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15 Best Classic Chino Pants for Men

By Beau Hayhoe  |  Updated February 1, 2024

15 Best Classic Chino Pants for Men
Courtesy of Taylor Stitch

Hopefully, you’re coming around to the idea that to build a truly great wardrobe, you’ve got to have versatile essentials you can mix and match at will, pieces that function almost like tools in your toolbox. Sometimes, you need something a bit more intricate – other times, you just need something strong and dependable, like a pair of chino pants.


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
  • Chinos have heritage and history: The military roots of the chino speak to the durability of the fabric and the timeless style of its design and construction.
  • Chinos work with, well, mostly anything: The classic design of the chino means it can be worn casually with a T-shirt or with a crisp Oxford shirt.
  • The chino is casually cool: Chinos boast durable fabric, often blended with modern stretch, for wearability on the road or at the office.
  • Chino pants are fit for you: There are multiple cuts of chinos available, from relaxed to slim or straight.

Think of the chino pant like an everyday workhorse in your wardrobe, whether you’re back in the office five days a week, on the road consistently or somewhere in between. The best chino pants deliver classic style and easy wearability with everything from a casual T-shirt or rugged henley to a crisp dress shirt (and beyond).

Let’s take a look my top picks of one of the most important menswear pieces in your toolkit, shall we?

Best Overall Chino Pants

Bonobos Stretch Washed Chinos 2.0

Why did I choose it?

Bonobos set out to make the perfect pair of chino pants, one with a flattering, tailored fit with room to move. The result was a polished pair of chinos that’s now complemented by a full range of seriously cool menswear. Select from a wide array of fit options and sizes, plus an exceptional range of seasonal colors.


Best Chinos for Daily Wear
Flint and Tinder 365 Pants

Best Work Chinos
Dickies Original 874 Work Pants

Best Chinos for Active Guys
Everlane Uniform Performance Chino


Best Overall Chino Pants

Bonobos Stretch Washed Chinos 2.0


$99
 

Bonobos was built with a focus on the quest for finding the perfect pair of pants: Pants that fit well in all the right places, with a durable waistband, cool fabric and even cooler color options.

They certainly seem to have hit it out of the park over the years, but even the best men’s chino pants deserve a revamp every once in a while. The Stretch Washed Chinos – 2.0 Edition – improve upon a modern menswear classic with non-iron, four-way stretch fabric for comfort. Plus, a zip pocket functions as a highly useful storage space for your EDC, and they come in five fits and a wide range of colors.





Best Chinos for Daily Wear

Flint and Tinder 365 Pants


$98
 

When in doubt, trust Huckberry to design just about anything to perfection. The 365 Pants toe the line between chinos and jeans, using a five-pocket design that’s both casual and yet polished.

True to form, the pants can be worn just about every single day, thanks to a classic straight cut and the use of durable 98 percent cotton (blended with 2 percent elastane for a touch of stretch). You’re nearly guaranteed to find a color and fit that suits you from Flint and Tinder.





Best Work Chinos

Dickies Original 874 Work Pants


$30
 

Some icons simply never go out of fashion: Dickies can lay claim to that with its utterly classic 874 Work Pants.

Worn on job sites and in factories, the style is a trusted move for skaters and rockers, thanks to its thick cotton-poly blend and stain-resistant fabric. The fit gives you plenty of room to move, as well.





Best Chinos for Active Guys

Everlane Uniform Performance Chino


$98
 

One of the biggest differences between men’s chinos of decades past, and the sleek and streamlined pairs of today? The use of modern performance materials to give your chinos even more flex and comfort, as with the aptly named Performance Chinos from Everlane.

They’re part of the highly transparent retailer’s Uniform Collection, which boasts staples (from T-shirts to sweaters and yes, chinos) that you can mix and match with ease on the daily – like a uniform.

Ensure these chinos – made with a helpful six percent elastane – are part of your own uniform. Three fits should suit every body type, as will a wide range of sizes and timeless, sharp colorways.






Taylor Stitch Democratic Foundation Pants


$125
 

From its Oxford shirts to handsome leather jackets and soft, cozy sweaters, there’s hardly a category in which San Francisco’s Taylor Stitch doesn’t excel. You can now add a perfect pair of chinos to your wardrobe from the brand, a trusted and iconic outfitter for more than a decade.

The Democratic Foundation Pants boast a classic, tailored-but-not-tight fit, plus a garment-dyed organic cotton construction for soft sustainability. The dark Coal color is crisp and easy to wear with a chambray shirt or a white Oxford shirt (or a Taylor Stitch henley), while the medium rise is a timeless design touch, too.






Kato Axe Denit Chinos


$219
 

The chino is a wardrobe workhorse for a reason, with a highly durable build (thanks to that cotton chino fabric, of course) and style points aplenty.

Kato takes things to the next level by using Denit stretch fabric, which gives these the mobility of lounge pants and the polished style of a chino.






Todd Snyder Slim-Fit Five-Pocket Chinos


$148
 

Todd Snyder fittingly calls these crisply designed pants a “modern hybrid,” and it’s hard to argue with one of America’s best menswear designers.

They blend the five-pocket look of denim with the soft stretch of chino pants – the use of 90 percent cotton in the blend leaves plenty of opportunity to add in some highly mobile poly and lycra fibers.

These feature a tapered fit that’s somewhere between slim and straight, while the garment-dyed cotton twill fabric should prove smooth and soft. Find your fit and find your favorite color: You very well might want more than one pair.






Roark Porter Pants 3.0


$79
 

The best men’s chinos, like we’ve said, are built for just about anything, including being a great pant for travel – yes, there’s a world of comfortable style out there beyond just sweatpants, comfortable as they might be.

Step things up a touch with Roark’s Porter Pants, the latest and greatest from a company that sits at the intersection of on-the-go functionality and fashion. Roark has amped these up in every way possible, from its proprietary cotton stretch canvas fabric to a back zip storage pocket and durable button waist closure. The straight fit offers room to move, while numerous sizes should deliver something for everyone.






J.Crew 484 Slim-fit Stretch Chinos


$89.50
 

An all-American retailer should be plenty skilled at making something as all-American as the chino pant, right? It only makes sense that the prep-meets-modern purveyors at J.Crew deliver on a pair of cool-as-can-be chino pants, which notably feature the same slim 484 fit as its expertly washed and faded blue jeans.

These pants feature “Stretch on Demand,” meaning they’re designed to move with you as you need them, while the 7.9oz. Cotton twill fabric is suitable for what J.Crew calls year-round wear. Given the wide array of color options available, it’ll be tough to pass up buying just one pair of your new favorite chino pants.






Ministry of Supply Kinetic Pants


$148
 

The best men’s chino pants are a cut above the chino pants of decades gone by, something that’s immediately evident with just one look at what Ministry of Supply has done to the iconic design.

The Kinetic Pants are made with an extra-comfortable hidden drawcord waistband, but it’s the company’s proprietary Primeflex Warp-knit Japanese Polyester fabric that provides remarkable on-demand comfort and mobility.

These moisture-wicking chino pants also boast stretch that’s designed to bounce back over time, while they’re also wrinkle-resistant. Modern meets timeless with these Ministry of Supply pants, no doubt about it.






Reigning Champ Cotton Chino Freshman Pants


$170
 

The unexpected can be refreshing in menswear, like the fact that Canadian heritage sportswear brand Reigning Champ now makes a pair of classic chinos.

And classic is an apt description, as these feature a timeless, flattering tapered fit, cotton fabric and highly versatile color options for any day of the week.






Todd Snyder Relaxed Fit Favorite Chino


$188
 

In the right hands, the classics can get even better. And American designer Todd Snyder certainly knows a thing or two about that, using throwback details and high-quality 100 percent cotton chino fabric to design an expertly crafted pair of pants that the designer himself loves wearing. Fear not: The Relaxed fit is flattering without being too baggy.






KUHL Resistor Chino


$129
 

There’s a reason the military first used the chino pant: Its fabric was highly durable and tough, and KUHL used that same model as inspiration for its modern chinos.

These are an adventure and travel-ready pair of pants made with performance stretch fabric, the kind of water-resistant fabric that bounces back and doesn’t lose its shape.






IZOD American Chino Pants


$35
 

One of the great things about the chino pant is that it can be dressed up at the office with a crisp blazer and Oxford shirt, or worn in more rugged fashion with, say, a henley and a trucker jacket.

IZOD’s take on the chino is slightly dressier, with a sharp creased front and a classic, not overly relaxed, fit.






LEE Extreme Flat Front Chino Pants


$48
 

Gone are the days of overly baggy, pleated, unflattering chino pants – LEE is one of the many brands laying claim to making some of the best men’s chinos, with a flat-front design that’s handsome in many a style situation.

Stretch fabric and timeless colors complement a streamlined, versatile, office-ready and date night-approved four-pocket design.




What Are Chino Pants?

First and foremost, chino pants are named for the origin of the tightly woven cotton twill fabric used to make the pants themselves. The pants first originated in China and were called “pantalones chinos” by Spanish soldiers – thus, shortened to chino pants.

The hard-wearing cotton twill fabric stands up to abrasions and other pitfalls of combat, so the chino pant soon became a military staple in the late 1800s and 1900s. Like plenty of other standout men’s style staples, including the field jacket, chinos made their way into civilian life.

These days, the cotton twill or cotton twill-blend pants often boast four or five pockets (usually side slant pockets for a dressy look, unlike denim), belt loops and a clean, relatively dressy design (again, unlike denim, pocket rivets or the waist button aren’t visible).

What Are the Different Cuts of Chino Pants?

Just like your favorite pair of jeans, the best chino pants come in different cuts to accommodate different body types. You’ll find brands using fit terminology like “slim” or slim-straight” cuts, not unlike your go-to pair of denim.

Chinos are naturally cut somewhat slimmer than blue jeans, though – they feature a more tailored look and feel, since they’re not intended to be worn in workwear situations, like work jeans.

Relaxed chinos offer more room through the thigh, right down to the ankle (look at the leg opening measurements to determine how loosely they’ll fit). However, you should still take your regular size in relaxed chinos – there’s a way to get a roomier fit without going overly baggy.
Straight leg chinos are a happy medium between the two, often boasting a leg opening somewhere between 16 and 17 inches in circumference at the ankle. When in doubt, a straight-leg pair of chinos is going to look great on most guys.




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