Hi!
As you may have heard, summer is here. And she’s hot.After a long, cold spring, I’m ready…except my closet isn’t.
I’m going into the office a lot more this summer, and I’m commuting on foot and by train. Air conditioning isn’t a guarantee. Hot pavement is. So are sweltering underground subway stations.
(In 2020, New York was reclassified as a subtropical city, which means the heat and humidity are here to stay.)
A lot of people turn toward floaty dresses, to which I say: good for you, not for me. (Thanks, Amy Poehler!) And while I’ve happily jumped on the skirt train, pants are still my preferred mode of dressing.
Yep, even in summer.
I always feel most free in pants. I’m not worried about how I move, I just go. Which is what I want, especially in the summer.
I want to leave work and walk long city block in the evenings when the sun has dipped behind the buildings, to meet friends for a ranch water cocktail, or take my kids for ice cream at the shop on the corner. Playground visits after dinner. That sort of thing.
Plus, when you feel like you’re melting, it’s nice to have the counterpoint of a pant. A little scaffolding to help hold you up. Or, alternatively, to ward off the classic office air conditioning chill.
But the secret to summer pants is that they are different than fall pants.
Last October I published an ode to pants:
And while many of the big ideas remain, the details shift for summer.
Fabrics should be natural and breathable. Look for poplin (the fabric of the 2025 season), linen (it doesn’t have to be 100%, a viscose blend helps reduce wrinkles, a cotton-blend gives you a tad more softness and heft), or light weight cotton twill (blended with tencel is very nice in summer). Tropical-weight wool is a thing because wool absorbs moisture and quickly releases it, making it naturally temperature regulating. Same with silk.
The silhouettes should be simple. Loose, relaxed, drapey, anything with that in the product name, and you should be good to go. A wide leg in a more structured fabric is also good, since it stands away from the body and lets air circulate. Even a stretchy kick flare can work. Just avoid anything that chafes against the skin. Aim for an adjustable waist like a drawstring or elastic. Humidity can do funny things to our body lol.
At work we have a saying: prints are personal (honestly, no one can ever agree on which floral they like best). The truth is, so are pants.
What works for me may not work for you.
This quote from What They’re Gossiping (and Complaining) about in the Hamptons made me laugh (as did the whole article):
Customer One: “Linen is, like, the worst fabric. It’s just wrinkles.”
Customer Two: “But I think if you are going to wear pants, it has to be linen.”
And the world doesn’t make it easy for us gals to buy pants. Unlike men, we rarely get different inseam options. In fact, we barely get inseam information. (Forever shaking my fist at the sky about this. However, Me + Em is excellent at providing inseam info, and Gap/J.Crew/Banana have become good-to pants destinations for me because they at least offer short / petite lengths, tall too! )
So, to help us out, I asked some of my favorite style Substackers to share their favorite pants with us. And they really came through! Thank you
, , , , , , and ! What a treasure chest of recommendations!I hope you find something you like that can help make summer as magical as possible. And share your favorite pants in the comments, pretty please!
LOOK BOOK
The Utility(ish) Poplin Pant
The pant of the summer, frankly. A drawstring fit in an airy, honeycrisp cotton poplin that is perfectly built to work and play hard, to take you from your home office to the post office to the town pool to a night on the town.
“This will probably not come as a surprise to anyone but my summer savior pants are the Leset Kyotos! They are a cotton poplin blend so they are lightweight and breathable and look better when worn in and wrinkled.” - Kelly
“I think cotton pants are great in the summer, as long as they have a looser fit and don’t hug your body! I love this pair from COS - the barrel leg really helps with air flow and I feel breezy and light wearing poplin. They are sadly sold out, but I love the Sabrina Curved Utility Pants from Pistola which is one of my favorite brands out there right now.” - Emily
I’ve personally been on an endless hunt for khaki pants. (I may just need to start a khaki pants brand given how I’ve been striking out in the market. I’ll take on Big Docker lol.)
In the meantime, I found these. Not quite the vintage-y chinos I had in mind, but I like their casual utility vibes, and the color is an ideal griege. I’d wear with a cardigan and shell for work, or a cream sweater vest and ivory linen blazer (let’s be honest lol.)
If you’re looking for a pop of color, I adore this tomato red option. Perfect for eating tomato sandwiches at a picnic with friends (or over your kitchen sink, guilty).
The Work(ish) Linen Pant
I gotta say, I agree with the Hamptons Lady. In the summer, if you’re going to wear pants, you can’t go wrong with linen. Think of her wrinkles as elegant (it’s how I like to think of mine lol), and her appearance as special. She shows up but once a year, but really makes it count. Linen is the Grand Dame of summer pants, but like one who rides a CitiBike to work and likes to drink a Corona with a wedge of lime after.
“My mom surprised me with the J.Crew Wide Leg Linen Pant last year, and they quickly became a summer staple - both in and outside of the office! The olive color compliments so many other colors, and the linen is a perfect weight for summer. Sadly I cannot wear them right now at 6 months pregnant, but if I wasn’t, I would’ve gotten them in the new red colorway! 10/10 recommend - and J.Crew is usually doing a sale, so it’s likely you could snag them for $100 or below on sale! Size notes: Even though they are called wide-leg, they fit more like a true straight leg, which IMO is a more flattering silhouette. I wear 1 size up from my normal size so they sit lower on my hips.” - Meighan
“I don’t love shorts on me, so in the summer, I live in linen pants. My favourite pair are these Oak + Fort trousers I’ve had for years that are super light and airy. I reach for them often because they hit that perfect balance of feeling polished and relaxed. Whether I’m wearing them with a button-up, basic tank, or a dressier top, I always feel put together and comfortable at the same time. Unfortunately, Oak + Fort doesn’t carry them anymore, but these J.Crew Harbor Linen pants look like they could be a good alternative.” - Maria
Popping into this category to add that my go-to linen pants, actually my #1 summer pants, are the Colette Linen Pants from Anthropologie. I wear these everywhere in the summer, even on overnight flights for work. The linen viscose blend means they’re soft enough to sleep in (if you had to), but the button-front and patch pockets perk them up. I always throw mine in the washing machine and dryer after a few wears, since they do loosen up. But that just means they’re easy to take care of. I have no idea why they got rid of the navy, but I assume you’re not all as obsessed with that color as I am ;)
(P.S if you missed the epic journey on Notes, my “princess water shoes” above, as
perfectly described them, arrived and I’m in love - fit is TTS and I wore them all day on their first wear!)The Striped Pant
Confession: I am stripe obsessed (I once started an Instagram account @iseeinstripes it has a whopping 16 followers but a lotttt of stripes), so I have been so excited to see stripes show up everywhere this summer, especially in pants. I want all of the striped pants below. Someone stop me.
“I love a wide leg pant all year long - I find the shape to be right in the nexus between what I find stylish & what is comfortable. Come summer time, I’m looking for lightweight and flowy with an elasticated waist. These Marine Layer striped hemp pants are essentially pajama pants (they’re technically not) and so unbelievably comfortable, but can be a bit hard to style. I’ve found pairing them with a structured top (something with heft, even a cotton poplin) and a dressier shoe makes these comfy pants feel more metropolitan.” - Maureen
(And here’s a second vote for the J.Crew Harbor Pant in a striped version, which Maureen offers up as similar and in more sizes, but the larger ones are sold out.)
“As a giant surprise to no one, I love a poplin pant in the summer! (Ed note: you have to read Sogole’s ode to poplin. It’s a masterpiece!) It’s lightweight, easy to pull on, and comfortable while still looking polished and put together. These are old Eres, but here’s a great green and white striped option.” - Sogole
Have I mentioned that I love stripes? Here are a few more inspired by the look above, which I’ve had saved in my phone for summer.
Left to Right
J.Crew Poplin Pant (sadly the matching shirt is sold out), available in regular/petite/tall
Suzie Kondi Zephyra Flare Terry Pant I actually have a pair of her terry shorts, and they’re a GREAT quality. I’ve been living in them.
BR Linen Pull-on Stripe Ankle Pant available in regular/petite/tall + many more color options
Boden Dulwich Linen Pants in Strawberry Tart Stripe isn’t that the most perfet name for a summertime pant??
Ok, and just a few more!
Left to Right
ME+EM Textured Stripe Track Pant (limited sizes left but I love this color, too)
Staud Bonfire Pant - another great name! This one is almost sold out, but if you like the vibe, try this one.
Uniqlo Stripe Easy Pants - these live up to their name because Uniqlo is offering free alternations to a 26.5” inseam! These are in my cart. (Of course, I also love the navy.)
Left On Friday Day Trip Pant - love their swimsuits, now I love their striped pants
Ok, I am forcing myself to move on.
The Short Pant
“I ordered these Anthropologie Boxer Pants with the intention of wearing them as PJs and maybeeeee wearing them on a school run or post workout/shower errand. But! When they arrived they were much nicer and more considered than I expected. I wore these to dinner (over a bathing suit) at a legendary Amelia island fish shack and to wander over to the marina to watch the sun set. The proportions are the perfect amount of oversized— very surfer nephew.” - Jen
I love the idea of looking like a surfer nephew so much, I found these too:
Pink Pants
This section is for reader Carolyn, and also all of us, because who doesn’t love a pink pant?!
Left to Right:
Apiece Apart Bari Crop Trouser - inseam included!! (27” for regular, 24” for petite.) These are in my cart in standard, but you guys, I just found the petite, which sadly doesn’t come in Pink, but does come in deep khaki! I might have found my khakis! No need to take on Big Docker!
Cos Fluid Wrap Trousers TBH I can’t decide if these are tricker than we want our summer pants to be OR so much simpler because they’re doing the Substack-scarf-around-our-waist styling trick for us. You decide!
Left On Friday Tour Pant just a delightful pant for summer travel adventures
Hartford Cotton Lyocell Pants in framboise
And once again, I fell into the Gap. I spent three years ignoring the Gap on the corner by our pediatrician’s office, and now I pop in every time I’m there. On Friday I spied the garment-dyed pink pants below, which I’m seriously considering in a petite (online only), as well as these blue stripe drawstring shorts (especially after seeing this look from the Jonathan Anderson’s debut Dior men’s show) (and maybe this matching set, I’ve been living in the other one I bought) and this cute button-front sweater vest.
Even Jonathan Anderson agrees on pink pants. His Dior menswear debut was on Friday, and I am in love. Especially with this (monochrome) pink pairing:
Before we go, I have to give another shoutout to my Nili Lotan Shon pants as originally recommended by
. These are my plane pants, and my playground pants, and my kids birthday party pants, and my casual Friday pants. They’re not strictly summer pants, but they’re great for warm temps, with their lightweight stretch twill and relaxed curved leg. I know they’re quite pricey, but they really are a 365/24/7 kind of pant.
IN THE STACKS
Speaking of playground pants,
coined this term in her fab post all about the very item. So, if you’d like even more playful pant options, hop on over there!- (of the fab surfer nephew shorts above), featured in her Worth The Hype, Part 2 post, who shared her favorite pants worth the hype: “These Ruti pants! 5’2” so everything is always too long. Except for these pants. I’m lazy and dont’ like the extra step of taking things to a tailor if I can avoid it. These are SO comfortable and just perfect. I wear them all the time. See me in them here— as part of what I wore when I was on the jury of a 3-week murder trial!”
If you’re actually looking for more of a long short instead of a short pant,
just published this fun piece.
- will make you laugh with this newsletter of her parent’s reviews of her outfits.
- found versions of Pedro’s CK muscle tank for us (and so much more.)
Oh, and one more about pants!
tried on a variety of black pants for summer (because black is the new black this season)!
Have a great 4th if you’re in the States!
x Lindsay
A note to readers: Fashion Soup may include affiliate links for things I love, at no cost to you. Thank you for reading + supporting my work!
My heart is racing with love right now - everyone looks SO freaking good!!! Jennifer’s Anthro pants/shorts are making me dizzy they are so good. Kelly in the Kyoto?? Dream come true!!! And Lindsay your shoessssss! Thank you for taking us on the journey. Everyone knocked it out of the park! And I love those Gap pink pants! Time to hide my credit card.
Fully joining the Pants People parade, proudly waving my wrinkled linen flag. The inseam saga drives me absolutely bonkers.
Loved this round-up and all the incredible input from other brilliant authors! It’s so fun seeing everyone’s go-to pair and why they love it. I’ve now added at least six to my mental shopping cart.
As always, thank you for taking time to hit publish on such an awesome piece. Xo