We Found The Most Flattering Pants In Every Single Category Of Pant
12 pants we’re thrilled to pull on for every single occasion. No suck in or shimmy required.
by The Candidly Team
Maybe you’ve mastered pants and won’t relate to any of this. But we find pants tricky. Deceiving. Traitorous.
I mean we love them. Naturally. Wear them more than anything else? Of course! Buy a slightly "off” pair at every sale thrown our way? Also (regrettably) yes!
Nevertheless, there’s often a sharp wedge between what seems like it will be a perfectly good, desirable pair of pants and what actually looks (or feels) anywhere near perfectly good or desirable on our bodies.
And that’s because, way too often we wind up settling for pants that do. not. fit. well. They squeeze. They gap. They bulge. They sag. And they somehow look a little weird with every one of our shoes.
And so our closets are crammed with “meh” pants, each one possessing a different flaw that makes us unexcited, if not entirely unwilling, to wear them. Do we all not do this? Hoard pants that we’re not even remotely happy with?
Ok, so onto the solution!
Basically, we’ve given up on dumb, fleeting, and unflattering trends. Instead we put curve-complementing, extraordinary-feeling fit above all else.
And what we’ve discovered in our quest is 11 pairs of pants that are utterly game-changing. Each pair is chic, tailored, a foundation from which to build actual “looks” around.
We’ve done years of sampling, and we truly believe these pants to be the G.O.A.T.s in their respective categories.
We promise there’s a pant on this list that will leave a gaping hole the moment it’s in the laundry bin. And it will rid you of 3 uninspired pairs collecting dust in your closet as we speak.
Go forth.
1. The Cropped Pant That Magically Melts Over Bellies And Thighs
Maeve The Colette Cropped Wide-Leg Pants
Year after year, these pants sell out of their countless colors and amazing size range because women, short, tall, petite, and plus have discovered their wizardry. The fabric is smoothing and slightly stretchy, with plenty of hold to make us feel both comfortable and supported at all times, all while looking very chic. And possibly a tiny bit French.
Price: $120
2. The Smoothing Long Jeans That Make You Look 6ft Tall
We had one of those moments when we tried on these jeans. You know the ones you see in a movie where some serious, khakis-wearing lady who never cared about clothes tries on a pair of jeans and looks like she’s been shot with the light of the sun at the sight of her reflection? Well sort of like that. These jeans have stretch and support, and their slightly flared shape is incredibly flattering on every body type.
Price: $228
3. The Waist-Nipping Wide-Leg That’s All But Replaced our Jeans
Madewell The Harlow Wide-Leg Pant
These are Madewell’s number one selling pants for many good reasons. But number one is that the fit is sort of foolproof. They have just the right amount of wide-leg and pleating to nip the waist and not add bulk around the hips. They come in plus and every color you could dream of wanting. And honestly they’re so versatile, we wear them daily with all the things we would have worn with jeans. But these just feel better. And look better quite frankly.
Price: $118
4. The Stretchy Ponte Pant That Molds Better Than Leggings
J. Crew Going-Out Slim Pant In Stretch Twill
A good, stretchy ponte pant can be the most timeless, pretty little pant in your closet - the Audrey Hepburn of pants if you will. And these are the finest of them all. The stretch makes them feel glorious on curves, including our bellies. They have a lot of hold, while still being breathable, so we feel like we’re in buttery leggings. They’re amazing for work and for going out with one of THESE.
Price: $148
5. The Chic Work Pant We Wear Out Constantly
J.Crew Sydney Wide-Leg Pant In Bi-Stretch Cotton
No one is ever that excited about a work pant. But this pair is also the best going-out pant and pack for vacation pant and putter around the house in pant. They key is the shape and the stretch. It come in black, but the white with a whisper soft turtleneck is making our goal of dressing like Diane Keaton in As Good As It Gets a reality.
Price: $98
6. The Jeans tailored To Look Good On Everyone Without Exception
The Colette Denim Cropped Wide-Leg Jeans by Maeve
Look familiar? Yes, these are the denim version of the magical pants that took the #1 slot in this very article. The smoooooothing fit on curves and chic, slightly French sailor style are just too good to not own these pants as jeans. And we, of course, do!
They size in tall, petite, and plus.
Price: $130
7. The Most Heavenly Lounge Pant For The Pear Shapes Among Us
Cozy Earth Ribbed-Knit Jogger Pant
If you’re going to spend a substantial portion of your life in joggers, shouldn’t they be the softest joggers in existence that also make you sort of look your best? As people committed to being deeply comfy at all times, Cozy Earth’s loungewear has taken over our lives. Nothing compares.
And we have a code for you! Use code CANDIDLY to get 30% off.
Price: $160
8. The Long Black Pants We’re Always Searching For
The Junie High-Rise Wide-Leg Flare Pants by Maeve
If your deepest desire is to look like you’ve spent hundreds of dollars/ hours tailoring your clothes just for you while actually putting in zero time or effort, these are the pants for you. For all of us really. Perfection across the board. They have the same sort of magical stretchy, yet luxe-looking material we’ve spoken of before that smooths without any constriction or making us bulge out in weird, unflattering places.
Sidenote: If you’re looking for the world’s best drapey, wide-leg trouser (also from Anthropologie), go HERE.
Price: $128
9. The Easy Barrel Pant That Glides Over Hips
These pants are one of 5 things we bought with our own hard-earned money from Everlane this year, and they’re one of the most universally flattering, wearable everyday pants on this list. The brand is doing such smart things with fit and specifically with pants, it’s sort of blowing us away.
Price: $98
10. The most flattering jeans For Curves
Madewell Curvy Kick Out Crop Jean
The stretch on these jeans is pretty addictive, hence us having two pairs of Madewell jeans on this list. But this particular style is cut and contoured in such a way to fit really well on thick thighs and big butts without leaving an ugly kangaroo pouch at the waist.
Here is one of us wearing our very own pair:
The comfort is just on another level.
Price: $138
11. The Leisure Pant That Weirdly Makes Us Look Like A Model
Spanx AirEssentials Wide Leg Pant
Since we all want to live in joggers but we also want to look chic and like we sort of “tried,” these pants have been a godsend. They’re definitely giving “clean girl” vibes, which basically means we look effortlessly polished while still being sort of loungey. The shape is beyond flattering and makes us look taller, but the AirEssentials fabric from Spanx is also one of the most surprising things we’ve discovered this year in terms of pure comfort. Also, these size up to 3X. Yay!
Price: $138
12. The Trousers That Make Legs Look 3 Inches Longer
Aritzia The Effortless Pant™ Wider
These are the drapey, Katharine Hepburn pants we’ve always dreamed of that elongate us in mildly magical ways. The perfect tailoring, pleating, fit, all of it. But the even more magical part is that Aritzia took this trademarked pant and made like 67 versions: linen, wide-leg, cropped, curve-fit, low-rise. The list goes on. We wear this wider style with a button-down for our chicest work uniform and also with a tucked sweater for looking effortlessly luxe.
Price: $148
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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