Chino and sock brand recs...
Hi all,
Was using the guides before but it sounds like they may be outdated now, so wanted to ask here:
- What are current thoughts on best brands entry-mid $ chinos? Let's say $100ish (not a hard limit, just a ballpark) but obviously I wouldn't be disappointed to spend less. Looking for a more traditional/tapered look vs baggy. Trying to distill what I've found in searches, it seems like Bonobos used to be the go-to but has fallen out of favor. A&F doesn't even appear to have actual chinos anymore. BR used to be maligned but now seems to be coming back into favor. Gap is so darn cheap I'm suspicious. Other go-tos? Just got some Spier and Mackay ones that seem nice enough but I don't know about durability. Also curious about Flint & Tinder 365 just because FB seems desperate for me to buy them.
- Similar question for socks, but particularly dress socks with simple/non-garish patterns. Material is so variable in socks I don't want to give a price range, but I'm looking for the same tier as above. I like Bombas, Smartwool, Darn tough, etc. but they are overwhelmingly solids and I'd like some variety. They don't need to be wool, I honestly never owned a wool pair until recently. Tie Bar has (some) nice patterns to illustrate what I mean and obviously the price is great, but I have no idea the quality.
Thanks!
9 Replies
for your first question, J Crew might fit the bill too. or maybe Buck Mason. Gap and Abercrombie are totally fine as well for what you’re asking imo
i used to load and unload furniture in s&m chinos, the durability is fine
imo durability is a non-issue unless you do hard labor or are buying shein
you could look at brooks bros for socks, around the same price point as darn tough after sale.
Good to know re durability. Yeah, office worker here so definitely no hard labor besides chasing my kiddo around. I guess I more just meant general quality...I've had some pants that tore early on for no apparent reason, etc. and were just clearly poorly consutructed. These were super cheap "on sale at mall" ones though. I just don't know what toe expect from the lowest entry point or what "expensive" gets you in Chinos as to me they all look nearly identical.
Not familiar with Buck Mason but will take a look!
I will add that another thing you can do to aid the durability of your pants/clothing in general is to not use a dryer but do line drying if possible.
Appreciate the suggestion, but literally no chance in hell I'm dealing with line drying for anything that needs washing on a regular basis🤣
It’s really not hard, like you can hang it over a shower curtain for a night
Im always amused about ppl who treat line drying as some kind of medieval chore. It literally takes 10 min to hang a load of laundry and then you just forget about it for one or two days.
But you do you
Or hang it on your shower curtain. Not hard
Not difficult per se. Wife will murder me if I have clothes hanging up all over the place on a regular basis.