My Four Favorite Work Pants
My favorite high waisted, wide leg trousers for the office.
As someone with a full-time job outside of social media, I’ve spent a lot of time searching for the perfect work pant. These days, I tend to gravitate towards high waisted wide leg trousers — they look polished and elegant, but are also incredibly comfortable. Just a simple Google search for “wide leg trousers” will return an overwhelming number of results, so below I’ve rounded up my four favorite, high-quality work pants (see how I styled them all here).
Inseams
Before we get into the pants, let’s chat briefly about sizing and inseams. For height reference, I’m 5’4” and my full length pant inseam is 30 inch. I highly recommend figuring out what your inseam length is so you can anticipate if a pant is going to be too short or when you will need length alterations — it will make online shopping so much easier (more on how to measure your inseam here).
Along with that, I also recommend finding a reliable and quality tailor in your area. I’m a big proponent of having clothing tailored — you wouldn’t believe the difference it makes!
1. Favorite Daughter Shortie Pant
First up, a staple black wide-leg style from Favorite Daughter. This style has front pleats and belt loops with an overall classic, relaxed fit. The waistband is slightly thicker and runs a little small, you’ll notice it “nips you in” — because of this, you may want to size up. The fabric is also heavier, so the pant holds it shape well and is less prone to wrinkles after a day of wearing. Based off the size chart, I took a size up from my normal pant size. The regular length pant is a 34 inch inseam, but since I got the shortie inseam I didn’t have to get any alterations. These pants are a petite girl’s dream with their 30 inch inseam, plus they come in a handful of neutral colors.
2. Sézane Martin Trouser
The Martin Trousers have a flat front with no pleats and side slit front pockets that blend in nicely. Another detail I love about these pants is the fabric covered button just above the hidden zipper. It also adds to the clean and cohesive look since there are no belt loops (i.e. no belt to cover the front button). The wool blend fabric relaxes a little with wearing, but doesn’t stretch out in weird spots like the knees. While I can’t speak to the lighter colors, the navy shows minimal wrinkles. I took my normal size based off the size guide, and I love how they fit through the waist and butt. The inseam on these is 33.5 inches, so I had the length taken up. These come in a few neutral and more colorful options.
3. Sézane LouLou Trouser
With a wider leg and front pleats, the silhouette of the LouLou Trouser is more flowy compared to the other trousers in this round up. Some details I enjoy about these pants are the tortoise belt loop buttons and the size zipper. This lighter weight fabric is the most likely to wrinkle out of these 4 pairs. If the wrinkles are a pet peeve for you, I would suggest going with a darker color way — I have the black as well, and while it does wrinkle, the darker color helps conceal the wrinkles. I ordered my normal size based off the size guide, however these naturally run a little big because of their fluid and loose fit. I ended up having both the inseam taken up (originally 31.9 inches) and the waist taken in to ensure the best fit. These come in a handful of colors.
4. Sézane Dan Trouser
Finally, I love the polished look of the Dan Trousers. The front pockets and tortoise buttons are such lovely design details (you’ll notice there are no belt loops on these), but the real stars of the show are the stitched front seams. When paired with a pointed toe heel, the front seam further accentuates the elongating effect — plus it adds to the overall professional and polished look of the pant. I took my normal size based off the size guide and I’m very happy with the fit (similar to the Martin fit). This wool blend fabric also relaxes a little with wearing, but overall holds it shape well. The light ivory color way will show wrinkles after sitting, but a darker color would likely help camouflage that. The inseam on this style is 33 inches, so I had the length taken up. Like the others, these also come in a few neutral and more colorful options.
What other work pants are already staples in your closet or ones you’re curious about? I’m always on the hunt for quality additions to my work wardrobe!
Until next time,
Kelly
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I own a couple of pairs of the Sezane LouLou trousers and love them! I like that within the same silhouette they will mix up the fabrics so it feels like there is more variety. I’ve been looking for a pair of ecru/ivory non-linen pants though and it looks like the My Favorite Daughter ones come in ivory so I may try those! Thanks for the tip!!