white pants works post Labor day. I tried this combination with a great reaction from my fellow employees.
Nice move. Yeah, you can get away with white pants a few weeks after Labor Day if it’s still hot outside. You can make white pants look less summery with more neutral colors, like black and gray as you mentioned, or by transitioning to fall colors like forest green.
Any recommendations on where to shop for (white) trousers?
Sadly, you missed your chance to get some from us, Medi. Earlier this summer we had a small batch of white fabric that we made into custom suits, jackets, and pants but they sold through quickly. The best way to stay on top of these releases is to sign up for our emails.
As for a more casual option, the king of denim, Levi Strauss, makes a good selection of white jeans that’ll work much like what you see above.
I for one can get on the white pants train.
We’re glad to be on the same page, now go forth and spread the good word!