NOT SO DUSTY KHAKI
Jeans are James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. Khakis are JFK and Katharine Hepburn.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought of it.
Right or wrong, khakis and/or chinos, have come to be seen as the elevated comfortable slacks rather than the cool ones.
They definitely have a more complicated history than their blue counterparts.
While jeans trace easily and obviously back to the pants Levi Strauss made for miners, khakis go back to the British in India. As occupying forces tend to do, they took whatever pleased them, including a tan cotton cloth that was a whole lot more comfortable to wear in India’s climate than those red wool coats.
The name “khaki” comes from a Hindi word meaning “dust” or “dusty,” and when the British Corps of Guides started wearing pants made of the tan cotton, the name stuck. U.S. forces eventually signed onto the idea, too, in the 1898 Spanish-American War. For a long time, khaki was associated with military uniforms – during both World Wars, if a family said they had a “boy in khaki,” everyone would know it meant their son was serving.
The World War II service khaki is what ultimately brought the style to the masses: the boys brought them home and looked great in them – and clothing makers had a lot of leftover fabric to sell. Instant must-have. From that point, they never really left the civilian wardrobe.
It didn’t hurt that JFK, World War II veteran and male style-setter, was often photographed on deck or at the compound in them. Whatever Kennedy wore – or didn’t wear – worked for a lot of folks, regardless of politics. You may have heard that hatmakers blame his preference for going bare-headed for their decline (Probably unfairly, since he DID wear a top hat for his inauguration, after all!)
On the ladies’ side, Katharine Hepburn pretty much personified khaki style. For decades, her signature offscreen look was a pair of loose khakis and a white oxford, sometimes with a cashmere sweater tied around her neck. We’d call it quiet luxury now, probably, but it was just an icon being an icon: it’s the outfit she was comfortable in, and she wore it most of the time.
So khakis come into the wardrobe with some pretty elevated associations, and they’ve held onto them. There are still plenty of places where an outfit of jeans and t-shirt is unacceptable, but khakis and a polo is entirely appropriate, even though they’re essentially the same in comfort level. Khakis are “not-jeans,” for lack of a better description, and they read as just a bit elegant.
A quick word about chinos. There’s a long-simmering controversy over what the exact difference is between chinos and khakis, and whether it even matters. The issues range from tailoring to pockets to the variety of colors (some purists will say only a particular shade of light brown is a khaki!). One thing most seem to agree on is the fabric: while both are made of woven cotton, chino cloth is lighter weight and possibly smoother. After that, you’re getting into a debate like “Pop vs Soda” and good luck to you!
Whatever you call them, and however you style them, there’s no question that most people have at least one pair – if only because they’re the perfect not-jeans. Or maybe because you want to look like a WWII aviator. No argument there!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought of it.
Right or wrong, khakis and/or chinos, have come to be seen as the elevated comfortable slacks rather than the cool ones.
They definitely have a more complicated history than their blue counterparts.
While jeans trace easily and obviously back to the pants Levi Strauss made for miners, khakis go back to the British in India. As occupying forces tend to do, they took whatever pleased them, including a tan cotton cloth that was a whole lot more comfortable to wear in India’s climate than those red wool coats.
The name “khaki” comes from a Hindi word meaning “dust” or “dusty,” and when the British Corps of Guides started wearing pants made of the tan cotton, the name stuck. U.S. forces eventually signed onto the idea, too, in the 1898 Spanish-American War. For a long time, khaki was associated with military uniforms – during both World Wars, if a family said they had a “boy in khaki,” everyone would know it meant their son was serving.
The World War II service khaki is what ultimately brought the style to the masses: the boys brought them home and looked great in them – and clothing makers had a lot of leftover fabric to sell. Instant must-have. From that point, they never really left the civilian wardrobe.
It didn’t hurt that JFK, World War II veteran and male style-setter, was often photographed on deck or at the compound in them. Whatever Kennedy wore – or didn’t wear – worked for a lot of folks, regardless of politics. You may have heard that hatmakers blame his preference for going bare-headed for their decline (Probably unfairly, since he DID wear a top hat for his inauguration, after all!)
On the ladies’ side, Katharine Hepburn pretty much personified khaki style. For decades, her signature offscreen look was a pair of loose khakis and a white oxford, sometimes with a cashmere sweater tied around her neck. We’d call it quiet luxury now, probably, but it was just an icon being an icon: it’s the outfit she was comfortable in, and she wore it most of the time.
So khakis come into the wardrobe with some pretty elevated associations, and they’ve held onto them. There are still plenty of places where an outfit of jeans and t-shirt is unacceptable, but khakis and a polo is entirely appropriate, even though they’re essentially the same in comfort level. Khakis are “not-jeans,” for lack of a better description, and they read as just a bit elegant.
A quick word about chinos. There’s a long-simmering controversy over what the exact difference is between chinos and khakis, and whether it even matters. The issues range from tailoring to pockets to the variety of colors (some purists will say only a particular shade of light brown is a khaki!). One thing most seem to agree on is the fabric: while both are made of woven cotton, chino cloth is lighter weight and possibly smoother. After that, you’re getting into a debate like “Pop vs Soda” and good luck to you!
Whatever you call them, and however you style them, there’s no question that most people have at least one pair – if only because they’re the perfect not-jeans. Or maybe because you want to look like a WWII aviator. No argument there!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments.
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I wonder where the fashion of distressed jeans started and if it will catch on for khakis.