To Chino or not to Chino?

My latest article for MFM.

This time last year, my view of chinos was reduced to a grown up alternative of jeans: the typical light cotton trousers that a well off 40-something man would wear to weekend in the country side. Dogs and summer estates, flowery fields and Sunday roast with the children was my thought association with the item.

Last year we saw a huge influx of chinos, and this season the popularity remains the same. Suddenly chinos are conquering all window shops, magazines editorials and every man’s wardrobe. They are out there in every colour and shape, for a completely versatile fresh mid-season look. The Spring/Summer catwalks presented various models: from the casual straight fit at Paul Smith, to the colourful and skinny at Burberry Prorsum to the washed out shades at Ermenegildo Zegna. The collections filtered down to the high-street brands and realised the fantasy of the style-aware among us.

However, despite their initial success on British streets, they have also been the target of some negative publicity. A lot of guys still prefer the traditional option of denim jeans, and find it hard to wear anything on the trouser front. The old stereotype of chinos being best suited to the rich, middle aged generation is also putting a few guys off. Also guys are fearing blending in with the rising generation of walking “Topman clones”, who seem to always wear drop crotch chinos with low neck t-shirts offering no sense of student style what so ever.

Check out this link to read the whole article.