Buying Khakis: 4 Insider Tricks to Getting Cheap Chinos that Fit Right
Uniqlo Flat Front Chino, $29.99 -- all you will ever need
Khakis almost always disappoint. Period. Throw your Dockers on and it looks like someone could park a bus in the shadow of your ass.
We know that many of you are “so done with the slim thing.” First off, a quick Public Service Announcement: we like our stuff fitted, not skinny. Second off, this isn’t about the “slim thing.” You’re not going to look like a hipster if you throw on some slimmer khakis. And you’re not going to look good in khakis that aren’t slim.
For years, khaki makers have plagued us with unflattering fits that make us look like we’ve got cankles, thunderthighs, and a gigantic buttocks. But if you’re of a remotely average build, you can look 10x better than you ever thought in your khakis. Here is literally all it will take.
At $45, Gap's Original Khaki is a great and more easy to find than Uniqlo's
1. Get Uniqlo’s Washed Flat Front Chino or Gap’s Original Khaki. Uniqlo’s is $30, Gap’s is $45.
Coming from the Japanese brand Uniqlo, you can expect a slim enough cut, but the khakis, as a staple of the American wardrobe, come with some American flavor: a relaxed aesthetic (mid-weight cotton) and a subtle pocket on the front, just below the hip, for a military sort of look. A cool brass button, and a leg that tapers from 10″ up top to 8.5″ at the leg opening. To get them, order online at customer.orders@uniqlo-usa.com, phone in at (917) 237-8800, or go in store at 546 Broadway in SoHo.
Gap’s Original Khaki is a staple of the American wardrobe, and god bless the company for putting these out unfailingly. They’re slim enough, cheap enough, and gosh darn it, people like them (Thanks Stuart Smalley).
2. Size down 1 in the waist.
Trust us, this is safe. Jeans companies will tell you to do it for denim, and we’ll tell you to do it for these khakis. First, the waist on khakis — and any pants for that matter, even at Uniqlo — is almost always too big. Second, Uniqlo/Gap is not working with flawless fabric. It gets the job done and we love them to death, but when you compromise on quality of fabric, what happens is the material expands slightly throughout the day until it is washed. Sizing down will accommodate for this effect.
3. Size up 1-2 in the length.
Trust us again. This is very, very safe. Think about it. If a guy has your waste-size, but is 2 inches longer, he probably has a narrower build than you. So naturally, he needs slimmer pants. So get your khakis sized up, because the khaki maker has a slimmer guy than you in mind during design. And we’re not calling you fat. We’re just saying that when khaki makers design their pants, they always make them too wide for the guy they have in mind, because they’re trying to play it safe.
4. If you are troubled by the length of the khakis, get them hemmed for $5-10 at your local tailor.
We have bought many a pair of both types of khakis, and found it unnecessary to get them tailored, but hey, do what suits you.
So there it is. Easy as 1, 2, 3… 4.
1. Uniqlo Washed Flat Front Chino or Gap Original Chino
2. Size down 1 in the waste
3. Size up 1-2 in the length
4. Tailor if necessary
J. Crew Urban Slim Fit Khakis, $65
All this is not to the exclusion of a couple all-star khaki makers. J. Crew’s Urban Slim Fit Chino comes in at $65 and is a great option if you want to dole out the extra $35 for a slightly better material than though very similar cut to the Uniqlo chino.
Then there are the heavy-hitters of khakis, but the prices reflect the quality. Save Khaki’s pairs run a little over $100. Shipley and Halmos has some of the best looking khakis around because they come in great washes and super-flattering, slim cuts (though they’re expensive, hard to find, and nearing toward the skinnier side of the slim spectrum).
Of course, we applaud brands like APC and Lova for coming out with high quality slim cut trousers, but these tend to be a little too slim for our taste.
8 Responses “Buying Khakis: 4 Insider Tricks to Getting Cheap Chinos that Fit Right ”
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Gap also has released a pair of more fitted khakis than their original fit, named the cadet khaki. If you can deal with the button fly the cadet you can just buy in your size and has a much better “tailored” fit than the original. I think there also on a 30 dollar promo right now, you cant really beat them for that price.
How do you recommend washing/drying these to keep them fitting right?
May I suggest Brooks Brothers Advantage chinos? Aside from Bill’s, they’re the best thing in my book. The Milano cut fits pretty much just as the J. Crew slimmer chinos, but the craftsmanship and overall quality trumps Crew’s by leaps and bounds. Truth be told, they’re not much more expensive either. That you pretty much never have to iron them makes the few extra bucks well worth it in terms of the time you’ll save when rushing out the door in the morning.
Just my few cents…
The first sentence had me laughing hard. Nonetheless great article
I suggest taking a look at ACNE’s GUY chinos, they have an excellent slim fit and top notch quality. They are a bit pricey at 120€ but are worth it. They come in different colors and washes and there are also other fits other than GUY that you can check out.
One word- “Bills”.
do the down 1 waist, +2 length apply to the “better” khakis as well such as the j. crew urban slim fits?
volcom/vans khakis. perfect fit…i love high waters! new trend for next spring lol