Trousers Are the Backbone of My Wardrobe—4 Chic Trends You Can Easily Wear to Work

With recent trends leaning towards smart, polished aesthetics, it's easier than ever to overlap your workwear and weekend style. Consider then, work trousers to be the foundation of your 9-5 silhouette, with the best types of trouser styles sleek enough for the boardroom, but still stylish enough to feel at place in an after-work drinks setting.

Thanks to the reigns of "quiet luxury", an umbrella term referring to non-showy pieces that look and feel subtly expensive, tailored trousers have been of paramount priority to luxury designers and high-street brands alike.

This piece won't ever fail to meet office dress codes, too. So, if you work in a corporate environment, you won't struggle to find professional clothing that still feels fashionable.

That's why we're honing in to uncover the best work trousers. Truthfully, there's little to differentiate professional-looking strides from the styles we've been raving about recently.

From wide-legs to pinstripe pairs, these work trousers suit just as well for soon an important meeting as a Sunday morning brunch date. It just takes a few styling tweaks.

For the workday, stick to fuss-free shirting, classic footwear and perhaps a coordinating blazer, depending on how formal your workplace is. You can add more personality once you clock out, switching the loafers for kitten-heel boots, the button-down for a romantic blouse, et cetera.

Below, I've selected four trouser trends you can rely on to be the basis of a chic work look. I've also linked my favourite examples of each, so you can easily shop the best work trousers on the market right now. Thank me, or your work trousers, when you're voted "Best-Dressed Employee of the Month".

Shop the Best Work Trousers for Women

• Best Overall Work Trousers: Mango Wide-Leg Suit Trousers, £50
• Best Wide-Leg Work Trousers: The Frankie Shop Ripley Pleated Grain De Poudre Wide-Leg Pants, £203
• Best Petite Work Trousers: The Row Telemaco Wool-Twill Tapered Pants, £550
• Best Budget Work Trousers: H&M Ankle-Length Cigarette Trousers, £20
• Best Luxury Work Trousers: Toteme Low-Waist Cigarette Trousers Black, £350
• Best Denim Work Trousers: Reformation Cary High Rise Slouchy Wide Leg Jeans, £228

1. Wide-Leg Trousers

Style Notes: A pair of wide-leg trousers bring the perfect amount of polish to a corporate space, without feeling too stuffy. The tailoring of this silhouette—draped perfectly at the cuff with a soft, subtle pleat running through—brings a touch of undone elegance synonymous with the Olsen Twins.

But in a corporate context, the sleek lines and floor-grazing length makes you appear put together simply by throwing this pair of trousers on. Style with a fine knit jumper, jersey basic, button-down shirt or, for the full Succession effect, a blazer to achieve the matching set look.

Shop the Look:

1. & Other Stories Wide Press-Crease Trousers

2. COS Relaxed Twill Wide-Leg Trousers

3. The Frankie Shop Ripley Pleated Grain De Poudre Wide-Leg Pants

4. Mango Wideleg Suit Trousers

5. Reformation Cary High Rise Slouchy Wide Leg Jeans

2. Cigarette Trousers

Style Notes: While the name of this trouser might have you feeling like you've earned a HR infringement, the sleek silhouette leave you empowered, confident and full of attitude thanks to their no nonsense shape. This structure of this piece—which sports a nipped in waist and straight-line tapered finish—makes this an ideal work trouser. Better still, the architectural elements will offset any oversized top, balancing bulking winter layers with ease while still meaning business.

Shop the Look:

6. M&S Tapered Ankle Grazer Trousers

7. H&M Ankle-Length Cigarette Trousers

8. Leset Rio Stretch-Ponte Slim-Leg Pants

9. Toteme Low-Waist Cigarette Trousers Black

10. H&M Cigarette Trousers

3. Tapered Trousers

Style Notes: These tapered trousers fuse the tailored elements of wide-leg trousers with the polished hemline of cigarette trousers for the ultimate effortlessly elevated hybrid. Where you'll notice the difference in these work trousers is typically the waist—which typically sits snug and becomes more narrow at mid-section—and the cut of the ankle—usually falls straight to the ground.

Given how high-waisted these trousers are, those of us on the shorter side may struggle to style them as they often look best when a shirt is tucked in. To avoid feeling like you've cut off your midsection, add some height with a kitten-heel boot or stylish platform à la Sydney Sweeney and Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Shop the Look:

11. Ralph Lauren Collection Avrill Linen and Silk-Blend Tapered Pants

12. The Row Telemaco Wool-Twill Tapered Pants

13. H&M Ankle-Length Trousers

14. COS Arch Tapered Jeans

15. Arket Barrel-Leg Trousers

4. Pinstripe Trousers

4. Pinstripe Trousers

Style Notes: There's not a material more suited to a traditional work setting than pinstripe, giving it the markers to be the best work trousers. Originating as the fabric worn by British bankers in the 19th Century, this heritage print has roots in Saville Row, making its wearers instantly imbued with a sense of power and flair. It's smart, polished and offers a nice variation to a plain black suit set, which can often feel too corporate cosplay at times.

Shop the Look:

16. Reformation Carter Mid Rise Pant

17. COS Relaxed Pinstriped Barrel-Leg Trousers

18. Max Mara Giuliva Pinstriped Linen and Cotton-Blend Pants

19. The Frankie Shop Tansy Pleated Pinstriped Crepe De Chine Straight-Leg Pants

20. Sandro Striped Suit Jacket

This piece was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.