If you're stood there holding a pair of cotton trousers and squeezing the fabric between your fingers trying to work out if they'll bag at the knee by lunchtime, that instinct is the right one. Cotton is honest. It shows you exactly what it is the moment you put weight on it, which is why the cheap ones feel fine on and look finished by the time you've sat through one meeting.
The difference between a pair that lasts and a pair that looks sad after three washes usually comes down to weight and weave before anything else. A proper twill or a denser cotton drill has a bit of body to it, it holds a crease, it doesn't cling to your thighs and go see through when you sit down, which thinner poplin or a loose cotton blend will absolutely do to you given the chance. Check the inside seams while you're in there, overlocked or flat felled edges mean someone bothered, a raw edge that's already fraying on the hanger means it'll be worse after a wash. Have a proper look at the waistband too, a curved, lined waistband sits flatter against you than a straight strip of fabric folded over, and buttons that feel like actual metal rather than painted plastic tend to survive longer than you'd expect. Give the fabric a scrunch in your fist and let go, if it springs back reasonably flat there's some decent cotton content doing its job, if it stays crumpled like a tissue you've had in your pocket all day, that's your answer.
In the shop, sit down in them before you decide anything. A lot of cotton trousers look sharp standing at the mirror and then dig straight into your stomach the second you bend. Check the rise against your actual waist, not where the label thinks your waist is, and look at how the hem sits with the shoes you'd actually wear, not the ones you happened to have on. Pockets matter more than people admit, deep enough for a phone without pulling the whole front out of shape is worth checking with your own phone, not the display one.
Once you've got a pair that fits properly, they do a lot of unglamorous, useful work. A plain cotton trouser sits easily under a jumper and boots for daytime, then takes a simple blouse and flat sandals just as well without looking like you've dressed for two different days. If you're starting from nothing, go for a straight leg in a mid weight cotton rather than anything cropped or heavily tapered, it forgives more body shapes and more moods.
Start in a soft stone or khaki rather than black, it hides less and tells you much sooner if the fit's actually right.
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