Chinos: What Colors Should I Get?

[pimpmystyle]

I've already got a pair in khaki. But, I want another pair or two. I'm leaning towards darker colors as opposed to off white. I think black would not be so good, since they'll fade into a weird gray. But, dark brown might be nice.

What would go nicely with dark brown chinos? I"m thinking a grey sweater and t, to start. Any suggestions?

 

[holymadness]

Plenty of browns, olives and navies left in the Incotex threads.

 

[pimpmystyle]

$300??? Anyway, yeah, I've got a pair in mind, but I'm wondering how to pair it up with shoes, top, etc.

 

[holymadness]

They're selling for $45 a pair right now in men's clothing B&S. Might do you some good to wander to that side of the forum.

 

[mack11211]

All of them

 

[chiamdream]

I bought a pair of J.Crew's "Nantucket red" chinos for $20 on sale without really knowing what I was going to wear with them (all of my other casual pants are standard dark denim/muted kahki tones). I like these, but they have the potential to push any outfit from reasonbly preppy to Vineyard Vines-levels of overdone. I think they'll work better in the fall with neutral sweaters. Anyway, I settled on a black polo shirt; looks good enough for a Friday at work. What else can I wear these with?

 

[Dewey]

For cotton chinos, white to medium brown and everything in between. Browns that are pretty yellow or pretty orange. Maybe light gray. Maybe light blue and Nantucket red for the beach. All that is easy.

Darker colors will fade at stress points and give you a distressed look that's not halfway to dressy. It is tough to look as dressed up as business casual in year-old navy chinos.

So I don't see the point of darker chinos. For dark-colored pants, you might as well wear denim, or five-pocket jean-cut cotton trousers. Black chinos are awful--very crappy waiter uniform. So are navy and dark brown.

Obviously a lot of people disagree with me, or black and navy and dark brown would not be common chino offerings from the big obvious makers. You won't be alone if you buy a bunch of navy chinos.

FWIW natucket reds are New England beach resort wear. They exist I think to add punch to light-colored casual summer shirts and shoes. Also they can be worn with a navy blazer and tie for resort events like weddings. They are "fun" pants like seersucker and chinos with lobsters embroidered all over them.

 

[Robert]

I like chinos in many colors. I have dark brown, navy, olive green, faded black, white, grey, and khaki. I'd go for the nantucket if I saw some at a good price.

 

[everybodynobody]

I'm partial to olive green and darker shades of khaki.

 

[aeglus]

Originally Posted by chiamdream

I bought a pair of J.Crew's "Nantucket red" chinos for $20 on sale without really knowing what I was going to wear with them (all of my other casual pants are standard dark denim/muted kahki tones). I like these, but they have the potential to push any outfit from reasonbly preppy to Vineyard Vines-levels of overdone. I think they'll work better in the fall with neutral sweaters.

Anyway, I settled on a black polo shirt; looks good enough for a Friday at work. What else can I wear these with?

If you have the right footwear then a yellow linen shirt looks pretty awesome in my book. Would have posted a WAYWT but the picture didn't turn out too well.

 

[Robert]

Maybe try untucking the polo. Looks a little too uptight for the nantucket chinos.

 

[DLester]

Something to think about is that people wear chinos as if they were neutral colors when many of them are not. True khaki is the most neutral and can go with almost anything. If the chinos have an olive or yellow tone, that will change the colors of shirts you can wear with them. Turns out I don't look good in shirts that go best with olive toned pants so I avoid them.

So think about what shirts will go with the pants before you get a slew of them.

 

[Robert]

At the same time, remember that khaki is ubiquitous. If you want some variety in your wardrobe and you want to stand out a bit from the cubicle khaki crowd, be daring and go for some other colors.

 

[DLester]

^^^ Good counterpoint, I agree

 

[Dewey]

^ True, but khakis of the common color do not mean your entire look is doomed. There is fit, there are shoes, and there all kinds of things to do with shirts, outerwear, accessories like belts and watches and eyeglasses, if you want to distinguish yourself from others. Trousers are not the best thing to **** around with just because you want to dare and be different. I'm not saying they can't work, every now and then, but good luck to the guy who gets into loud chinos just because he's afraid to wear colors that are popular for good reasons.