Look to any runway, any downtown scene, and, frankly, any GQ cover over the last several years and you’ll notice a common thread: men’s high waisted pants. It’s a trend that can feel a little intimidating at first. After all, it wasn’t long ago that low-rise jeans were all the rage (is this a bad time to tell you that they’re making a comeback?). But done right, menswear’s darling pant has the power to raise the sex appeal on virtually any casual or formal look.
High-waisted trousers are especially graceful—and hip—when paired with a baggy silhouette (think Miles Davis in some tropical wool pleated dress pants and a relaxed polo sweater). They’re also a perfect match with cropped jackets like trucker jackets and bomber jackets which makes sense given that, since forever, high-waisted chinos have been standard issue for the military (AKA, the perennial menswear hit-maker). But the high-waisted trouser isn’t limited to wide silhouettes. Filtered through a slick ’70s lens, high-rise pants are also very ready to party in a flared cut (just add a silky shirt to the mix). And if somehow neither of those poses appeals, but you still want to get into hiking up your pants, you can always fall back on a classic pair of blue jeans. When the GOAT Levi Strauss himself dropped the game-changing blue jean, it was a waist-level design which has stayed the course for well over a century. Just tuck in your favorite plain white t-shirt and you’re good to go.
Point is, there’s a high-waisted pant for just about everyone. And to show you, we’ve pulled together some of the best out there right now.
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