In my 15 of the Best Men’s Wool Trousers Buying Guide, I’m not only going to show you the best options for wool trousers but how to wear them so you look great.
Jump straight to the best men’s wool trousers buying guide.
If you’re in the process of building up a wardrobe make sure to add a couple of pairs of wool dress pants. These aren’t suit pants but their thicker counterpart. These pants are perfect for fall and winter weather and can be dressed up or down. In this men’s essential wardrobe article we’ll show why they’re important, which ones to get and how they should fit.
Why are Wool Dress Pants a Men’s Wardrobe Essential?
Every man should have a pair of Wool trousers in his closet. Make that at least two pair. As I described above I’m not talking about flowy suit pants, I’m talking about trousers that are heavier and can be paired with heavier fall & winter attire without looking weird.
Related: 24-Piece Capsule Wardrobe for Men
Think of it as a separate that you can pair with formal outfit pieces like oxford dress shoes, broadcloth dress shirts, and blazers. But you can also wear them with more casual pieces like white sneakers, plain t-shirts, and sweaters.
Wool pants are versatile and can many different outfits. Again, standard suit pants only look right paired with the rest of the suit, so if you wish to vary up your look from time to time, it is essential to have a variety of heavier wool trouser dress pants.
Materials and Fabrics for Men’s Wool Pants
When we think of wool, the first thing that often comes to mind is heavy, knitted, homemade goods. Well, this is not the same thing in men’s fashion. Materials and fabrics utilized for men’s wool trousers are more tightly knit than anything our moms would have made. Generally, there are three material and fabric choices for these trousers all pertaining to wool, worsted wool, flannel wool, and gabardine wool.
Gabardine is a tight wool (or cotton once in a while) twill weave that’s best for Spring and Fall. It’s usually woven in 10-12 ounce weights that are warm in the summer and not warm enough in winter. – Ask Andy About Clothes
Flannel is a soft woven material made from tightly woven wool, brushed to create extra softness. The brushing process creates a fuzzy finish. The result is a fabric with a smooth, napped surface. – RMRS
The essential feature of worsted yarn is straight, parallel fibers. Originally, long, fine staple wool was spun to create worsted yarn; today, other long fibers are also used. Worsted wool is lightweight but has a coarse texture. –Wikipedia
In order to find out what suits you best, you will need to try on all three, so make sure you pay attention to the fabric used in the individual trouser’s construction.
What Colors Should I Get?
Color is strictly determined by your individual preferences, but it is best to start simple. Skip the wild colors with their bold expressions and keep things as simple as possible with the most versatile color pallet. Grey and navy should always be your first choice as they tend to look best on a wider range of people. Black can look a bit too formal for some instances but is a color worth investing in as well.
Skip the Pleats.
If you have been a fan of my website for any length of time, you will understand that I hate pleats. This is especially true for those of us who are larger than average. Pleats make us heavier people look even more bloated and large than we already are. No one needs that aggravation, so skip the pleats no matter what anyone else tells you. Tailor your trousers to bring out your best features, not those that accentuate you more unflattering attributes.
How Should Wool Dress Pants Fit?
Wool dress pants should fit snug without the need for a belt to keep them on your waist and the leg shouldn’t be too tight. You should be able to pinch a maximum of 1 to 2” of fabric around your thigh. If you can pinch more than that, take them to the tailor, but if you cannot pinch that much, simply go up a size.
When trying on dress pants for the first time, utilize the pull 3 rule. This simply means that you take three sizes into the dressing room with you, one the size you believe you are, one just one size larger, and one a size smaller. This way you always have options to find the one that is right for your look.
What’s the Best Pants Break?
What are we talking about, you ask? Well, the break is simply the amount of fabric resting on the shoes while standing in men’s wool pants. A large break looks messy and unkempt. Always have your trousers tailored to fit you. Shoot for either no break for the cleanest and most modern look or at the most a quarter break.
If you go with no break a little trick I like to use is have the front of the pant just hit the shoe and have the back a little longer.
15 of the Best Men’s Wool Trousers
The brands below are all great options for men’s wool trousers. I have some of the budget options from J. Crew and H&M and really like the way they fit. Take a look at some of the designer options, they all look great but aren’t absolutely necessary to get a great look.
Designer Brands
1. Lanvin Wool and Cashmere Biker Pants ($895)
2. Armani Wool Dress Pants ($825+)
3. Zegna Wool Dress Pants ($595+)
4. Reiss Wool Trousers ($245+)
5. Filippa K Wool Trousers ($210 ) – Thinking of wool dress pants can sometimes make men think of heavy materials, but that is not the case with Filippa-K Liam Cool Wool Trousers. These pants offer a slim design with lightweight wool for easy wear and maximum comfort. Colors available are black, grey, and hope, which is a rich navy blue color.
6. Burberry Classic-Fit Wool Cashmere Tailored Trousers ($200) – Quality is of the utmost of importance when considering a pair of trousers and nothing says quality design and manufacture quite like Burberry Classic-Fit Wool Cashmere Tailored Trousers. These pants are custom ordered and feature 90% wool with 10% cashmere for maximum comfort. The interior lining is comprised of 100% viscose. Each pair is designed and made direct from Italy, so you are assured a high-quality dress pant.
Budget Brands
1. Bonobos Stretch Wool Dress Pants ($200)
2. Drapeau Noir ($170) – Wool dress pants are utilized for many different occasions, yet some manufacturers merely offer the style in one color. With Drapeau Noir wool pants, you can choose from a range of styles and colors from simple grey slacks to blue slacks with multiple patterns giving you maximum versatility with every pant.
3. Club Monaco Wool Trousers ($170+)
4. Incotex Wool Trousers ($169+)
5. Brooks Brothers Regent Wool Dress Pants ($105+) – Brooks Brothers have long been the ideal place to get quality dress pants and their stretch fit wool trousers are no exception. With genuine Italian wool and a professional profile, you will look like a million bucks. These trousers come in both black and grey colors and have sizes available from 32 to 42.
6. Mango Wool Dress Pants ($70)
7. Uniqlo Wool Dress Pants ($60)
8. H&M Wool Pants ($35+) – Italian Wool serves as the backdrop for H&M’s Wool Suit Pants in Slim Fit. Composition for the pants house 95% wool with 5% Elastane for that little bit of stretch that is necessary for maximum comfort. With an interior lining of 100% Polyester, this pair of pants takes you from the office to a casual social event effortlessly.
9. J. Crew Wool Dress Pants ($225+) – Featured in coal grey, J. Crew’s Ludlow Slim-Fit Unstructured Suit Pant in English Wool-Cotton Twill is a spectacular style with multiple waist sizes ranging from 28 to 38. What began as an entire suit put out by J. Crew became such a phenomenon that the company chose to introduce this pant for the fall season. The Ludlow silhouette is comprised of fabric from England’s finest mill, Abraham Moon Mill, so you can feel luxury in every inch of this versatile pair of wool pants.
10. Suit Supply Grey Soho Turnup Wool Trousers ($199) – Wool trousers are a lot more adaptable than people give them credit for. These wool trousers from Suit Supply are soft and supple and made from 100% wool. They’re a nice little upgrade from sweats and you can wear them with all the same accessories to dress them down a bit. White sneakers, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc.
Best Men’s Outfits – How to wear mens wool trousers
Men’s Outfit Idea #1
1. Bomber: American Trench Black Bomber
2. Shirt: J. Crew White Dress Shirt
3. Tie: The Tie Bar Grosgrain Solid Charcoal
4. Pants: J. Crew Wool Pants
5. Shoes: Allen Edmonds Park Avenue Cap Toe Oxford
6. Sweater: J.Crew Everyday Cashmere V-neck sweater Grey
7. Belt: Brooks Brothers Silver Buckle Leather Dress Belt
Men’s Outfit Idea #2
1. Jacket: J. Crew Ludlow Worsted Wool Charcoal Grey Jacket
2. Pants: J. Crew Ludlow Slim-fit suit pant in Italian stretch worsted wool
3. Shirt: J. Crew Ludlow stretch two-ply easy-care cotton dress shirt in solid
4. Tie: The Tie Bar Grosgrain Solid Charcoal Tie
5. Pocket Square: The Tie Bar Linen Pocket Square
6. Shoes: Allen Edmonds Park Avenue Oxford Cap-Toe Shoes
7. Belt: Brooks Brothers Silver Buckle Leather Dress Belt
Vendor Spotlight: Drapeau Noir
1. Pants: Drapeau Noir Wool Moon Grey Slim Fit Pants
2. T-Shirt: Drapeau Noir Pocket T-Shirt White
3. Sweater: Drapeau Noir Pull Ideal Navy Crew Neck Sweater
4. Sneakers: Oliver Cabell Low White Sneakers