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I'm not entirely tracking you here. A casual suit could be made of cotton or even linen, in which case the suit pants would be either roughly identical to or even less formal than a chino pant, no? Is it the matching jacket that makes the difference, and if so, what about that makes oxfords better? The guy in your top pick kind of looks like he's wearing a cotton twill, which is what chinos are made of.
I don't care for navy chinos, but why not the charcoal ones I linked?
Yes, but in an actual outfit, a cotton suit (like the one pictured above) will look different than just cotton chinos worn without a jacket. It's not about the intersection of just the pants with the shoes, but the totality of the outfit and the message the outfit sends. I choose the first photo because he's wearing a cotton suit. Without the jacket, you end up with the second photo, which is this sort of "business casual" look prevalent nowadays. (Not a good look, IMO).
It's possible to wear charcoal or navy chinos, but I think you have to be careful about the pairing. I think it's easier to wear a more traditional color such as tan.
For one, cotton fades in patchy ways. It's not like wool, in that regard. This fading will show up more readily on dark colors, such as charcoal and navy. With some aesthetics, such as workwear, that kind of beat-up look can be charming. In a classic tailored outfit, it will look ... not great.
Secondly, most men will have an easier time getting dressed if they stick to lighter colors for pants and darker colors for sport coats. The cynosure of a tailored outfit is the V-shape space formed between the jacket's opening, shirt, and tie. This is why it's hard to wear bright-colored shoes, such as tan, or unusual colors for pants. Such things draw the eye downward.
When you stick to this formula -- dark jacket + light shirt + dark tie + light pants -- the focus is centered on that V-shape space. It's possible to reverse this in some cases -- a lighter jacket paired with dark pants -- but doing so requires a bit of know-how.
With charcoal trousers, it can be hard to pair dark colored jackets because the combination becomes too muddy. In the worst cases, the tone of the jacket and pants are too close together, and it may almost look like you're wearing a mistmatched suit. With tan chinos + navy sport coat or brown tweed, this is never an issue.
If you buy dark chinos, it will be easier to wear them without a tailored jacket, such as with a sweater. But I am again not a fan of those business casual looks. If someone wants to dress casually, I think there are better casualwear options. If someone wants to wear a tailored jacket, I think they can choose better pants.