Pants guide

This article is basically everything I know about pants. I’m a trans man, living in the US, in a region without much access to big malls but pretty good access to online shopping.

Everyone’s body is different. My biggest challenge with finding pants that fit, is that my hips and thighs are bigger around than most men’s, and my waist is proportionately smaller compared to my hips. Pants that don’t fit me are often really tight on my upper legs or butt, and too big around my waist, all at the same time. If this is your usual fit problem, you might find my recommendations helpful.

Some of my favorite pants are from brands owned by Levi’s, and r/malefashionadvice users tell me that Levi’s are inordinately expensive outside the US. If this is the case in your area, look for similar fits in your country’s local brands rather than the American brands I mention.

This guide covers jeans and chinos (which are khakis that come in colors other than khaki). Most of the advice is also applicable to wool pants that you might wear as part of a suit. I don’t know anything about streetwear or athleisure clothing styles, so I won’t cover sweat pants in this guide.

Fits

Athletic fit: Athletic fit pants are made for people with our body shape. Weight lifters often choose athletic fit pants to accommodate large thigh muscles, and guys who tend to carry fat in their legs (whether cis or trans) often find them a good fit, too. (Pants don’t care if you lift or not.) These pants are roomy in the seat and thighs, smaller at the waist, and taper in the lower legs. The taper means they can be good for making your legs overall look smaller.

Classic fit: Classic fit pants are usually an older/retro style. If they’re dress pants or chinos, they’ll look like something you’d wear to an office job. They usually have a high waist, roomy legs the whole way down, and no taper. On me, sometimes the waist gapes too much, but if the waist fits, they’re usually very comfortable. If you’re young and prefer to dress young/trendy, this fit probably isn’t what you want.

Straight fit: Sometimes straight fit is the same as classic, sometimes it has a lower waist, smaller butt and/or more tapered legs. Some brands’ straight fits are good for guys with big legs, others aren’t.

Tapered: Tapered pants are similar to straight-fit in the upper legs, and narrow in the lower legs. If you want a slimmer or more modern look than straight fit, and slim fit pants don’t fit you, give tapered a try.

Slim fit: Slim fit pants taper the whole way down the leg, and the upper leg is usually tighter than a tapered pant from the same brand. They might also have less space in the seat than other cuts. They’re usually not the best option for guys with big thighs.

Skinny: Skinny fit pants are very tight in the butt and legs, relative to the waist. If you want the skinny fit look, but have big thighs, look for pants that are a very close fit on you. (Slim, slim-straight or tapered are some fits to try.) There are also some trans guys who find that skinny fit jeans make their shape look more masculine than any other pants. My best bet is that these guys carry weight in their butt but not in their thighs, and they’re choosing low-rise skinny jeans where waist gape is less likely to be a problem. If you’re a trans guy and classic and athletic fit aren’t working for you, skinny might be worth a shot.

Rise

Rise is how high the waist of the pants sits on your body. Full rise or natural waist pants come up to your waist, roughly the height of your belly button. Mid-rise is lower than that, and low-rise is the lowest.

Many trans guys prefer mid-rise pants, because that height hides the shape of your hips and waist the most. Full-rise pants can cinch in at the waist (which can make your hips look bigger in contrast), whereas mid-rise pants let your shirt hang loose around your waist and hide it a bit.

I’ve heard that very low rise pants are not recommended; I’m not sure why. I’ve never tried wearing them because I find them uncomfortable.

If you’re short, pants might have a higher rise on you than they were designed for. In formal pants (suits, slacks), you can sometimes find short rise pants, which are meant to fit like full rise pants on a short man’s body. If you’re buying casual pants or have a small budget, short rise pants probably won’t be an option. Just pay attention to the shape of the pants on your body and find the best fit you can.

Length

The “break” of a pair of pants refers to how it folds (or doesn’t fold) where it meets the top of your shoe. This guide to pant breaks explains it, and has some example pictures.

Pants with no break or a very slight break are in fashion right now, at least according to the internet. Some guys also find that slightly short pants help them look taller. You might want to give it a try, if you’re a trendy sort of guy and/or living in a place where cropped pants are common. (Here in upstate New York, there aren’t many men who pay attention to fashion, so I think I’d look like I accidentally bought too-short pants if I tried this look.) If you’re not sure what you prefer, a slight break or a medium break is usually a safe bet.

You might find that the store you’re shopping in doesn’t sell any pants in the length you need. Luckily, making pants shorter is just about the easiest alteration there is. If they’re casual pants, you can wear them cuffed. Otherwise, a tailor can shorten them for you. Dry cleaner shops often offer cheap tailoring services. Or, you could learn to do it yourself, or ask a friend who sews to help you.

Details

Pleats: Pleats are usually found on straight or classic fit slacks and chinos. I’ve heard that pleats are designed to help guys with big legs look slimmer, but they always look awful on me. Try on the pleated version of a pair of non-pleated pants you like (or vice versa) and see which looks better on you. If you’re suit shopping and aren’t sticking to a tight budget, it could be worth trying on some pleated pants even if you don’t usually prefer them, since high quality pleats stand a much better chance of looking good.

Belt loops: Most mens’ pants have them. If you’re going to wear suspenders with your pants, they’ll look better without a belt and belt loops. You might be able to find pants without any loops, or you could carefully remove them with a seam ripper tool.

Color

In general, neutral colors are “safer” and will go with more of your clothing.

Keep in mind that black is slightly less neutral in men’s fashion than in women’s; in men’s clothes, it can come on too strong, and be too stark a contrast from the other colors you’re wearing. If you’re looking for all-around, goes-with-anything pants, dark gray is usually a better choice than black.

If you’re buying chinos, good colors to start with include gray, navy, brown, tan or kakhi, olive green, and black.

When buying jeans, it’s usually best to go for dark indigo (blue) or black, with no pre-fading, distressing, etc. If you know what denim colors/fades you like, and they’re different from what I recommend, go for it. But if you’re not sure, dark unfaded indigo or black is very versatile (less risk of looking more casual or more dadcore than you intended), and you don’t have to worry about badly done fades making your legs look bigger than they are.

Brand recommendations

I’ll talk about jeans first, and then move on to (slightly) dressier pants.

Levi’s 541: The original magical butt-hiding pants. 541s are athletic fit pants, with a tapered leg that makes your lower body in general look smaller (hips included). The waist is a little tighter (relative to the hips) than most men’s pants – for me, it still gapes a little, but less than anything else I’ve tried.

Levi’s 501: Retro as heck, with some interesting fabric options (shrink to fit, raw denim, that sort of thing). These are straight fit, full rise pants. They’re pretty roomy all over – butt, thighs, lower legs, waist. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your shape.

Levi’s 505: Basically 501s except with a usual zipper fly instead of the button fly. Levi’s 559 is also similar, but has a low rise.

Lucky brand athletic fit: These were my best looking pair of jeans ever for about a day. No waist gape, just enough butt room, perfectly fitting legs, very comfy almost pajama-like stretch fabric. The second day I wore them, they started to sag in the seat and look awful. This made them almost useless to me, because I like to wear my pants for several days before washing them. If you don’t mind washing after each wear, you might like them.

American Eagle athletic fit: These are another stretchy, comfy, athletic fit jean. On me, they didn’t fit quite as well as Lucky Brand, but everyone’s body is different, so maybe for you they’ll be the best. They’re also cheaper than Lucky Brand.

Dockers athletic fit: These fit almost exactly the same as Levi’s 541, in my experience. They’re chinos, rather than jeans, and they come in a few different versions, some more formal than others. If you need business casual or “smart casual” pants, and you like 541s, these are great.

Dockers classic fit: Similar to athletic fit Dockers, but more comfy (even more room for your thighs), more “mature”/less trendy, and unfortunately a little less fitted in the waist. They’re also easier to find than athletic fit.

Abercrombie & Fitch: Their chino shorts are extremely stretchy, have plenty of room in the seat, and come in a variety of lengths (so you can choose whether to hide your thighs or show them off). I haven’t had the opportunity to try their regular pants yet.

Target: Target makes cheap clothing with surprisingly high quality for the price. Their chinos come in athletic fit, and seem like a solid option. (I’ve tried them on, but haven’t bought, because I prefer a higher rise.) Target is also a good place to get underwear, since their selection is better than Walmart’s.

Land’s End: Land’s End is notable because they will hem pants to any length you like, for free. If you don’t sew and are having trouble finding short enough pants, they might be worth a look. Unfortunately their men’s pants tend to be very tight in the seat.

Uniqlo: Another brand that offers free hemming. Unfortunately, like Land’s End, their fits aren’t particularly good for guys who need extra space in the seat or upper legs.

Most of the other slacks and chinos I’ve owned have been Haggar classic fit. They’re not outstandingly good, but they’re not bad either, and they’re common, easy-to-find pants.

If you need pants for the gym… unfortunately, most gym shorts and drawstring pants make anyone’s hips look bigger than they are, because of the way the drawstring is constructed. “Board shorts” look kind of like gym shorts and don’t have this problem, but in my experience they’re often too tight to squat or deadlift in. If you’re just running and doing upper-body exercises, board shorts might work well for you. Otherwise, I don’t have any good recommendations.