Last post I mentioned how wider pants were back or rather how they have been back. In fact you can see me in a pair of J.Crew 1450 relaxed fit back in 2018 here and here. That pair ended up as shorts (which are great!), but looking at them now they looked pretty good as pants. Back to the post at hand. I snagged a pair of J.Crew Classic fit chinos (here) the other day and here they are.
Yesterday was the first day that I wore them so I don’t have too much feedback yet. Here’s what I do know. They run pretty larger. I typically wear a size 30 waist for more room in the leg, but this requires me to take the waist in a touch. These are a size 29 waist and they will need taken in. I think I could drop down to a size 28 waist without losing too leg volume or much rise. What else? The fabric has a nice weight to it, I don’t care for the flapped back pockets, they call this green color dill and it’s a pretty good green. Overall they are a solid pair of khakis.
I was hoping the classic fit would be a little more I don’t know, classically proportioned. It was clear from the model pics that they were going for a 90s baggy vibe so I shouldn’t be surprised (The giant fit might be the enormous fit on me based on these). I do need to try a size down before I completely write the classic fit off. I should’ve measured these before I washed them, but I didn’t. I am going to try to shrink them a tad more. If they don’t workout as work pants they will make good casual pants to have fun with or another pair of great shorts.
Size 29/30 waist Measurements (Pants have been washed and dried on hot):
Rise: 11″ (It feels higher. See below)
Waist: 15.5″
Knee: 10″
Leg Opening: 8″
You think your J Crews had a baggy 90s vibe? Yesterday I was walking around the Loop in downtown Chicago, in Bill’s Khakis M1s ; which have a 10 inch leg opening. That’s cut from the pattern of what they were wearing in 1944. In full disclosure, the rest of my Bill’s are the M2 cut; which are more of a contemporary fit.
Looks fine with the baggy shirt to balance out the silhouette. The advertised rise is correct at 11 inches, as measured from the seam.
Vi’s right Jerrod, the fuller cut shirt does balance out the fuller pants quite nicely.
Given them a good press then see how they look. If you want fullness and drape, it might be time to start wearing pleated trousers with braces.
Honestly given the silhouette of chinos in general, I think they look better when they’re a bit baggier and fuller, it looks better with their slanted trouser pockets and fuller shirts. It just makes more sense.
Your post is timely – I’ve been eyeing these recently. While I’m a little skeptical of the “giant fit everything” trend, these seem to strike a good balance, especially based on your shots. Out of curiosity, how deep are the pocket bags? A lot of the reviews mention that they are very short.
I am out or I’d measure but they definitely felt shallow.
I own a pair of the J.Crew relaxed double pleated trousers and the pockets are somewhat disappointingly short. The size 28 RELAXED fit was still a little slim past the knees for my taste, I’m happier with the Ralph Lauren Whitman Pleated chinos, though they run a little short, I’d recommend sizing up in the length. The rise is also higher. Pockets are deeper, and it has that little coin pocket that seems to be a trad detail. The colors are basically identical, holding them next to each other they look like they’re cut from the same cloth.