After many years of a mostly black wardrobe (across all four seasons), I'm trying to lighten up my summer capsule. My somewhat loose goal has been to find at least a couple of pairs of lightweight and lighter coloured pants to wear when summer gets really hot.

I want something I can wear comfortably around home AND or polish up a bit and wear out -- including possibly to the office later this summer. (We have a business casual dress code and if done with some kind of flair, I can safely fall on what some might consider the casual side of that description.)

If you saw my post about summer toppers, you've already seen a couple of the pants I've brought home to consider.

Nothing in the mix is necessarily 100% what I had in mind, but that pant just might not be out there this year, so I'm trying to evaluate which, if any, of these, should earn a spot in my closet.

All from Marshall's/Winners as I need bricks and mortar and forgiving return policies.

To keep it simple, I've stuck to white tops for purposes of this exercise. The button up shirt and puff sleeve blouse are still "under consideration", along with the pants.

Nothing here is traditionally figure flattering. I don't have a traditional figure, so that's generally an easier route for me to take. I envision leaning into that aesthetic a bit this summer, although I started to doubt myself a bit as I took the photos.

Anyway -- the pants under consideration:

1/2 are Jones. I like the green colour, but am not convinced about the shape. I talked myself into it the other day and out of it again during today's try-on. I feel like the taper draws attention to the widest part of me -- around the middle. They feel a bit conservative to me. (Still on the fence here, but pairing them with an oversized popover blouse and white sneakers totally changed my perspective on these...)

3 meets the goal of being lightweight and light in colour. The fit is decent. I don't usually wear blue, but it's a good summer colour and I can pair it with at least a few things In my closet. (returned these and bought a more cropped pair - also blue - with a slimmer silhouette. Still too many linen pants, I suspect.)

4/5 are Young, Fabulous and Broke. They are a teeny bit tight, but I'm optimistic that the return of warmer weather will also bring increased activity that will address that! I like the length and the shape very much. And I love that they have belt loops. I think this silhouette is more flattering on me than the tapered shape of 1/2. I keep saying I don't want navy, but that's often what's available. And navy linen might not be the worst thing to have as a summer staple with white tops. (Found this pant in a stunning flaming orange today and tried them on in the size up. The bad news is that even the size up feels snug across hips -- around the top of the pockets. This doesn't bode well for the smaller, navy pair fitting me perfectly if I lose a few pounds. That may be it for these ones. And oh, they were so pretty in orange!)

6/7 are Tahari Essentials. The fit is good and I like the length. Like the YFB, they don't entirely meet my goal of a lighter colour, but they meet the other objectives. I really don't need two pairs of navy linen pants, so if I keep one, the other really should go back. (These are really growing on me, and if the YFB are out, these are in.)

8/9 is the same pant as above in a size larger and a lighter colour. Haven't been able to find this colour in the smaller size. They probably border on sloppy. I really like the colour, and, because they are so loose, they are VERY comfy. (correction, they are not a size larger, just a case of different colours in the same item fitting differently. I still really like this colour.)

10/11 are just casual cotton Calving Klein pants. I was hoping to find something like this in olive, but no such luck so far. I do like this charcoal colour, and I like the cut in general. (Still love the leg on these. Not in love with even the small CK logo on the hip, but not sure it bothers me enough to return them.)

12-14 are an experiment. They're lightweight and light colour, but synthetic. Basically a gear pant, but I feel like they sort of fake the BR dressy cargo vibe. I really want a pair of beige or light grey pants like this. I thought I wanted to wear them with the white top, but the photo tells me otherwise. I think in this case, a black top works better -- which defeats my desire not to attract so much of the sun's heat when outside. In 14 I tried them with a bright colour for fun. Not that I was planning to wear these with a sweater, but it could happen in this shoulder season. (No update)

ETA 15/16 -- I had, with some disappointment, decided I should reject these. They're long, and I was having trouble envisioning them shorter. I wasn't sure they fell as nicely as some of the others. BUT they are the colour I wanted. And the style is a bit more similar to the YFB navy pair, although these are lower quality.

I've shown them rolled up a few times to try to emulate closer to the length of the YFB pair, and turned up just once so you can still see I have feet. Regardless of which length I would choose, these would still need a trip to the tailor. Returned these. I loved the colour but didn't like the quality. I can do better.

Your insight is SO eye opening and I love hearing different points of view!!!

I have a rough idea of the fates of each of these, but your objective insights are most welcome and may help me see or consider things I have overlooked. Which are the strongest contenders in your eyes, or should I go back to the drawing board?

As always, thanks for looking!