5-Pocket Pants

The 5-pocket pant traces its origins back to the 1800s, when its functional design and reinforced construction made Levi Strauss a household name. They’re the pants you think of when you think of your favorite jeans—casual, practical, and crafted with understated precision and durable fabrics. 

They’re more casual than chinos

While our 5-pocket pants are made to pair well with both casual and tailored pieces, they make a distinctly relaxed impression that reaches further into the casual spectrum than chinos do. The lighter weight and generally smoother finish of chino fabrics, along with the use of horn buttons, makes chinos naturally a bit more elegant and appropriate for business casual and office dressing that can skew even more formal depending on the level of formality of the accessories and tailored items with which they’re paired. The hardier, heavier fabrics, use of metal hardware details, and more conspicuous pockets in the design of the 5-pocket pant, on the other hand, offer the opportunity for more rugged dressing that will give a casual tone to any tailored items you wear with them.

They have 5 pockets

While chinos and dress pants have two front hip pockets and two back pockets, the 5-pocket pant has an additional watch or coin pocket sewn inside the front right hip pocket. This fifth pocket was originally intended to keep a pocket watch (a typical item carried by men in the late 19th century) and it remains in the design mostly for aesthetic purposes today. This small pocket is not actually “the fifth pocket”—that’s the rear left pocket, as the original Levi’s design had only one rear pocket on the right side and the rear left one was added later. The two front hip pockets feature a curved shape that makes their contents easily accessible, and the two rear patch pockets are angled at the bottom to offer a traditional Western look.

They’re made from hard-wearing fabrics

The fabrics that make the best 5-pocket pants are sturdy and hard-wearing, like the hardy denims from which the originals were made so many years ago. Thicker, heavier fabrics play to the casual nature of the pants’ design and balance the substantial hardware (rivets, tack buttons) that reinforce their seams. You don’t necessarily need to be doing hard labor to wear these fabrics, or to find ones that are made from the highest quality materials. We’ve chosen fine Japanese denim and rich Italian corduroy to start our collection—both heavy yet luxe options that dress up as well as they dress down.

Create your 5-pocket pant fit with our guide.