There’s a reason so many guys abandon denim the minute the forecast creeps into the 80s. Most of your traditional denim tends to be heavy, stiff and have an uncanny ability to trap heat exactly where you don’t want it. But giving them up entirely means missing out on one of the easiest, most versatile pieces in your wardrobe. The solution isn’t swapping them for shorts every day, it’s finding jeans that were actually designed for warm weather.
And thankfully, there’s plenty of decent lightweight denim these days. Woven from softer cotton, blended with breathable linen or simply cut from a lighter-weight fabric, these jeans deliver all the character of your favorite broken-in pair without feeling like a wearable sauna. Add in a relaxed fit—which allows air to circulate instead of clinging to your legs—and suddenly denim is back on the menu for everything from weekend coffee runs to summer flights and casual dinners. We tried on dozens of pairs to find the ones that truly deliver, no matter what you’re looking to spend.