There are many different types of pants for women, all of which have different cuts and styles that fit bodies differently. Knowing the many different pant types can help improve your wardrobe, style outfits more easily, and bring more diversity into your overall style!
Different pants can be worn for different occasions. A variety of pants can be worn casually or in more formal situations and some can be worn in both scenarios! Understanding the style, cut, and fit of all types of pants can help you narrow down what you want in your closet.
With this list below, you’ll be able to do just that!
1. Dress Pants
Dress pants are semi-formal or formal pants that women can wear in a variety of situations. Often worn for work, dress pants have a tailored look and can come in wool, polyester, or a blend of the two.
Dress pants can have various fits, lengths, and overall cuts. For example, they can have high, mid, or low waists. The leg of these pants can also differ. Traditional dress pants tend to have fitted legs, but wide-leg dress pants are also quite popular.
2. Jeans
Jeans are possibly the most common types of pants for women, and for a good reason. Comfortable and casual, you can wear jeans for any occasion, other than more formal ones. Made of denim or denim blends, jeans come in so many different washes, lengths, cuts, and styles.
Because of the popularity of these pants, jeans are incredibly easy to find when shopping. Different denim washes (light, medium, dark) and unique styles (boyfriend fit, mom jeans, straight leg, cropped, etc.) allow you to find a style and look that fits you and your lifestyle best!
3. Overalls Or Jumpsuits
Overalls and jumpsuits have also become increasingly popular over time. Overalls are trousers that have material that extends above your chest to safely be secured around your shoulder and chest, therefore covering most of your body. While denim overalls are the most common, you can find these trousers in different materials.
Jumpsuits are very similar to overalls in that the trousers extend to cover your chest and the rest of your body. However, jumpsuits can often differ in style (long-sleeved, short-sleeved, etc.) and are also made of various materials.
4. Culottes
Culottes are often considered semi-formal types of pants for women, though they can always be worn casually as well. These knee-length or calf-length trousers have wide legs, which allow for a loose and flowing look. Often, upon first look, it can appear as if one is wearing a skirt!
Because of the culottes’ flowing cut, these pants are very comfortable for women to wear. Often, they are available to buy in high or mid waist styles. They are also very popular to wear in the spring and summer!
5. Chinos
Chinos often look quite dressy and therefore are perfect for casual or semi-formal occasions or for workwear. Made of twill or synthetic cotton blend, these pants are quite lightweight and comfortable to wear.
While different styles of chinos are available, these pants mostly come in a straight-leg, classic look. However, chinos do come in a variety of colors!
While chinos often do appear dressier than other trousers, they often are too casual for formal wear and do best when worn on casual or semi-formal occasions only.
6. Palazzo Pants
Palazzo pants aren’t just wide-legged pants. These trousers are incredibly wide-legged pants that tend to flare out much farther than your hip, on average. As a result, these pants appear very loose and flowing and are not restricted in any part other than the waist.
Because palazzo pants are so wide, upon first glance, they are often mistaken for huge maxi-skirts. These pants can be worn casually, but some palazzo pants can be dressed up for semi-formal occasions as well!
7. Harem Pants
Harem pants, which have a long Middle Eastern history, were first introduced to western fashion in Paris in the early 1900s. These pants are made of very loose material that is fitted at the ankles, allowing for a baggy appearance.
Harem pants are one of the types of pants for women that are incredibly comfortable to wear. Often, they are only worn in casual situations and can be found in various colors and materials.
8. Baggy Pants
Baggy pants are any type of pants that are very loose, resulting in a baggy look. In appearance, baggy pants can appear to be too large for the wearer in all areas. Some baggy pants can even be baggy at the waist, while others can be fitted there but loose and hanging everywhere else.
These types of pants have a long history in the fashion world and come and go in style. Often, baggy pants are made of denim, but that doesn’t mean they only come in denim! Materials, colors, and cuts vary.
9. Bell Bottoms / Flared Pants
Bell bottoms, or flared pants, are pants that are tight above the knee but then start to flare out in the calf or ankle area. The level of the flare can differ depending on material and style. Bell bottoms can often have quite a big flare in the leg!
While bell bottoms and flared pants are commonly available as jeans or in denim materials, you can also easily find these pants made of countless other fabrics. If you’re going for a loose and casual look, bell-bottoms made of synthetic, loose material is always a great option.
10. Tights
Tights are one of the most common types of pants for women, mainly because you can wear them for various situations and with so many different kinds of outfits. They are available in sheer, semi-sheer, or non-sheer materials. They normally cover the hips, legs, and feet.
Often, women wear tights when they are wearing skirts or dresses. Because they are so common and popular, you can find them in different colors, shades, and even made from different fabrics!
11. Yoga Pants
While yoga pants were first sold in the 1990s, they have definitely become popular in the last ten years or so. Now, having a few yoga pants in your wardrobe is basically essential!
Yoga pants are stretchy, opaque pants made of thick material that women often use when they are working out, running, or doing yoga. However, yoga pants in the last few decades have become popular to wear at all times of the day, especially if you enjoy partaking in the athleisurewear style!
12. Punk Pants
Punk pants are any types of pants that look to be a part of the “punk” look. Often, this means that the pants are black, though regular denim pants can work, too. Many zippers and chains attached to the pants, giving it an almost goth vibe, are heavily common in this style.
Punk pants can also be incredibly ripped (or “shredded”). Baggy pants that have many chains, buckles, zippers, and patches attached to them can also be considered punk pants.
13. Stirrup Pants
Stirrup pants are very similar to women’s leggings in that they are close-fitting pants that stop at the ankle. However, stirrup pants have a strip of fabric at the bottom of each leg that goes under one’s foot when worn.
While these pants can be worn for a slew of different reasons, many (such as dancers) decide to wear them because it offers more security and stability when worn.
Material-wise, stirrup pants are almost completely similar to leggings. However, you can find them in various colors and materials!
14. Cargo Pants / Carpenter Pants
Cargo pants are often pants made of stable but loose material. These pants tend to have many pockets on the sides of the pants, and these pockets extend from the waist to the bottom of the pant leg.
Carpenter pants, meanwhile, are almost the same thing as cargo pants. However, carpenter pants are often made of denim material and can commonly be called carpenter jeans. Just like cargo pants, they have lots of pockets to put things in!
15. Fatigue Trousers
Fatigue trousers are women’s pants inspired by military-style trousers. As a result, these pants can either be a plain dark green or brown with no pattern or, more commonly, pants with camo-style patterns.
When it comes to the overall cut of fatigue trousers, this can differ from style to style. Most commonly, these pants are straight, slightly loose though not baggy, and have a strict and orderly cut to them. However, looser and even tighter styles can be found.
16. Stovepipe Pants
Stovepipe pants are popular types of pants for women that go in and out of style, though they are currently in fashion! These pants are very similar to straight-leg pants, but they do differ.
Stovepipe pants are fitted to the knee, then they fall straight to the ankle, allowing for a somewhat looser, wider leg than straight-legged pants.
Stovepipe pants can be found in a variety of materials. Jeans can commonly have this popular cut. However, nicer stovepipe trousers, such as dress pants, can also be found!
17. Peg-Leg Pants
Peg-leg pants are slightly similar to harem pants, but nowhere near as baggy and loose. These pants instead tend to be more fitted and can be commonly found as dress pants. Much like harem pants, these trousers are slightly loose at the waist and leg, but then they are gathered at the lower calf or ankle.
However, peg-leg pants are incredibly slim, so they don’t appear as billowy or loose as harem pants. The only area that really provides extra room is the waist, where pleats are often found.
18. Toreador Pants
Toreador pants, styled after Spanish bullfighters, are somewhat similar to peg-leg pants. These pants are close-fitting and are gathered at the calf or slightly above the calf. As a result, they tend to be cropped shorter than peg-leg pants.
Much like peg-legs, however, toreador pants are also often pleated at the waist, allowing for a slightly looser cut there and then slimming as the pant continues down the leg. These types of pants are often styled as dress pants or nicer trousers!
19. Eastern Pants
Eastern pants are any pant that is inspired by Eastern or Middle Eastern fashion. Often, when people are talking about Eastern pants, they are talking about harem pants, which are billowing pants that are gathered at the ankle.
As a result, whenever anyone talks about Eastern trousers, they are generalizing all types of harem pants. Sometimes, palazzo pants or Boho (hippie) pants may be included in this discussion, though harem is the most common type in this category.
20. Jodhpur Pants
Jodhpur pants are fashionable trousers that came into style by equestrian riders. These pants are long-riding pants that are tight-fitting all around, especially at the ankle where they gather.
Classic jodhpur styles allow for more room around the waist area before gathering at the ankle, making them similar to peg-leg pants.
Jodhpur pants are mainly used for horse riding, though they have become stylish for many to wear in other situations. These types of pants can also sometimes have patches on the inside of the knees or legs.
21. Bootcut
Bootcut pants, often jeans, are very similar to wide-legged pants, though they usually have a slightly smaller wide cut. These pants were made to wear with boots, though they look great with everything from sneakers to heels.
Much like wide-legged pants, bootcut pants are tight around the thighs but then fall open and loose around the knee, to then be wide around the ankle. The flares tend to be subtle and are never too wide, as that would make them bell-bottoms!
22. Skinny
Skinny pants or jeans are the types of pants for women that are closely fitted to one’s legs and can appear skin tight as a result. From the waist to the ankle (or calf, if they are cropped), skinny pants are close fitted and allow for no loose or baggy cut.
Skinny jeans have stayed popular for decades. Skinny pants can also be found in a variety of colors and materials, and they too remain popular and great go-to options for casual and even semi-formal wear.
23. Paperbag Waist Slacks
Paperbag waist slacks are generally any types of pants that have extra gathered material above the waistline, which is often cinched. As a result, this adds more material to the waist area, which can then make the cut of the pants looser. However, these pants do tend to be slim or gathered slightly at the ankle.
Paperbag waist slacks can be casual to semi-formal pants and, therefore, can be worn in a variety of different situations. They can also be found in different cuts, styles, and materials!
24. Cropped Pants
Cropped pants are one of the most incredibly common types of pants for women and can be worn during any season. These trousers are any pants that are cut before the ankle. Often, cropped pants only fall to the calf. Longer cropped pants, however, can fall to just above the ankle.
Cropped jeans are very common and popular, though cropped dress pants have also recently become big, especially for casual workwear.
25. Dungarees
Dungarees are essentially the same thing as overalls, and they are often found in a variety of materials, such as denim and corduroy. These trousers are loose-fitting and have material that extends up from the waist to then cover one’s chest. It meets at the shoulder and clasps together, therefore covering much of one’s body.
Much like overalls, dungarees tend to be casual wear only. They are quite popular to wear, though, and remain a very comfortable option for women!
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