I want a good pair of Chinos that fit!
Hi all, Jack here again.
I'm cooking up a game plan to get a good pair of chinos that are stylish, fit well, and are comfortable.
I'm planning on going to Spier and Mackay on Saturday.
Any suggestions for a beginner other than the obvious ones?
I'm not trying to overload myself with information, but what I've picked up so far is that:
1. I should take my own measurements
2. They should be 100% cotton
3. They should be one of the safer colors like khaki, caramel or olive, etc
4. They should be comfortable, and fit well
27 Replies
JCrew classic chino
^ this if you can get one on sale
Or PRL Andrews on eBay/thrift
More of a relaxed cut than spier
Sounds like you're in Toronto area so if you want to make the trek to Buffalo, O'Connells could have cool chinos
They said they have dead stock stuff in the store not on the website when I asked
I should take my own measurementsThis isn't really necessary if you're trying things on in store. Also, your own measurements are much less useful than the measurements of clothing that fit you well.
They should be one of the safer colors like khaki, caramel or olive, etcThis is just personal preference. My favorite chinos are mustard yellow. Keep in mind that Spier's cuts run slim, even their contemporary fit. Their chinos are decent but I personally prefer pleated, relaxed cuts Honestly, before you do this, I think some good questions to ask yourself are: 1) Why do you want to buy chinos in the first place? 2) What are some outfits you'd wear them in? 3) What are some outfits you've seen that feature chinos that you are trying to emulate?
The reason these answers are important is because there's a huge variety in how you can style chinos and what cuts they come in. These two pictures both show tan chinos but they're very different.
What would you consider the cut in the second photo?
skinny or slim tapered
Spier runs slim, I have the contemporary fit and even 501s are wider
honestly "the obvious tips" for a beginner are largely obvious because they work
the only other thing not listed is (if possible) to wear the pair of shoes you're most likely to wear with the chinos. you'll save yourself the mental bandwidth of trying to imagine how they pair together.
spier does have some relaxed fit chinos however i didn't like how they looked. i'm hoping that spier expands their relaxed fit offerings to other types of trousers.
Hey again GSH, I picked up these today! Hoping to match outfits with these, not planning to wear until weather's nicer mid spring or so. I was looking at this pant break diagram, I kinda like the look of #2 and #3. If I can identify a pair of chinos that provide that fit I'd be happy. Thoughts?
I'm more east of the GTA, but Mississauga is a bit of a trek. I've actually been intentionally driving a lot recently because I'm relatively new to driving and want to gain as much experience as I can in all traffic conditions
Thanks for this, you read my mind lol
Thanks, I still want to check out the store for ideas, and maybe purchase a need. I'm not sure where Blazers rank in priority of fashion goods...lol, I've never owned a blazer. I might prioritize a raincoat from Uniqlo or something as April showers are quickly approaching, and focus on that next fall.
Blazers rank pretty low imo, unless you need one for work or your style is going towards prep/ivy
The pant break is pretty much just a function of the inseam, so except for pairs which are too short and don't have material to let out the inseam, any pair of chinos would be able to have a quarter break (#2) or no break (#3) on you
Af1 lows are solid sneakers but pairing them with chinos doesn't really excite me much to be honest. Fatigues, cargos, double knees, or faded jeans would probably be a better match for the sneakers. So this is why I'm trying to get you to answer the questions here https://discord.com/channels/1116793467654381685/1209881268565844048/1209912157114732564 and think a bit more critically about your purchases rather than just treating the basic wardrobe guide as a shopping list
Of course, if you just want a shopping list and don't want to think much about your clothes, that's totally fine. But you're asking a lot of questions and it seems like you're wanting to take a more thoughtful approach to fashion/clothing, so that's why I'm trying to nudge you a bit, if that makes sense
I've got a bit of an edge/ alternative vibe I'd like to go for. I use to listen to a lot of heavy music, but ive toned it down, I mainly listen to a lot of 90s rock and grunge now like Nirvana, Red hot chilli peppers, etc. I kinda like that vibe
do you work in a job or have any sort of function upcoming (soon, like, within a week) that would require a blazer?
if not don't worry about it; you have plenty of time to get the things that will ring true to you for whatever occasions come up in life
1. I want to look well put together
2. Currently, if I exclude my crappy wardrobe that consists of undersized tees and band sweaters with some holes in them, I'm not working with much. Let's say I'm starting fresh and ignore all I've ever worn, I've got: a white Supima tee, a grey one, and a black one. I've got a Uniqlo grey sweat shirt, and now a grey Uniqlo pull over hoodie. I've got a pair of slim Gap chinos, a pair of straight fit Gap chinos that are 98% cotton, and a Uniqlo olive chinos with the AF1s. That's what I have to match right now.
3. I've never really thought that far ahead as to emulate a certain look. I like some of Ewan MacGregor's outfits because someone in here said I sort of look like him, but that's about it. Off topic, but I'm going to get my haircut before my India trip and I'm going for a Harvard clip haircut, I kinda like that clean look, on my head anyway
No I don't really need it right now, you're right
grungy blazers can be sick but yeah definitely other things id get first in your position
it might help to start an inspo album now of fits/articles of clothing that you like; you don't need to buy anything (you shouldn't, really) but it'll help build your subjective taste in clothes that you can apply to some of these things you're pickng up on fit and function.
Chinos don't make you look particularly well put together, they're the most common pants outside of jeans. You said that you like rock and grunge, chinos feel like kind of the opposite of that? They're either ivy, prep, or business casual
If you want to rock AF1s and put together kinda grungy outfits then I'd definitely go for some jeans or fatigues
I can very much related to OP and like your suggestion. Am I correct in assuming Pinterest is the best way to start an inspo album? And if so, are there specific resources that you can recommend to help compile the album?
pinterest is probably the easiest way in that you can just search for something ('beige chinos outfits', 'ewan macgregor style') and save it directly from the search page. you may want to check the #fashion-guides for the inspiration article or start another question thread asking about other sources of inspiration
I personally prefer Instagram + some method to rip the images. Pinterest makes it easier to save stuff to a board but has so much awful mens fashion on it
Thanks, I’ll start a thread
What are you searching for on insta though? I don't think they have the greatest search algo. Or are there some pages to get me started?
mostly brand pages and posters that I like - I don't just search for "men's outfits" or something like that
brands like Story mfg, Universal Works, and kokun india, for example, have cool pages and post interesting stuff
i follow a few shops. Some of them link their models' instas, and if I like their style I follow them too
then the algorithm works its magic