Twice to Work

How many times can you wear your chinos between washes? My personal opinion is that you can wear them to work twice between washes. I will share my chino care routine below along with a little tip with how to use your chinos that have been work to work twice.

My chinos get worn to work twice before washing them. Let me walk you through my routine. I wash my chinos on cold and hang dry. At first I kind of hated how stiff this made the cotton, but now I see it as a benefit in addition to the fact that washing on cold and hang drying extends their life. The stiffness also works as a starch especially because I hang them to try with the crease in place. This way I am not trying to iron out any creases. It’s always easier to work with mother natureĀ than against her.

IMG_8342

I iron my clothes every morning before work. I don’t actually use starch on my pants. I use a sizing spray (only on my chinos) which makes them crisp, but not as hard as starch. After their first trip to the office I hang them up in the closet in my work section. Then I iron them the next time that I wear them. During the second wear the crease is a little sharper and they are a little softer. I think that my rule only wearing them to work twice has a lot to do with ironing and not that the pants are actually dirty. Ironing my chinos a third time would be too much. You risk a stressing the fabric, creating a sheen, and ironing in dirt/stains.

My little trick is that I said you can wear them twice to work without washing. I didn’t say anything about casual wear. I hang my work chinos that I have worn twice in the casual section of my closet. I then wear them in the evening orĀ on the weekend. I don’t iron them again, but they still look pretty good from all of the the previous ironing. They can be dressed up or down at this point. Both images in this post are chinos on round 3.

IMG_8912

That sums up my chino wear and care routine. I think that my casual tip is a good one. It saves time and energy which is what you want during your downtime. Other than that, wash on cold and hang dry is all that you need to know when it comes to washing work clothes.

oxford cloth button down
Jerrod Swanton is a simple man interested in simple, classic, and traditional style.

3 Comments on "Twice to Work"

  1. Tim says:

    Or get tan wool pants: gabardine, herringbone, cavalry twill. Cotton will look slouchy no matter how hard you try to dress it up.

    No dryer helps with longevity. I think cold washing is a bit excessive for cotton pants. My 0.02

  2. Gary says:

    I follow a similar routine with my chinos but skip sizing and starch. Relying on the iron’s steam, I can achieve a serviceable crease with each wear. The cold wash and hang drying are essential, I think, for keeping cotton chinos (or anything cotton) from shrinking too much.

  3. FJW says:

    I am a truly lucky man as my wife handles the washing chores. Chinos, as are most of the clothes, are washed in cold water and hung/hanged on the line outside practically year-round. They’re pressed and I can sometimes get two work days out of them.

    I handle the folding and I’ve learned that it’s amazing what we men can do when we push our limits. I can actually fold clothes and watch the Yankees at the same time!!

I would like to hear from you