BonneGueule line: chinos in French canvas

Along with jeans, chinos are the other essential type of pants for a man : adaptable to several styles and comfortable, we didn't need more.

Crossing the generations without too much difficulty, it has never really aged. It also seems to refer to older male icons, almost as if it had always been there.

So before presenting our vision of chinos, we must tell you the rather unique story of this piece. And for this part, it’s Nicolò who does it!

1845 to 1941: From dust to uniform, the birth of khaki as military clothing

A garment created out of necessity

Imagine yourself in India, in 1845.

A brave British soldier, clad in your impeccably structured white and red uniform, you stand proudly at attention, imperturbable despite the heat.

You look good in the queen's colors, but you and your comrades quickly realize that there is a problem: in the middle of the desert, these colors make you as discreet as a lighthouse in the middle of the night. Not necessarily the smartest thing when you have to avoid detection, or shoot the enemy before they do.

Forced to make a stylistic compromise and a departure from the rules of military ceremonial, you use the means at hand to dye your clothes and make yourself a slightly less obvious target. Mud, dust, coffee, and even curry are in order!

Very quickly, your entire regiment gets involved and degrades the uniform, starting with those damn white pants that you notice from hundreds of meters away.

The result of your ingenuity would later be given the name "khaki", an Indian word used to talk about this local dust with a specific color.

Fortunately, Sir Harry Lumsden, at the time Commander of the Punjab Armed Forces , realizes the merits of his soldiers' approach, and replaces the very fitted bottoms of the British uniforms with more breathable and loose pants, which he will have dyed with tea leaves to obtain this same khaki color, suitable for camouflage in a desert environment.

Three years later, the British Army itself recognized the tactical advantage of this color and adopted it for all its uniforms in hot countries, such as Sudan, South Africa or Afghanistan.

These uniforms, made from lightweight, sturdy cotton twill, are made in China to reduce transport costs, but demand is so high that the fabric for the khakis also ends up being woven in the United Kingdom.

Chinos cross oceans

Little by little, many armies follow the example and make khaki a standard color for their uniforms, including the United States, in 1898.

It was only from this date, during the Spanish-American War between the United States and the Spanish colonies against the Kingdom of Spain, that American military pants were qualified as chinos. .

Unlike khakis, chinos would later come to refer to all of these pants of military origin in cotton twill, regardless of the color of the canvas.

Chinos subsequently made their first foray into the civilian market for their practicality and versatility , through brands such as Sunset. A subsidiary created by Levi's in 1906, it is intended to produce clothing other than denim.

Still on the military side, chinos as a uniform continue to spread across the different corps of the American army. First in US Navy aviation in 1912, then among submarine crews in 1931.

It was only in 1941 that it became an integral part of the uniform of officers stationed on bases, and the army immediately authorized their wearing during leave. .

From 1944 to the 1960s: A garment demilitarized, democratized, then made iconic

This last decision helped to make it even more familiar to the public, and the military surplus chinos available in large quantities after the war - inexpensive, robust and with a sober color - were a real success with the general public.

But beyond its democratization on the market, there are other factors which have contributed to making it a true style icon...

The GI Bill: the military on campus

The first was the new influx of soldiers into major American universities at the time. To understand this, we must look at the GI Bill , a law enacted in 1944 providing numerous benefits to soldiers discharged from World War II. It reduces their tuition fees to a paltry amount, which allows them to pursue studies that are normally difficult to access.

Chinos, the standard pants of officers on leave three years earlier, found themselves massively imported into the normally "select" environments of the famous American prep schools, and thus became representative of the future preppy intellectual elite .

The second factor, making chinos a true symbol, is the appropriation of the piece by Hollywood celebrities of the 50s and 60s . We can cite James Mason, James Dean and the unmistakable “King of Cool”, Steve McQueen.

Chinos were also adopted by the non-conformist literary movement of the Beat Generation, through authors such as Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. These precursors associated chinos with the image of the adventurer, the explorer and the elegant rebel.

In fact, what makes chinos strong is that they derive their charisma from a set of connotations , however contradictory:

• Military clothing, it is also adopted by utopians,

• Pants of the people in difficulty after the war, but also those of the young elite of the Ivy League .

In short, chinos transcend social castes and eras, while constantly reminding us of the generations of men who wore them before us.

1980s to today: an abandoned piece then resurrected by Dockers and its Alpha Khakis

Gradually, chinos are becoming rarer.

They don't disappear entirely either, far from it, but they end up being perceived as old-fashioned, particularly because new generations of men don't want to wear a piece that they saw on their father, and their grandfather. before him.

Until less than ten years ago, chinos were often associated with "dad's casual Sunday outfit", worn too loose and with a shapeless cut.

This was without counting on Dockers , which launched its Alpha Khaki line in 2011, made up of “modern” chinos. They accompany them with casual pieces with a vintage look, like bombers or corduroy blazers.

The cuts have been brought up to date: they are more fitted, with a lower waist and a narrower leg opening, suitable for being worn with sneakers or thinner shoes. The materials once again draw their inspiration from the military universe, the colors are diversified to move away from gray and beige and the brand even allows itself to be biased such as camo prints on certain pieces.

The line is a success and the brand transforms its image among younger audiences . It's a new lease of life for chinos, which regains its letters of nobility and its status as a timeless essential. Once again, it is being brought forward almost everywhere!

Our BonneGueule interpretation of chinos

Tackling such a basic piece of men's wardrobe is not an easy thing: we pushed back the deadline several times, while our thoughts matured a little.

Because beige chinos are available everywhere and at all prices and, with Alex, we were wondering what else we could bring.

The first thing was to understand why this piece is rarely worn, and what it would take for us to wear it almost every day. This is what allowed us to identify four axes:

• Pants must be comfortable, so you need a soft and stretchy material ,

• A fitted cut , obviously. Years later, I still remain a big fan of semi-slim,

• A custom-developed color to have “our” beige,

• And functionality in terms of pockets .

A material from the French manufacturer Velcorex

Velcorex is a French supplier specializing in velvet fabrics and chino fabrics.

It also provides some rather well-known Scandinavian and streetwear brands in these columns...

A comfortable fabric, to wear all year round

We are here on a so-called “4 seasons” fabric of 280 gr/m2, a cotton twill to be more precise!

Important point: the canvas is emery, that is to say that a diamond tip will lightly scratch its surface in order to provide softness . You will quickly feel it when you put on these chinos!

And for even more comfort, it is a fabric containing 2% elastane:

• Not only does it help to have a snug fit ,

• But comfort is obviously increased .

The goal is really to create chinos to put on whenever you want to change into comfortable pants, whether to meet friends on Sunday or work during the week.

And after wearing it well, I confirm that adding a little stretch is a real joy.

Beige, but not just any beige!

We had to choose the color. Like a camel coat (we'll come back to it in a few days...), this step is not simple because it relies on a lot of intuition and feeling.

We are in the most total subjectivity, and it is very complicated to rationally argue why beige X is better than Y.

For my part, being very inspired by the colors used for military clothing, I wanted a shade between the coyote color, which is really a standardized and specific color in the armies, and the "British khaki", this beige which seems sometimes gray.

A color fixed in “fabric dye”

Note that the material is “fabric dyed”, a detail which is important. As a reminder, here are the three types of dyes:

• Yarn dyeing , where the yarn is dyed first and then woven. It is the most prestigious, but also the most expensive. And Alex tells me that this is a technique that is not used for chinos,

• Fabric dyed , where the unbleached material is immersed in vats of dyes,

• And the piece dyed , where the pants are made of ecru material, then immersed in a vat. This is the most practical method; you can rationalize your canvas purchases by easily offering several colors, but it is not without drawbacks: the composition label is also dyed, and there may be a fading effect next to certain seams. And above all, given that the pants are already assembled and the material will be heated, the sizing may vary slightly (if sometimes you don't understand why the sizing is different depending on the color for a brand, you have the answer).

We therefore chose “fabric dyed” because the color holds better. Moreover, the pants are washed in the factory, which helps stabilize the color... and the cut!

Very functional pockets with a zip

I sometimes have a fear when I wear chinos: that my personal belongings fall out of my pockets when I'm sitting. To remedy this, we placed a hidden zippered pocket in the left pocket.

Small interesting detail: we lined the pockets with Emanuel Lang khaki poplin , as a nod to the military origins of the piece.

The right rear pocket is also zipped, to keep your papers safe. The whole challenge here was to camouflage it, because it is an area that is often in tension. So we reversed the piping, for a super discreet pocket!

A fitted cut, long to develop

The work on the cut took a very, very long time, much longer than the development of a blazer or a coat. It took no less than five prototypes to arrive at the final result. Sometimes too loose, others too fitted, or even a waist too high... In short, all this to tell you that behind this seemingly simple cut, it actually took a very long time.

But I am very happy with the result: we managed to combine a well-fitted leg line, without ever sacrificing comfort , and carefully avoiding the "too slim" effect.

We are therefore here with a leg opening of 16.5 cm, which will make these chinos ideal to wear with sneakers or high-top shoes, since they will fall well on the ankle. This is also where elastane comes in!

Neat finishes

A clean and trim interior

We start from the inside of the leg:

• The inside seam, running from the bottom of the pants to the crotch, is completely folded down ,

• The one going from the bottom to the belt is completely braided .

A sturdy trouser belt

So that it never fails you, we have made sure that the loops fit well under the belt. Little novelty: we mounted it with chain stitches.

Japanese YKK zippers

We no longer present YKK, the Japanese brand of reference for zips. We turned to them for the zippers on the pockets and the fly.

Where is it made?

The French Velcorex canvas is then sent to Morocco, where it is fitted into chinos. This country develops undeniable know-how in the manufacture of shirts and pants.

We chose to work with a small workshop on a human scale, very close to its clients in the luxury sector .

How to choose your size ?

Like all cotton pants, they stretch a little: they should be a little tight when purchased, but not as much as jeans! With elastane, even if the pants fit well at first, they will retain all their comfort!

How to wear chinos?

It's very simple: with everything. Chinos are truly an all-terrain piece, adapting to almost all styles.

Come on, let's still look at some inspirations. 😉

A few words about the interview

Take care of these chinos and they will accompany you for several years.

When washing it, turn it inside out before putting it in the washing machine. Be careful not to use detergent with bleaching agents, nor to overclog the drum.

And you know the refrain: tumble dryers prohibited 😉

How to get BonneGueule chinos?

You can now find our beige chinos on the eshop and in store.