Take five seconds to survey the menswear landscape, and you’ll notice a dramatic rising of the belt line. In 2024, men’s high-waisted pants seem to be the only kind of pants worth shimmying into. The style can be intimidating, sure (and not the least bit confusing—don’t stress about it too much, but low-rise pants are also sort of back). Worn properly, though, the right pair of high-waisted pants has the uncanny ability to up the sex appeal on just about anything you wear ’em with.
The Best High-Waisted Pants, According to GQ
High-waisted trousers look especially graceful when complemented by roomy, retro silhouettes up top (think Miles Davis in tropical wool dress pants and a slouchy polo sweater). But they’re also a perfect accent to cropped jackets like truckers and bombers, which makes a lot of sense; in chino form, they’ve been standard issue for the military since forever.
The style isn’t limited to wider silhouettes, either. High-rise pants are also very ready to party as flared jeans (just add a silky shirt to the mix). And if that vibe feels too Boogie Nights, you can always fall back on the most legendary star in the denim galaxy: yes, the game-changing 501, now over 150 years old, boasts a waist-level design that remains as influential as ever—tuck in your favorite plain white T-shirt and you’re good to go. Point is, there’s a pair of men’s high-waisted pants for just about every closet, and the best of ‘em are immediately below.
The Best High-Waisted Chinos
We’re (still) not done singing the praises of J.Crew’s Giant-fit chinos. As the name implies, they’re wide, but these viral biz-cas trousers mostly just fit like chinos from the ’50s. So while the billowy leg gets all the attention, they also come with a properly high waist that reaches toward the natural waist—just around the belly button. The fabric is sturdy-yet-soft, they come in all the earth-tones you could want, and they look just as good with a white tee as they do with a sweater or an oxford.
The Best High-Waisted Work Pants
Aside from a classic pair of blue jeans, the Dickies 874 work pants are about as versatile as it gets. They’re tough enough for hard labor, but a crisp(er) pair is dressy enough to hold their own at a formal event. A huge part of that comes down to the cut, which features a damn-near perfect straight leg and a classic (re: higher) rise. If you’re still not sold, they come in a ton of colors and shouldn’t run you more than $50, which means that you can snag one for work and another for play.
The Best High(er)-Waisted Jeans
The ‘90s was a time for endless style inspiration, and much of that is thanks to some huge jeans. You could spend precious hours searching for the right vintage pair, but Levi’s has the exact fit you’re looking for in the 565 ’97 Loose Straight jeans. But if you come for the volume, you should stay for the rise, which climbs higher than the 501 STF jeans, and most others for that matter. Not only does this make for flattering proportions, it also elevates the back pockets to intended heights (re: at the butt). And for those that don’t particularly enjoy the ancillary activities required to make a pair of raw denim sing, these come tastefully faded out of the box.
The Best High-Waisted Trousers on a Budget
If you haven’t noticed by now, we don’t mind splitting a suit up. At all. Especially when the trousers look as good as these high-rise, wide-leg, double-pleated ones from Banana Republic do. Made with a wool hopsack fabric from Reda Mill in Italy, they’re as dressy as anything without a tuxedo stripe and gracefully avoid the stuffiness that slimmer pants have. Oh, and if you wear it with the matching jacket, they’ll be formal enough for (roughly) 98% of all formal functions.
The Best High-Waisted Trousers on No Budget
While most pants have their virtues, these pants from The Row are basically 100% virtues. The rise is such that it targets the belly button with surgical precision; they can accommodate a belt beautifully but also look fantastic without; the deep pleats flow effortlessly into the creased front, and the tacked cuffs are a nice bit of punctuation at the bottom. Are they worth the price of admission. Die hard fans of the Olsen twins will say yes. But even if you can’t get your hands on these arguably perfect pants, you can at least snap a photo when you see them IRL.
The Best High-Waisted Pants Nobody Else Owns
Casatlantic gained traction with menswear nerds for their brilliant renditions of classic menswear staples—and what fueled their rocket to the top was their range of sky-high trousers. While you really can’t miss with any one of their offerings, the Mogador’s are a perfect in-between if you’re looking to step up from J.Crew, but don’t want to wade too far out into pricey waters. Specs-wise, they’re single-pleated with a straight leg, and they boast a healthy rise and handy-ass side-tabs that allow you to cinch the waist down an inch-and-a-half without a belt. Or, more succinctly, in a line of classics, these are as classic as they come.
