Who said khaki was boring?
If we asked you to choose one pair of pants to wear on all occasions, what would you say? While most would pick jeans, we beg to differ. Nothing beats the oh-so underrated and versatile chinos. A cross between dress pants and jeans, chinos were made popular by the American military. Soldiers wore body-skimming pants made from cotton twill fabric called the chino cloth, hence the pants are called chinos. The best part about wearing them is that you can dress them up for formal occasions and dress them down for when you need things to be casual. While finding the right way to wear chinos can get challenging for those who wear jeans most of the time, there are easy and stylish ways of wearing them.
While we have an array of colours to choose from when it comes to chinos, we at Man’s Life decided to go basic. Khaki—the common, not-so-common colour we talk about. While khaki chinos are the OG, styling them can be quite tricky. Worry not, here are some styling tips for your khaki chinos.
An ideal combination for any business attire is blue and khaki. If you wanna skip looking older than you usually look while wearing trousers, swap them for chinos. It automatically elevates your look by making you look younger. Wear the shirt with a brown belt and a pair of brown dress shoes.
Style Tip: For days that you want to make things casual, pair the khaki chinos with a mandarin collared blue shirt. Swap the dress shoes for a funky pair of loafers. Avoid wearing the belt at all costs. Enjoy your brunch looking suave!
What’s a Henley shirt? It’s a collarless pullover round neck T-shirt with a placket with two to three buttons on it. In simple words: It’s a polo tee without collars! The Henley was originally a rowing man’s uniform deemed underwear, until ace designer Ralph Lauren had one look at it and said,” This is a new shirt!” Wearing charcoal grey and khaki together is a great way of elevating the colours. Wear long-sleeved Henley with khaki chinos. Pull your sleeves up, wear a watch and finish the look with a sleek pair of wayfarer sunglasses. As for shoes, stick to loafers or very stylish sandals.
Style Tip: Stand out from the rest by investing in a linen Henley shirt instead of a knit one. It’s a casual fashion-forward outfit best worn with leather sandals and a cool watch to complement it.
You may think we are out of our minds for combining two camouflage military colours, but trust us when we say that it’s a dapper colour combination! Olive green with khaki pants are a colour combination for those men who are confident and know that they mean business. Finish the look with a pair of brown dress shoes and a leather strap watch.
Style Tip: If a shirt is too formal for you, swap it with an olive polo tee. Tuck the T-shirt in and finish with brown shoes or a really cool pair of sneakers.
The best way to make the khaki chino look the least formal is to pair it with a denim jacket. The style is young and a classic way of getting heads to turn your way. Layer a plain white tee with the blue denim jacket and a pair of khaki chinos. Brown boots and a pair of fun sunglasses are ideal for completing this look.
Style Tip: You can opt for a black and white striped T-shirt instead of a plain one. This amplifies the look and adds the right amount of style to up your fashion game. Finish the outfit with a pair of really cool white sneakers.
We still haven’t figured out why people say that grey is boring? It isn’t! Even though it is a safe colour to play around with, grey and khaki are a match made in the halls of fashion heaven. Wear a grey sweatshirt with khaki chinos, brown lace-ups or sneakers and you are good to go.
Style Tip: To change things up a bit, pair the khaki chinos with a great hoodie, high top sneakers and a crazy pair of sunglasses.
How do you wear browns on khaki without looking like a police officer? You wear a darker or lighter shade of brown on top— it’s that simple. Don’t be afraid of wearing browns with khaki. It is one of the best colour combinations to go for when you can’t find anything else to wear with khaki. Wear a dark brown shirt or T-shirt with khaki chinos and pair it with sneakers or loafers.
Style Tip: While wearing darker shades of brown with khaki is playing it safe, try pairing the khaki chinos with a lighter shade of brown; like a beige. It will make you stand out from the rest. A light brown tee with khaki trousers with boat shoes or loafers are a good way to tie up the look together.
We have spoken about most of the colours that go with khaki and not white, how can that be? While pairing a white shirt with khaki chinos is the usual way to go about things, we can do something different. Wear the khaki chinos with a white polo T-shirt and sneakers. It’s a simple and 100 per cent date-worthy outfit.
Style Tip: A simple trick to enhance the look further is to cuff the trousers at the bottom. Tuck in the polo tee and pair it with brown loafers or dress shoes. You are now ready to look like you belong in an expensive country club.
Do not even for once believe that khaki is a boring colour. While we have given you seven ways to wear khaki, don’t hesitate to experiment and try new colours to wear with it! There is more to khaki than a policeman’s uniform!
[Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock]
Shraddha Shetty