Ways to Wear Black Trousers

Let’s talk black trousers today! A super simple work pant that’s great to have as an option. They somehow seem to go with everything while at the same time I have a hard time styling them. I’m not a fan of a white button down with a pair of black trousers (although I might try and tackle that problem next!). And there’s a lot of colors I stay away from like oranges, pinks, and reds.

So, I’ve been trying out some different ways to wear these linen black trousers the past few work weeks. To create some effortless looks that still feel chic yet also interesting. And of course warm! It’s been pretty chilly here in SF. Obviously not anything compared to real winter but still enough to bundle up.

The black trousers I’m wearing here and throughout this post are a favorite from Banana Republic. My preferred place to get trousers as it’s almost never a miss when I try on a pair of the pants or shorts. This pair is super similar to my linen ones.

I feel like I don’t see green and black as a pair a lot. Which makes it an even better combo. Not expected and not boring. I also don’t want to stick out too much when it comes to workwear but just enough to express my personal style.

I then added my favorite Prada Mary Janes that add a fun artsy shape to the rest of the look. Rolled my pants a few times to not hide the shoes. I also think a fun velvet Mary Jane like these in a complimentary color to the green top would be a good outfit as well.

Do you also have it in your head not to pair navy with black? I like to ignore that rule because I think they’re great together. Both pieces here are linen and create a comfortable, relaxed appearance. Then to pull them into a more classic business look, I added traditional English monk straps and a 50s reminiscent handbag. The mix of easy linen with traditional usually more dressed up pieces always feels so interesting to me.

This was probably my favorite look of the week. When in doubt, add a vintage silk coat! I found this one a few years ago at a vintage shop here in San Francisco. But there are a lot of fun ones to shop online. Etsy is a great place to start and I linked some below that caught my eye recently (plus a non-vintage find with a similar look). The t-shirt and linen black trousers bring the vibrant coat down to earth. Then a favorite Ferragamo flat work shoe to balance it out for the office.

I’ve been watching a lot of old episodes of SNL lately and think I subconsciously was channeling Andy Kaufman here from season one lol. To start, I thought each shirt would be a separate outfit, which I also like, but then paired them together (for warmth as well) and loved the look. I want to try some other color combos after this one. Finally, put on some warm boots and that’s that!

It’s always nice to have a few work looks ready to go. Making getting ready in the morning, especially when it’s cold, as simple as possible. While mitigating the outfit regret of a fast, unplanned morning.

I’ll be sharing a ‘Ways to Wear’ series each week focused on a specific item styled for work. Would love to hear any suggestions in the comments with things you’d love to get ideas for!

Thanks for reading!

Mary