Hilfiger Core Academy Chino – $39.98 | Dockers D1 Slim Fit Chino – $36.00
It’s still raging hot outside and shorts aren’t always appropriate. Your wool suit pants are too warm, and dark denim is totally out of the question. Looks like investing in another pair of lighter colored chinos is your best option.
At some point in your life you probably owned at least one of, if not both of these labels. They’re well known if not heritage American brands, they’ve both undergone recent style epiphanies and resulting upgrades, and both pairs of pants are widely available for under $40.
Which pair wins out during an in person fitting session ? Here’s how they stack up head to head:
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Tommy Hilfiger Core Academy Chino – Macy’s Everyday Value $39.98
These are big. And I’m not surprised. Although the Hilfiger brand has gone through a much needed freshening up of its image, it’s stuck appealing to middle class heavier men. Guys who aren’t totally ready to embrace a slimmer cut, and probably never even considered having their shirts tailored. The Academy Chino would fit right in with a blousy dress shirt, since these things are so roomy they should come with a “relaxed” tag on them. I looked downright unbalanced in my trim Alfani Red Oxford up top, and the kite-like Hilfiger pants on the bottom. They do appear to be straight through the leg… but good grief there’s a lot of room in there. Fabric is nice, color options are good too, but unless you hold weightlifting records in the squat, skip it.
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Dockers D1 Slim Fit Flat Front Chino – $36.00
And these are slim. Really slim. Not to the extreme that the Hilfigers are big, but… at 5’9″ 165lbs with above average size in the ol’ hamstrings and quads, my legs were pressing those flat fronts out to the point that you could easily see an outline of the front pockets. I’ve tried these on before, and I didn’t notice the pocket outline last time. I usually wear a 32×32 and I’m thinking a 33×32 would have given me the extra thigh room I’d need… but… there weren’t any in that size available on the field trip.
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WINNER:
The D1 But if you ain’t so slim in the legs, you might want to go with the Gap Original Khaki. Those have yet to fail me and my apparent thunder (I prefer the term “athletic”) thighs.
If not these, what pair of chinos do you turn to for this time of year?
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