For a Chennai summer there is no better trouser than a pair of linens in a decent European cloth. Light, breathable, naturally cool, and perfectly acceptable across most professional and social situations here between March and October. They will crease. That is linen, it is what the fibre does, and it is part of why the cloth looks the way it does. Cut from your own measurements in a fine Irish or Belgian linen, a pair of these is probably the most useful single thing you can order from us for the hot months.
Colour, cut and waistband
Linen trousers are at their best in cream, stone, natural, pale grey or mid-blue. Those are the colours that photograph well, wear well as the cloth softens, and go with most of what is already in your wardrobe. Go dark, navy or charcoal, and you lose the easy warmth that made you pick linen at all.
We cut linen a little fuller through the seat and thigh than we would a close-cut worsted, which lets the cloth move and keeps you comfortable when the heat arrives. A straight waistband with belt loops is the usual answer and it works. If you want something smarter, a high-waisted linen trouser with adjustable tabs looks a good deal better, though it is a slightly more formal garment and best worn with braces.