Khakis came to the western world in the 1800s via the British Indian Army. At the time, the standard British soldier's uniform consisted of white trousers and a bright red, woollen coat. The uniform, which famously earned them the nickname 'red coats', signified power and prestige and successfully intimidated their enemies. However, when Britain expanded into India in the 1800s, their existing uniforms soon became too hot and itchy. Many soldiers were stationed in Punjab, India, where temperatures could reach as high as 48 degrees.
So gave Sir Harry Burnett Lumsdena British military officer stationed in Punjab, instructed his men to take off their red jackets and wear their lighter, softly woven cotton pyjama trousers instead. To better camouflage their white, pleated pyjamas, soldiers dyed them with mud and marazi (a plant native to Punjab), resulting in a drab, beige hue that blended perfectly with their sandy surroundings. They were called 'khakis', which comes either from the Hindi word धूल, meaning 'dust', or the Persian word khāk, meaning 'earth'. No one knows for sure, but it is clear that both terms aptly describe the yellowish beige colour of khakis.
The first khaki trousers were made in 1846, when a British officer serving in the Punjab region traded in his company's warm woollen trousers and jackets for lighter fabrics and looser cuts made from indigenous cotton. The colonial army stationed in India adopted khakis as their uniform trousers by 1848, and it spread throughout the rest of the British Empire until the entire British Army formally adopted the style as their uniform in 1884.
"But what about khaki chinos? Khaki is not only a style of trousers, but also a colour. The stitching on khaki trousers is hidden. Khakis are generally seen as more casual because of the sturdier fabric. Trousers in khaki style have pronounced pockets; chino pockets are hidden.
Hidden pockets add to the stylish nature of a chino. Chinos have flat fronts; khakis can be flat or pleated. This is purely a matter of personal preference, but generally pleated trousers are more traditional. Pleats also help to balance out your proportions if you carry some extra weight in your midsection, or if you are quite broad-shouldered. A flat front is the more modern trouser silhouette that tends to be flattering on a slimmer body type.
Chinos are lightweight, tapered so that they taper down as they fall on the leg, and can be worn with or without cuffs. They generally have a flat front. Chino fabric was a lightweight twill from China (hence the name). The British and French armies both used chinos to make their khaki uniform trousers by the second half of the 19th century. When American soldiers serving in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War needed uniform trousers, they found it cheaper and faster to import from China than from the United States. Their trousers were made simple and tapered, without a pleated front, to save on fabric costs, resulting in a smooth, simple style. The same basic style was used for uniform trousers during the First World War, and returning soldiers from both wars brought them to civilian institutions. University students in particular adopted chinos after WWI, and they have been part of the fashion landscape ever since.
However, enthusiasts have been confused ever since! The basis, however, is that khakis originated as a broad category of military trousers, and a specific subset of these evolved into chinos. Think of khakis as a thicker, more square garment, and of chinos as slimmer, more tapered and neat trousers, you're good!
Raphaël van den Poel, former fashion consultant of Scapa, Reinhard Frans and Atelier NA tailored suits,
writes our weekly blog on gentleman matters. He works for MYX Magazine, a Flemish luxury lifestyle platform.
He also has his own blog which you can read here: http://belgiandandy.blogspot.com
Raphaël van den Poel
The Belgian Dandy
