Slacks vs Dress Pants - Is it the same?

Let's answer the main question the clearest and easy way possible: Are slacks and dress pants the same? Yes, they are. The term slacks and what we call dress pants are mentioning the same garment. Once clarified, it is also true that somehow the term "slacks" acquired some meaning more related to comfort and style.

The term sounds cooler, and probably the fashion industry has used it to advertise dress pants in a more fancy way. Sometimes you can even mix the term slacks with chinos or khakis but that wouldn't be accurate as slacks don't need to be cotton fabric pants, while chinos or khakis main feature is the cotton fabric used to tailor them.

If this is what you already wanted to know, check our online 3D designer to create the perfect custom slacks online.

What are slacks?

The word slacks comes from an old Saxon term that meant loose. Someone that term became the term to call dress pants. As dress pants, slacks are not tight, are not elastic and they are different from jeans, chinos or khakis. Maybe you associate slacks to more classical dress pants because sometimes you hear older people referring to them like this. But there should be no difference in style. We encourage you to use also slacks even if you are a millennial.

As slacks are formal pants you can expect that mainly slacks are made of all kind of wool fabrics or wool blends but also linen.

And dress slacks? It is the same?

Yes. You can call them the way you want: dress slacks, slacks pants or simply slacks. They all mean the same. Call them the way you want. If you add "dress" or "formal" or "pants" or "trousers" to the word slack you will just reinforce the concept of the garment. It is ok. All those combinations are widely heard.

Are chinos also slacks?

No. Chinos can't be considered slacks. Chinos are casual or business casual pants made of cotton. They are usually more relaxed and have a certain elasticity to make them more comfortable. Also, the pattern used to tailor them is more casual than the one used for slacks (or dress pants, they are the same). Some slacks can also be used on a business casual dress code, but that will not make them chinos. No, it's not the same. Take a look at our custom chinos.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hockerty (@hockerty.men) on Nov 1, 2019 at 8:35am PDT

Slacks vs suit pants

Slacks are the perfect suit pants. The same way as dress pants is the perfect suit pants. As we said before, slacks are usually made of wool or wool blends which is the classical suit fabric. You will be able to wear your slacks both with and without a suit jacket and even combining different tones to create a broken suit. If you don't have it clear how to combine, just order the whole suit with the same fabric. Design your custom suit online.