Chinos

[Mr Tickle]

Simultaneously the most basic of men's trousers and also one of the most confusing ... To me, anyway. I think because they seemingly come in both casual and smart (not formal) varieties. And the differences aren't all that straightforward, to the untrained eye. I did find this article useful when putting my thoughts and questions together for this post:

Three Types of Chinos

Khaki chinos are not, as they say, just khaki chinos. Though they’re always casual, they come in different flavors of...

putthison.com

So I have quite a few pairs, and I'm going to focus on two in particular, one that I would say falls into the "standard casual" category (double row of stitching down both seams, coarser material, fuller cut, beige, in the pics below) and one pair that are much closer to "dress chinos" (hidden stitching, slimmer cut, clearly made of a finer and smoother material, grey in the pics below).

So I'm interested in wearing both these pairs of trousers in a smart/casual way. From what I can gather, wearing the dark pair with something like an Oxford cloth shirt, tweed sports coat and brown derbies should be fine ... something like this: (ignore length, I haven't had them shortened yet)



But are the lighter pair of trousers too casual to work with the same sort of ensemble?



Or does the fact that the tweed patch pocket jacket and striped Oxford shirt are both in theory pretty casual mean that this is ok?

I actually struggle to think of what would work with the beige trousers - I think because they are very plain looking as well as not-smart - so anythign else they would potentially go with (a plain t-shirt, a plain polo, etc) would result in a very dull and featureless outfit!

So as well as general ideas about wearing these most deceptively perplexing of trousers, I'm interested in:
1 - Feedback on my "smart casual" (dark) chinos outfit - have I found the right level to peg them at?
2 - Ideas for my "casual casual" (light) chinos outfit - I like the look and feel of these trousers but don't have many ideas about how to wear them without looking very boring!

 

[Dan Dynamic]

I reply as I seek the answer to your questions as well.

Anyways, I found a look that I think looked quite interesting regarding #2.

Thank you for the article by the way. I learned a lot!

 

[Garrister]

Chinos that are slimmer and with no crease are inherently more casual. Chinos with more drape and a crease are inherently more dressy. Personally, I would choose to wear a more dressy chino with a sports coat or otherwise make sure that the sports coat is very casual (i.e., unstructured with no lining kind of jacket, etc.). IMHO

 

[Mr Tickle]

So ... Here's me trying to pair two pairs of similar chinos with a linen overshirt that is, I would say by today's standards of casual dress among people of my age (40s) , relatively smart. While certainly not "formal" in any way , it is sharply cut, has a collar, etc. Let's say, for want of a better word, "elegant".

First pair of chinos (hands in pocket) I would say are not right. They are too casual. They are wide legged and have a visible row of double stitched seams, which from the article I posted leads me to believe they sit on the smart side of the Chino spectrum.

The second pair of chinos have a single seam of stitching. They are also slimmer, though not skinny fitting. To my eye these seem to sit more comfortably with the smart-looking overshirt and therefore this combination could be said to be more coherent, put-together and therefore stylish.

Am on the right lines here with my quest to understand the stylish wearing of chinos?

 

[Reggae Mike]

Simultaneously the most basic of men's trousers and also one of the most confusing ... To me, anyway. I think because they seemingly come in both casual and smart (not formal) varieties. And the differences aren't all that straightforward, to the untrained eye. I did find this article useful when putting my thoughts and questions together for this post:

Three Types of Chinos

Khaki chinos are not, as they say, just khaki chinos. Though they’re always casual, they come in different flavors of...

putthison.com

So I have quite a few pairs, and I'm going to focus on two in particular, one that I would say falls into the "standard casual" category (double row of stitching down both seams, coarser material, fuller cut, beige, in the pics below) and one pair that are much closer to "dress chinos" (hidden stitching, slimmer cut, clearly made of a finer and smoother material, grey in the pics below).

So I'm interested in wearing both these pairs of trousers in a smart/casual way. From what I can gather, wearing the dark pair with something like an Oxford cloth shirt, tweed sports coat and brown derbies should be fine ... something like this: (ignore length, I haven't had them shortened yet)
View attachment 1800291


But are the lighter pair of trousers too casual to work with the same sort of ensemble?

View attachment 1800292

Or does the fact that the tweed patch pocket jacket and striped Oxford shirt are both in theory pretty casual mean that this is ok?

I actually struggle to think of what would work with the beige trousers - I think because they are very plain looking as well as not-smart - so anythign else they would potentially go with (a plain t-shirt, a plain polo, etc) would result in a very dull and featureless outfit!

So as well as general ideas about wearing these most deceptively perplexing of trousers, I'm interested in:
1 - Feedback on my "smart casual" (dark) chinos outfit - have I found the right level to peg them at?
2 - Ideas for my "casual casual" (light) chinos outfit - I like the look and feel of these trousers but don't have many ideas about how to wear them without looking very boring!

My opinion is if you can't tell if you like it, you don't like it. The only thing I don't care for on your dark chino look is the break. I'm way into light to white color chinos right now. I think they look great with blue, denim, or chambray tops. I've been playing around with more wide leg chinos, I think they look more classic and dressy.

 

[Mr Tickle]

My opinion is if you can't tell if you like it, you don't like it. The only thing I don't care for on your dark chino look is the break. I'm way into light to white color chinos right now. I think they look great with blue, denim, or chambray tops. I've been playing around with more wide leg chinos, I think they look more classic and dressy.

Yeah - the dark chinos are from Spoke and are supposed to be very fitted to me. Obviously they aren't quite, so they are going back to be replaced by a pair that are an inch shorter!

 

[Reggae Mike]

Yeah - the dark chinos are from Spoke and are supposed to be very fitted to me. Obviously they aren't quite, so they are going back to be replaced by a pair that are an inch shorter!

Had to Google Spoke, as I've never seen that brand. Their chinos look great. I had troubles realizing the appropriateness of chinos myself. I settled on, is a step above jeans, like a smart casual, although can be like streetwear but more comfortable than jeans sometimes. Ultimately it's the comfort for me.