Lanieri tailored chinos
You do need one in your wardrobe – don’t forget to take it on holiday, it’s a summer’s must-have. Chinos are colorful, lightweight, versatile and wrinkle-resistant and for one season more they have proved to be the casual-wear symbol when it comes to cotton trousers. That’s why Lanieri has decided to add them to its made-to-measure clothing collection; available in 8 different colours, you can customise them online.
Want to learn more about the summer trousers beloved by all men? Here is their story and all the details that make the Lanieri chinos so special.
Maybe you are unaware of it, but many of the objects that we use everyday have been originally designed for a military purpose. Let’s think of the Ray-Ban original prototype (created in 1936 to protect the airline pilots’ eyesight against the sunlight), the adhesive tape (initially used to fix weapons, equipment and ammunitions), M&M’s (invented during the Spanish civil war to prevent chocolate from melting) and, in the end, well yes, chinos.
Today they are the emblem of smart-casual trousers, but chinos were once a military uniform. How comes?
It all started in 1848, when the British army, who was fighting for the queen on the north-western border separating India and Afghanistan, began to wear khaki (a Hindi word for “dust”) uniforms to camouflage themselves – instead of wearing the typical red tunic with white trousers.
It didn’t take other military forces long before they could realise these cotton uniforms had camouflage, strength and, above all, comfort properties. That’s what happened during the Spanish-American war at the end of the XIX century, and after WWII, when the American army came back home – after occupying the Philippine territories –, with its khaki trousers and started calling them chinos.
There are several theories about why the American people should have named these trousers after the Spanish word pantalones chinos (Chinese trousers). Some people believe that chinos were made of a Chinese-made cotton Twill; others that Chinos were tailored in China itself.
It wasn’t long before chinos could arrive at the civil world: extra military clothing was sold at the American markets at the end of the war, so chinos started to be worn in colleges too…and in a short time they became their official uniform.
From then on the words “khakis” e “chinos” turned into synonyms all over the world and an intrinsic part of men’s clothing.
Chinos are the cream of the crop of men’s casual clothing, so you should always have a pair of proper fitting trousers that are also easy to match with shirts and t-shirts. This is actually the reason why Lanieri decided to broaden its offer with a made-to-measure chinos collection that you can customise at Lanieri.com.
All of our chinos are fully Italian-made with a soft four-season cotton twill, so that you can wear them all year round. This is a perfect-fit, comfortable and also extremely elegant garment. When you feel like a more sports look, don’t match up the centre crease in the front of your chinos!
The Lanieri chinos are available in eight extremely-versatile colours: sand, beige, blue, midnight blue, cerulean, grey, green and white. You can also customise the hem width and choose if you want it tight, medium or large.
Every model, which is cut from your exact body measurements, will be customised with a series of small practical details like: the watch pocket, back jetted pockets, front side pockets, belt loops, zip, tone on tone buttons and patterned sartorial belt.
“There are a few garments which can fit everybody like a pair of made-to measure chinos does. They are loose fitting and easy to match. In addition to that, they are wrinkle-resistant – a crucial detail when summer is coming – so you shouldn’t be afraid of packing your suitcase.
How to match them? If you are going to the office you’d better match blue colour classics trousers with a popeline shirt and a unlined linen or cotton blazer, always useful in the air conditioner season.
You can opt for the Italians’ classic holiday look for the free time: beige chinos, white polo shirt and no-socks loafers. You can also wear light-colour t-shirt and sneakers to look younger.”
Milan’s Style Advisor Alessandro
Get your summer tailored chinos, an ideal option for the free time and the less-formal business meetings!