What To Wear With Black Pants
Colin Dempsey
Table of Contents
Was it not the Plasmatics that sang, “See you baby at the dance, see you baby in your tight black pants, got the chills ‘cause you make me so hot”? It was, and they weren’t wrong.
Black pants, regardless if they’re tight or loose, can make people weak in the knees, but only if you wear them correctly.
Thankfully, I’m going to teach you exactly how to do just that in this article.
Not only will you find out what to wear with black pants, but you’ll also learn when you should wear them, what different styles and fabrics you can find, and how to select the perfect pair for yourself. Plus, I’ll list some of the best shops for buying black pants.
Even if you want to know what to wear with black pants of a certain variety, then I recommend reading through this whole article ‘cause you may absorb some ideas about:
- What to wear with black leather pants
- What to wear with black cargo pants
- What to wear with black pants men
- What to wear with black pants female
- What to wear with black dress pants
- How to wear black slacks
- How to wear black dress pants for women
When To Wear Black Pants
If you only believe that you can wear black pants in the dead of night under a foggy sky with a crescent moon hanging in the air then you need to go outside, friend. Black pants are arguably the single most valuable piece of clothing when it comes to versatility.
There are so many varieties of black pants out there—not just one single style or trend. So keep in mind that you can wear black pants practically anywhere depending on which kind you buy.
For instance, you can buy black wool trousers to get you through the cold winter months and loose-fitting black linen pants to keep you cool in the summer.
A black pair of distressed jeans will help you fit in at urban events while dapper black chinos can help you strut around the office in style.
The only time you wouldn’t want to wear black pants is at the beach, and that’s not even a hard rule. It’s not like you’d be breaking any unwritten laws of fashion by wearing black pants there, just that you might get a bit too hot.
What To Wear With Black Pants
Black pants go well with so many styles and items that it would be overwhelming to list them all out. They’re a staple of gothic attire, an essential in techwear, normcore adherents love them, and gym rats everywhere always include them in their outfits.
If that sounds like I’m pelting you with fashion buzzwords, it’s because I am. However, if you really want to know what to wear with black pants, and you really don’t know what looks good, then here are a few basic things you can always pair with them.
Blue denim always goes well with black pants. Whether that’s a denim jacket, a jean overshirt, or even a vest, it’s an easy way to add some texture to an outfit.
I shouldn’t even have to mention this next one, but I will anyway. White tops are the easiest way to add contrast to your outfits when you’re wearing black pants. It really doesn’t matter what style of white shirt you wear so long as it’s relatively similar to your pants.
That means you can wear a white T-shirt, a white hoodie, or even a white collared shirt. All of them will provide some light against the darkness of your black pants.
Finally, when you truly can’t figure out what to wear with black pants and you have to be out of the door in two minutes, then you can always fall back on an all–black outfit.
It’s nearly impossible to mismatch a black top with black bottoms. If you somehow find a way to mess up an all-black outfit then call Guinness and tell them you just set a new record for the world’s most inventive fashion mistake.
4 Outfit Ideas To Wear With Black Pants
Let’s start with this black jeans outfit that you’ve likely seen more than a few times on your travels. It may be a little, dare we say, basic. But basic doesn’t inherently mean boring.
There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular outfits people come up with when they think about what to wear with black pants.
The combination of a denim jacket, a white T-shirt, and white sneakers may be considered the white girl 2020 uniform, but it’s still charming.
It’s simplistic and endlessly versatile, and you likely already have most of the pieces in your wardrobe already. It’s also one of the best looks to fall back on if you’re in a rush but still want to look good.
This outfit proves that you don’t need to dress formally to make black pants work. Of course, black sweatpants are perfect for athleisure.
These aren’t even the baggiest black pants you’ll see in this article. The point is that black pants can look good in any shape or style.
One of the reasons why I chose this look as an example of what to wear with black pants is because it’s realistic for most readers.
We all have days when we can’t be bothered to change out of our lounging clothes. However, that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our style for comfort.
The trick is to pair the black sweatpants with an equally sized black hoodie. You can go for the oversized fit from head to toe or choose a form-fitting size—both looks work.
Also, wearing a chunky pair of white sneakers gives the outfit a cozy yet confident look.
Although these black dress pants may not be your standard pair, they nonetheless demonstrate how to style these bottoms in an original way.
In this instance, they take center stage in the outfit. The green crop top and high-heeled shoes, two pieces that would otherwise act as statement garments, take a back seat here.
This is a great way to wear black dress pants in an urban manner. They work particularly well because they’re so baggy.
Their large size overpowers everything else, giving this outfit a chic and modern feel. Oversized pants are all the rage now, but when you balance them with a tight crop top then they look much more flattering.
While men can also pull some inspiration from our previous suggestions about what to wear with black pants, I wanted to include an outfit that spoke to a trend geared towards the fellas.
That’s why I decided to include an outfit example that’s perfect for our favorite internet subculture: eboys.
Some of the trend’s most overzealous features have died out, but the core foundations are still charming. By that, I mean styling a black crewneck sweater over a white button-up shirt to pair with basic black pants.
Every item in this look is simple and plain, and together they create a defined aesthetic. This aesthetic has a slight gothic tinge that made eboys such heartthrobs a few years ago.
What Type Of Black Pants Can You Get?
There are more styles, types, and varieties of black pants than there are subgenres of heavy metal. If you don’t believe me then just check out the Wikipedia page for metal subgenres and call me when you have a new favorite.
However, you don’t have to be a metalhead to know what to wear with black pants. Nowadays, there are more styles than the classic tight black leather pants that cropped up in heavy metal music videos throughout the 1980s.
You can find black cargo pants, black trousers, black jeans, black overalls, black worker’s pants, black chinos, black tights, black sweatpants, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake have totally revolutionized black pants and created an entirely new category of avant-garde trousers. These pants defy classification and are entirely divorced from conventional tastes.
The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t have to look hard to find a style of black pants that suits your specific aesthetic.
How To Choose The Best Black Pants
Before you figure out what to wear with black pants, you’ll have to learn how to choose the best pair for you.
Remember, we learned to walk before we could run, and fashion follows that same model of linear progression.
With that in mind, here are some things you need to consider before buying a pair:
- How much does a pair of black pants cost?
- What fabrics are the pants made out of?
- What do other customers think about the pants?
Of course, because black pants are so popular, there are numerous different variations of them. That means you should also think about which brand is making the pants.
Certain brands like Levi’s make pants that anyone can add to their wardrobe. It’s not hard to know what to wear with black pants when they come courtesy of Levi’s. They’re black jeans, after all, not a sequin tube top.
That said, other brands make pants that have a more unique design. On top of that, they may engage in more sustainable practices, donate proceeds to charity, be a smaller company, or actively involve themselves in the community.
All of these prosocial behaviors vary from brand to brand. And you may want to take these factors into consideration before shopping for a pair.
Allow me to bring up an even more specific thing to consider—designers. Designers like Laquan Smith and Rick Owens are renowned for their black pants.
Their individualistic designs stand apart from the crowd. Their pants may be a match made in heaven for you or they may be a pungent repellant.
Finally, think about which season you’ll be wearing your black pants in. Since these bottoms are so versatile, it’s a good idea to have a pair of black pants for summer and another pair for winter.
However, each pair will need to serve a different purpose due to the temperature changes. This comes back to considering the material in your pants and thinking about how that material will affect you.
How To Style Black Pants
I’ve already brought up several different aesthetics that frequently integrate black pants into their outfits. This means there’s no wrong way to style black pants. Instead, there are plenty of right ways to make them work.
For example, you can wear high-waisted black pants with skinnier tops that show off your midriff. Black pants are pretty relaxing on our figures, so it’s easy to way to show off certain parts of your body.
You can also style black pants with bolder shoes. You’ll want to wear them if you have an exclusive pair of sneakers that you really want everyone to notice.
I recommend matching the fit of the pants to that of the shoes. That means skinny jeans should be worn with smaller sneakers and chunky shoes like Nike Air Force 1s should sit beneath wide-fitting trousers.
Finally, belts can add so much to your black pants. Even a black belt can add a nice detail to your black pants. But brown belts have captured our hearts.
They’re a subtle way to give your outfit a classy look or to add another complementary color without overhauling your ensemble.
Fashion Tips To Avoid With Black Pants
By now, you’ve probably learned that there are endless answers to the question of what to wear with black pants.
Do you want to wear a tutu and furry sandals? Black pants are probably your best bet to maintain some form of normalcy.
Black pants are the ultimate blank canvas upon which you can paint your fashion dream. It’s surprisingly hard to make any mistakes with them.
To prove that point, take note of everyone you walk past that’s wearing black pants on your next commute to work. Notice how not many of them are wearing these bottoms in a manner that’s undesirable or unappealing.
However, you may run across a few that are, at the very least, distracting. There are some ways to go too over–the–top with black pants, and that’s the main thing you’re going to want to avoid.
This can happen in a few different ways:
- Distressed jeans that have too many holes in them
- Cargo pants that have too many pockets
- Utility pants with far too many loops, buckles, and zippers
The issue isn’t that these pants are black, it’s that they have far too much going on, so they can be a headache to style. Forget what to wear with black pants of this variety—instead, consider what you’d even do with all those extra bells and whistles.
How To Take Care Of Black Pants
Taking care of your black pants is dependent on their fabric. For example, taking care of a pair of Issey Miyake Homme Plissé Pleats Please is going to be much more laborious than a pair of black Nike joggers, for example.
As such, I recommend that you follow the instructions that are laid out on the tag of your pants.
If you want to buy a pair of black pants that require as little care as a pet rock then I highly recommend you buy a pair of black jeans.
Denim is one of the toughest materials to damage and one of the easiest to clean. Many people go weeks or even months without washing their jeans.
Plus, you won’t have to worry about them collecting odors or shrinking in the wash as you may with other fabrics.
However, more delicate materials such as linen will require extra care if you want to maintain their feel and shape.
If you can, I advise you to keep most pairs of black pants away from the dryer and to only use cold water when you wash them. This is your best bet to preserve their quality.
Best Places To Buy Black Pants
You can buy black pants at nearly every fashion retailer on the planet. However, the best places to buy black pants depend on what you’re looking for.
Nike, Adidas, and Cole Buxton all produce some of the best black joggers and trainers. Levi’s is king when it comes to black jeans. My personal favorite place to buy black pants is Cos because they produce astounding trousers.
And if you can’t make up your mind then scroll through the ASOS website and see what catches your eye.
Final Thoughts
The goal of this article was not only to teach you ‘what to wear with black pants,’ but also to convince you that black pants are an essential piece of clothing.
There are practically no limits to how you can add them to your current wardrobe and instantly improve your style.
That said, I encourage you to experiment with different pants and see which ones work for you.
Looking to up your fashion game? We’ve got you covered:
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