Chino Tasting Scores- Part 1 of 3

From Left- Judges G. Bruce Boyer & Robert E. Bryan

#1 Score- 80 LINCS Light Khaki $N/A

REB 80- "Light fabric, rear buttons, adjustable, on seam pkt, dress, taped seam"

GBB 80- "Light weight, narrow leg, finished interior, true color, decent fabric, nice detail + hand"

Pant is no longer available

#2 Score 77.5 - Bills Khakis Limited Edition Shell Cloth $165

REB 85- "cheaper, semi light, on seam pkt, striped waist, no tape seam, wide leg"

GBB 70 - "Light weight, light color, not as good fabric, wider leg, not as finished int."

#3 Score 57.5 LL Bean Allagash (New model available end of June) $44.50

REB 50- "Brushed, dble pkt, wide loops, loop rear pkt, cheap, washed."

GBB 65- "Not great color or fabric, not impressed w/styling, wide leg + short rise."

#4 Score- 90 LINCS PS 104903 Available only at Dillards $65

REB 90- "light color, oyster, slim, nice make, stripe shirting fabric lining, finished."

GBB 90- "Very good hand, reg. rise + slim leg, nicely finished, nice simple styling, good color."

#5 Score- Withdrawn LL Bean 1912 Khaki $29.95

This LL Bean khaki was withdrawn last minute due to manufacturer's name on button.

Chino Tasting: Bryan's Best Khaki

Robert Bryan's pick for Best Khaki: Selvage

Introduced in 2006 and long gone

History (please let it repeat itself)

I've been told they're gone. That picture does not do this pant justice. The LINCS selvage khaki came in Navy, Breton Red, Forest Green and Khaki. If anyone out there has a pair - PM me. This is an outstanding pant that didn't do so well with the Dillard's customer. And I'm not surprised. You don't see khaki selvage very often. In fact, after this pant, you may never see it again.

At $110, this was on the high side for the customer who, like a few commenter's here, thought it was, "just a khaki." Selvage is where you'll find the khaki cognoscenti circling. Robert Bryan knew there was something going on when he picked this pant up. He noted the tape seam (selvage), called the pant exceptional and gave it a 95 and "Best Khaki."

So why would I would knowingly enter a pant that's impossible to find? It's almost like saying, "Hey, there goes a really good looking nun." I entered it because I want some designer who's sitting at his desk shooting rubber bands at the ceiling tiles to try this again. Only this time try to give a wider market. Maybe Dillard's and Belk.

Chino Tasting: Boyer's Best Khaki

G. Bruce Boyer's pick for Best Khaki

No frills

Quality and Simplicity

The LINCS khaki (PS104903) is a clean and simple designed pant that speaks to a time in the mid - 60s when the khaki silhouette was tapered almost to the point of a jean. I was impressed and surprised by this pant. At $65 and made in China, it really is a standout. G. Bruce Boyer and Robert Bryan both gave it a 90 but Boyer awarded it "Best Khaki" of the tasting citing, "very good hand, reg. rise + slim leg, nicely finished, simple styling, good color."

If there was a category for "Best Value" this pant would get it. The problem is (there's always a problem), unless you're close to Dillards - you're S.O.L. DC Design admits that while the pant is a best seller it's not offered on line and must be purchased in the store. I'm scratching my head about this but there you go.

If you have the time, I'd like to throw a wonderful documentary at you. This is a short 10 minute feature shot in 1967 featuring Lee Marvin and the making of the Dirty Dozen. If you're pressed for time fast forward to 8:12 in and check out the khakis. Simple, clean, slim silhouette. Perfect for, "Action guys enjoying themselves on the town." I swear, someone at Chu design saw this and created this pant. Why they don't name it the Marvin and sell it on line I'll never know.

Chino Tasting Scores- Part 2 of 3

#9 Score-92.5 J.Press Made to Measure $275

REB 95- "fancy maker, twill fabric, dress make, tab waist, high rise, cotton drill"
GBB 90- "well made and clean, trad silhouette, nice fabric"

#8 Score- 82.5 J. Press Cotton Twill $98

REB 90- "dress trouser, quarter top pocket, poly twill hand, not washed, full leg but dress"
GBB 75- "standard in every way, medium quality, authentic, unwashed, old school"

#7 Score- 82.5 LINCS PS104902 $65 (Dillard's - Stores Only)

REB 85- "shirting lined, washed/soft twill, good make & finish, on seam, slim"
GBB 80- "nice trad fabric, standard styling, nice details and silhouette"

#6 Score 85- Brooks Brothers Milano $79.50

REB 85- "soft, washed, slim, rep trim, low rise, quarter pocket, dress khaki?"
GBB 85- "beautiful style but low rise & narrow leg, ornately detailed, ordinary fabric but good color"

Chino Tasting: Best Dress Chino

G. Bruce Boyer inspects Best Dress Chino # 9

J. Press MTM Chino

Made by Martin Greenfield $275

The NY Times recently featured a $550 khaki made for Band of Outsiders by Brooklyn tailor, Martin Greenfield. Band of Outsiders is a brand so irksome in it's faded Polaroid hipness that I refuse to link it here. The Time's piece questions a $550 khaki in this economy but stops short of any real criticism. Instead, the paper quotes a consultant who suggests, "It's not about the price...it's about who's wearing them..."

There are a lot of guys, not as many as before the depression of '07 but there are a lot of guys who pop into Bergdorfs and don't give a second thought to dropping $550 on a pair of khakis. This is the same kind of guy who has a fur lined sink at home. I'm not sure I want to dress like a drunken sailor but what if I were to tell you that J. Press sells a Martin Greenfield khaki for half the price?

Press only had a sample in white but the pant can be ordered in khaki as well. All kinds of bangs and whistles including a full lining are offered and inclusive of the $275. Bruce gave it a 90 and called it, "well made and clean, trad silhouette, nice fabric" while Robert thought it deserved a 95, "fancy maker, twill fabric, dress make, tab waist, high rise, cotton drill." Both men awarded it winner of the "Best Dress Chino" category.

It's a damned nice pant and it has me wondering. Last winter I broke out a suit maybe five times. Instead, I reached for a Shetland sweater and wool dress pant over and over and never was I under dressed. A dressier chino pant with a decent shirt, an interesting belt and serious alligator loafers could take the Casual Friday uniform of, Dockers, golf shirt and Kiltie loafers, to a whole new level.

$275 is a lot of money for a chino. But what have you spent $275 on and had nothing to show for? A round of golf? Dinner? A bottle of Champagne? A long night on Hay Street in '77? Think of this chino as a chilled Antinori chardonnay from Umbria- rich and elegant but understated and cool as you stroll up Lex crossing 62nd on a very hot August afternoon. Suitless and tieless but well turned out and turned up.

Chino Tasting Scores - Part 3 of 3

For identification purposes trousers were numbered 1 to 13. The scores and comments for #10 thru #13 follow below. #6 thru #9 run Thursday and #1 thru #5 follow Friday.



#10 Score- 67.5 LL Bean Sportsman $59
REB 70 - "Cotton casual, not adjustable, khaki twill, wide leg, button fly, low rise"
GBB 65- "Not good fabric, ok make, casual styling, low rise & wide leg"



#11 Score - 90 LINCS Selvage Khaki (a ringer and impossible to find )
REB 95- "rear flap, soft, casual, tape seam, exceptional pant"
GBB 85- "nice fabric, interesting styling, low rise, good navy color"




#12 Bills Khakis Bullard Field Pant $165
REB 97- "washed fabric, heavy trad, high rise, authentic khaki"
GBB 98- "best fabric + color, standard styling, well made, most authentic"



#13 French M47 Khaki (a ringer but available) $20-$50 on eBay
REB 97- "rare high rise, button fly, rear flaps, original, wide legs, wide loops, beautiful"
GBB 85- "interesting fabric + color, very detailed, high rise and wide leg; casual"

Chino Tasting: Most Original

M47 khaki pant - Hanoi 1954 (Life Magazine)






Same khaki manufactured in 1953

High waisted with 10" leg opening

Plain front button fly - Hat not included - $20 on eBay

One of two ringers thrown into the Chino Tasting were these 1953 issue M47 French khakis. The pant is high waisted and I'm guessing it weighs in at 9 ounces give or take. The cut of the leg is full and the twill is tight with a soft hand.

Whether Bruce or Robert had an inclination to the military origins due to the waist band markings is unknown but Robert was very impressed giving the pant a 98. "...rare high rise, button fly, rear flaps, original, wide leg, wide loops, beautiful."

Bruce was less impressed scoring the pant an 85 but, like Robert, did award it winner of the Most Original category while commenting, " interesting fabric + color, very detailed, high rise and wide leg; casual."

I'm also crazy about this pant and unlike the other ringer (a selvage khaki) this can be easily found, even on eBay, for around $20. They all seem to have been manufactured in 1953 and then forgotten in a warehouse somewhere. Every pair I've seen so far have never been worn. So, twenty bucks for a little Indochina history is not such a bad deal. Not nearly as bad as it was for the French (or us).

The Army Khaki

Ft Bliss, TX 1960

High rise and heavy starch

That's the old man on the left with a crusty 1st Sergeant on the right who looks like he took very little bullshit from anyone. Notice the high rise of the pant on the close up? Today, and I have no idea why, most khakis have a very low rise. Almost like a bikini bottom - not that I know what wearing a bikini bottom is like.

The army issue pant was comfortable and when it was not heavily starched the seat hung down in a not so attractive way. Especially if you were carrying a large wallet. That's why they looked so much better with heavy starch. And when I say heavy - I mean so heavy you'd have to cut the leg opening with a knife. Frequent washing improved how the cotton took to starch.

You can almost see my father's gig line where the shirt placket and fly seam of the pant are lined up with the web belt buckle's left edge . I still do this but not with popover shirts.

There were wash and wear khaki uniforms available for purchase at the P.X. but enlisted men were issued (three?) sets of the cotton khaki uniform until they were phased out in 1985 which was about the time I discovered Duck Head khakis. I was just thinking...I enlisted in the army 34 years ago today.

Blind Chino Tasting: Most Traditional

A Blind Khaki Tasting

The contestants

Bryan notes Most Traditional

Boyer inspects Most Traditional

Seven companies provided 13 pair of trousers to The Trad for a "Blind" tasting judged by men's style writers, G. Bruce Boyer and Robert E. Bryan. LL Bean, Bills Khakis, Brooks Brothers, the French Foreign Legion, J Press, Lincs and Martin Greenfield all put up entries with the requirement they be all cotton and plain front.

Due to the size of the venue, Le Veau d'Or, the inspection was limited to a tasting. That is, a close inspection of the pant with a focus on the fabric, manufacture, hand, details, and authenticity. A 1-100 point scale was used for five categories: Most Traditional, Most Original, Best Dress Chino, Best Khaki and Best Overall.

Winner for Most Traditional is the Bullard Field Pant by Bills Khakis. A whopping 10.2 ounce twill, authentic yet simple design and details that remind me of khakis issued at Ft Jackson; seam on seam pockets - high rise - wide belt loops. I can't wait to see what these look like with heavy starch.

Robert Bryan gave the Bullard a 97 commenting, " washed fabric, heavy trad, high rise, authentic khaki." G. Bruce Boyer gave the Bullard a 98 and noted, " best fabric + color, standard styling; well made; most authentic." No tags were left on the pant to give away it's maker or origins and so the Bullard won on its own merits (and weight) with the consensus afterwards that while some entrants tried, "too hard for authenticity" the Bullard kept it simple and pure.

I'd say the Pennsylvania terroir contributes to a beautiful hand feel while the twill shows nice legs. This is a huge khaki that reminds me of Silver Oak's Napa Valley release. It comes on big and the finish lasts forever. No need to decant. Pairs well with a rib eye at Peter Luger. At $165, this is a special occasion khaki but unlike $100 Silver Oak, you can open the Bullard more than once.

And even though Nordstroms (and probably the French) will tell you not to cuff plain front khakis - - I say cuff these babies big time. An inch and a half is perfect.

Happy Armed Forces Day

Rico Puhlmann NYC 1960

A Blind Chino Tasting

Judges G. Bruce Boyer and Robert Bryan

13 pair of chinos and khakis come under the close inspection of Mr Boyer and Mr Bryan all next week here on The Trad. Hey! I'm not kidding.

Off My Back: Moto Guzzi, Bellini & Mazzini

Camicia Moto Guzzi

Tre litri




Mina 'belts' out Morricone

Picked up the Moto Guzzi t shirt at The Art of the Motorcycle Exhibit sometime in early '99. The athletic laundry at the Union League Club in Chicago had much to do with it's faded patina and crinkled letters. It looked pretty much like it does now after the club washed it the very first time.

Contrary to the 3 liter bottle, this Bellini Chianti from Tuscany is no big shakes but for $40 it's a cheap show when you wheel this sucker out onto the dinner board in front of unsuspecting dinner guests who don't know wine from shampoo.

Two years ago I wrote about Mina here. Alfa's and Vespa's and rolling r's. What a performance. Makes me want to put a vowel on the end of my last name. Actually, S.L.A. Marshall did that but it's a story for Trad Dad to tell. This is a Ennio Morricone tune she did on Italian television in 1966. I have no idea what she's telling the audience in the intro but it sounds fantastic and more than ever I'm convinced - - God is Italian.

Puccini Chicken

(click on image to enlarge)

The Surreal Gourmet was published in 1992 and written By Bob Blummer. A favorite cook book and Glazed Italian Chicken is my favorite recipe. Blummer suggests the pairing of this Italian chicken with the playing of Puccini hence my dubbing it Puccini Chicken. It's a bit of a mess but simple and fun to do.

A slight modification to the menu. Don't beat your chicken. Certainly not in front of your dinner date. Instead, slice the chicken breast across or just buy thin sliced breasts. Or, you can let your date beat your chicken. The point is to crank the Puccini up, uncork a dry Umbrian white and pretend your Italian and a chef with a Moto Guzzi outside.

Milan: Victors & Victims

(click image to enlarge)