19 Best Summer Pants for Men 2020

I’ll be honest: I’ve yet to encounter any shorts—no matter how good—that provide the same je ne sais quoi sensation as stumbling across a truly great pair of pants. Shorts, by definition, just offer less to work with. And yes, I’m well aware we’re in the midst of a near-historic resurgence of the style and acknowledge, albeit begrudgingly, that there are more than a few solid options out there these days.

Listen, I’m not saying you should never wear shorts as a rule. All I’m saying is I, personally, rarely wear ’em. I’ll keep my pasty gams to myself, thank you very much, public ridicule be damned. Because don’t get it twisted: By refusing to wear shorts you’re opening yourself up to a lifetime of mockery, and if you don’t have the heart to handle the ribbing, best to stop reading now.

The easiest way to ready yourself for the scorn that’ll inevitably come your way? Cop some seasonally appropriate pants. Investing in a proper pair of trousers—in linen, seersucker, and other summer-ready fabrics—means any time a less savvy “friend” hits you with the old, Yo, aren’t you hot in those? you can glare at him witheringly while saying something like, “Ha, not at all dude, these are literally as comfortable as shorts” and actually mean it. (And then cut that motherfucker out of your life entirely. You don’t need that type of negative energy, man.) I’m not sweating, you are!

Short of saving up the money to invest in some calf implants, seasonally appropriate pants are the best way to beat the heat in style. And if you’re ready to stuff your shorts once and for all into the back part of the closet you use to store shit you don’t have room for anywhere else, I’ve rounded up some of the best summer-friendly pants to buy right now, because as soon as this heat wave dies down there’s no way you’re catching another glimpse of my pale chicken legs for at least another year.

Fashion hurts, fellas. Suck it up.