Good winter dressing isn’t all about coats and layering – the real fun happens below the belt. Corduroy and wool trousers add depth and texture to an outfit, while shell and nylon provide more practical, streetwise options. It’s easy, of course, for your bottom-half to take a sartorial backseat most of the time, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are so many good trousers around at the moment. It means that pushing the envelope (at least a little) is practically expected. Here are five of our favourite winter trousers, and a few ways to wear them.

Corduroy’s renaissance is complete. There have likely been enough fashion articles proclaiming its return and gushing over its nostalgic charm to fill a small library, and of all the trends that have come and gone over the course of the 2010s, this one looks likely to endure. Acne Studios has done a brilliant job in particular of reinventing the fabric from chemistry teacher frumpery to something altogether more stylish, and have warped it into a pair of cargo pants complete with an elasticated waistband, canvas panels and tiny little gold metal coils on the cuffs so you can customise the fit. Kooky! But also cool.

The bar isn’t high for men. Earlier this week, Mr Keanu Reeves made headlines for dating a woman vaguely in his age bracket, and the world applauded him. We’re all here for it, of course, but the point is that men don’t have to try too hard to win points for being good. Another thing that will win you points for being good: a nice solid pair of woollen trousers. They channel stability and pragmatism, and all men should have a pair of grey woollen trousers. (Yes, all men.) Trousers as straightforward and as smart as this are versatile enough that you can of course wear them with a pair of sneakers – anything from tennis shoes to converse will look suitably preppy – but really, nothing beats a polished pair of Church’s Derbies.

Yes, a full look of chain-print velvet is a lot, and no, you don’t have to wear both of these together (pair the trousers with a plain white tee or the blazer with some black cargo pants if you want to err on the side of caution), but the thought of showing up to a New Year’s party in this is brilliant fun. The trousers are plush, comfy, and outrageous; Aries does a great job of taking some of the more garish accents of the 1980s and updating them with a sharp, modern twist. If you’ve got the confidence, we’ve got the suit.

White trousers work especially well in winter; they’ll freshen up a look and prevent an outfit from ever looking dreary, and are surprisingly easy to pull off. These from Story Mfg. (an erudite, sustainable brand that should be on the Wish List of every stylish man with a conscience) are crafted from tough, longwearing cotton canvas. We recommend pairing them with this fleece from YMC – equally minimal but with a little bit of warmth and texture, this makes for an outfit that’s both comfortable and clean.

These AMBUSH® MA1 trousers are inspired by the 1976 science fiction film The Man Who Fell To Earth, which goes some way to explaining why they wouldn’t have looked out of place on Mr David Bowie. Sufficiently space-age, they’re nicely padded to keep you warm, and have a plethora of pockets, too. Wear them with the brand’s equally sci-fi white rollneck, and er, we have blast off!