I've tried every trouser trend this season. Here are the only 6 styles I'd recommend right now

My trouser drawer has never been a place of great experimentation. Like most, I made the slow migration from the Topshop Joni spray-ons to wider silhouettes, with the occasional ill-advised flared animal print along the way. The images still make me shudder. I also have sizeable calves (sizeable enough that a doctor once asked, entirely sincerely, whether I was a professional athlete) and any trend deemed too calf-enhancing has always been firmly filed away.

SS26, however, has other plans for me. This is a season challenging my learned behaviour around trousers. The evidence: I am, at the very moment of writing this, wearing stirrup leggings. One of the most calf-enhancing silhouettes to hit the Copenhagen runways this January. Make of that what you will.

So what's got us most excited? Altuzarra's bubble-perfect balloon silhouette hiked up with a statement belt. Michael Kors' sequinned and sheer iterations. Roksanda's heavy silk drapery. And on the capri front – a style I'd all but written off – Alberta Ferretti, Louis Vuitton, and Ralph Lauren reframed it as office-worthy, while Versace delivered a candy box of sorbet confections. The cargo capri crossover was the final nail: I recently watched one of my most sartorially savvy friends wear a pair in Rome with a kitten heel and my heart skipped a beat.

And so, below, we take you through the trouser trends worth tapping this spring and summer. We've done the legwork, bringing together the best pants for women to help you get dressed without the faff.

Let's address the elephant in the drawer: balloon trousers are not the same as the printed pair you picked up at a market on your last trip to Thailand. We love a harem pant – they have a way of swaying even the most discerning dresser on holiday – but the bubble-shaped silhouette we're seeing now is a considerably more versatile proposition.

Often rendered in hard-working neutrals and supple fabrics that float as you walk, the dressiest styles feature pleated waistlines and button closures at the ankle to create the puffed-out shape. Pair with an oversized structured blazer and architectural new-gen wedges when office bound to really put this style to work. For summer, breezier alternatives with a drawstring waists and elasticated hems do the same job with less fuss. Lean into the softness with espadrilles, a raffia tote, and, weather and location permitting, nothing more than a tie-top bikini and a tank.

Capri trousers are no stranger to a comeback, and they won't be going anywhere anytime soon. We saw them make their case on the 2025 runways, but SS26 has only cemented their staying power. At their most classic – black, with sewn-down pleats and a back vent for movement – they're the ultimate gamine garment, conjuring visions of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. Timeless for a reason.

For 2026, new iterations are making the argument even easier. There are the slightly looser, office-ready versions. A cousin of those dressy bermuda shorts we've been seeing as part of full suit sets, if you will. And then there are this editor's personal favourites: the cargo capri. Loose-fit (my calves say thank you), with a Zara Larsson-coded Y2K spirit that's hard to deny this season. I'll be wearing mine with a second-skin long-sleeved baseball top and slip-on mules for full Carrie Bradshaw-approved appeal.

You may need to steal a pair of parachute pants from your partner this summer, No, we're not proposing you raid your dad's zip-off-leg pair with a billion pockets, but women's cargo trousers are very much trending and the silhouette has reached its full potential in the menswear section. The best part? This is sportswear masquerading as office wear. That means parachute pants provide peak comfort in sweltering summer offices, and we are entirely here for it.

The masculine-feminine tension is precisely the point. Pair with a lace-trim camisole or wrap a silk scarf around your hips, and layer a superbly soft cashmere knit on top when the temperature drops. Double down on the contrast with ballet sneakers, because nothing resolves a utilitarian trouser quite like the most delicate sneaker in your shoedrobe.

For the minimalists among us (and you know who you are) there is almost certainly a wide-leg or palazzo trouser gathering dust in your wardrobe right now, waiting to be called back into service. Arguably, this isn't even a trend. It's simply a trouser everyone needs to some degree.

But how does one justify owning balloon, parachute, and palazzo trousers simultaneously? We're not entirely sure, but we're going to try. The palazzo is the most traditional of the three: wider, fluid and with an old-money air of St Tropez about it. In a very Grace Kelly sort of way, it is just the thing for a summer luncheon. Especially worn with Breton stripes, a cognac leather sandal, and perhaps a scarf tied around your head before heading off on an Italian Vespa. Yes, we're dreaming of a Mediterranean holiday, but that's how the best wardrobe purchases are made.

Another wardrobe staple that needs little introduction: silk and satin trousers will be a forever favourite for summer, because who doesn't want to wear their pyjamas to work? Jokes aside, we are firmly pro party PJs with a snazzy shoe, any time of year, any occasion. The best part about a silk trouser in summer is how well it takes to colour and print. The fabric lends a luxe sheen to almost any shade. That said, there's nothing quite like a heavyweight cream or black silk trouser as a starting point. The real case for silk this season, however, is the crossover. Why not hit two birds with one stone and opt for a balloon silhouette in silk?

A final word of advice (or warning, depending on how you look at it): always go for a thicker fabric where possible. The thinner the weave, the less forgiving the fit. And keep a steamer close at hand. These are standing trousers. Any perch will cause them to crease.

There is no summer trouser as enduring as a white linen. The fabric breathes, the fit is invariably airy, and it has that unhurried, sun-bleached quality that belongs on a long weekend somewhere with good weather. A pair of white linen trousers demand to be slipped on over a bathing suit. Ideally one with enough detail to double as a going-out top when you're moving from the coast to cocktails.

What we love most about linen, though, is that it doesn't force us to think. It sits comfortably alongside almost every aesthetic imaginable: grungy Rick Owens and Margiela jerseys, the clean polish of Filippa K, the dopamine dressing exuberance of Stine Goya. Very few trousers can claim the same. Consider it the peacemaker of the wardrobe... and the one purchase this season you cannot get wrong.