Best Buys for Chinos, How to Style and Where to Buy

A good pair of chinos should sit cleanly on the waist without a belt doing all the work, break just once on the shoe, and be cut in a cotton twill heavy enough to hold its shape by Friday afternoon. Get those three things right and chinos will out-earn every other trouser in your wardrobe. The best all-round buys sit with Uniqlo and COS at the affordable end, Percival and Kestin in the independent bracket, and Incotex or Officine Générale if you're investing properly.

What Actually Makes a Good Pair of Chinos

Chinos are simple, which is precisely why the details matter. There's nowhere to hide. Here's what I look at before I look at the label:

Fabric weight. Anything under about 250gsm will bag at the knee within a fortnight. Look for a mid-weight cotton twill, ideally with 1–2% elastane for recovery rather than stretch.
The rise. Low-rise chinos are the reason so many men look shorter than they are. A mid-to-high rise sits at your natural waist, lengthens the leg and, crucially, means the trouser stays put when you sit down.
Leg opening. Between 16cm and 18cm at the hem is the sweet spot for most men. Narrower and you get that tapered, slightly desperate look. Wider and you'll need a chunkier shoe to balance it.
The break. One soft break, or none at all. Puddling fabric around the ankle instantly cheapens even an expensive trouser.
Finishing. Curtained waistband, proper pocket bags in cotton rather than polyester, and a hem you can let down. These cost pennies to include and tell you a lot about the maker.

I learned the rise lesson the hard way. Years ago I bought a beautiful pair of low-rise stone chinos, wore them to a wedding, and spent the whole day hitching them up like a man trying to remember where he'd left his dignity. Photographs from that day still exist. The trousers do not.

The Colours Worth Owning

Start with stone or a warm sand — this is the original chino colour and it works with navy, white, olive and grey without argument. Then add navy, which is the most versatile trouser colour in menswear full stop. If you want a third, olive is having a proper moment and reads as considered rather than trend-chasing. Leave black chinos alone; black cotton twill fades to a tired charcoal and never looks as sharp as black wool.

Where to Buy: My Brand Recommendations

High Street

Uniqlo. The most honest value in menswear. Their smart cotton and slim-fit chinos are cut with a sensible rise and a clean taper, the twill has enough body to it, and the price means you can own three colours without thinking about it. Buy them, get them hemmed by a tailor for a tenner, and they'll look like they cost four times as much.
COS. Where to go if you want a slightly more architectural, relaxed leg. COS chinos tend to sit higher and wider, which suits a modern silhouette with a loafer or a clean trainer. Fabric quality is a clear step up from most of the high street.
Reiss. The sharpest tailored chino on the high street. If your chinos are doing office duty, Reiss cuts them with a fine twill and a trouser-like finish — proper waistband, clean front. They dress up more convincingly than anything else at the price.

Independent & Boutique

Percival. A London label that understands proportion better than brands ten times its size. Their chinos have a generous, slightly relaxed leg and colours that aren't the usual four. Good for men who want something with a bit of personality without shouting.
Kestin. Edinburgh-based, understated, and quietly excellent. Kestin build their trousers with a workwear sensibility — sturdier fabrics, thoughtful pocket placement, a cut that suits real bodies. Their Inverness and Ardgour styles are genuine buy-once purchases.
Universal Works. If you like a wider, slightly utilitarian leg, this is your brand. Nottingham-made design ethos, honest fabrics, and a fit that works brilliantly with boots and heavier knitwear through autumn.

Designer & Luxury

Incotex. The trouser specialist. Italian, obsessive, and responsible for the finest chino most men will ever wear. The cotton is garment-dyed, the construction is closer to tailoring than casualwear, and the fit is engineered rather than guessed. Expensive, and worth it.
Officine Générale. Parisian, restrained, and the best expression of the modern chino I can think of. Slightly cropped, beautifully weighted fabric, and a rise that flatters. These are the trousers I reach for when I want to look put together without looking like I've tried.
Loro Piana. For those buying at the very top. The cotton is extraordinary, the finishing is invisible, and they age beautifully. Not a first pair — a last pair.

How to Style Chinos Properly

Chinos fail when they're treated as a default rather than a decision. Some rules I stick to:

Smart casual: Stone chinos, navy overshirt or unstructured blazer, white Oxford, brown suede loafers. The single most reliable outfit in menswear.
Weekend: Olive chinos, heavyweight grey sweatshirt, white leather trainers. Roll the hem once if the shoe is low-profile.
Office: Navy chinos, fine merino crewneck, dark brown Derbies. Keep the chino slim and the shoe polished — this is where a Reiss or Officine Générale cut earns its place.
Avoid: Chinos with a formal suit shirt and a tie. It reads as a man who has lost half his suit.
Belt or no belt: If the waist fits, skip it. A belt should be a punctuation mark, not structural support.

One more thing I tell every client: buy chinos slightly longer than you think and get them hemmed. Every decent pair I own has been to a tailor. It's the cheapest upgrade in menswear.

The Fit Problem — and How Tellar Solves It

Here's the frustrating part. Everything above assumes you can find your size. But a 32 waist at Uniqlo is not a 32 at COS, and neither is anywhere near Incotex's Italian sizing. This is why so many men end up with three pairs of chinos and only one they actually wear.

Tellar.co.uk is the UK's leading free sizing tool, and it exists precisely for this. Your body, matched exactly to over 1,500 brands, instantly. You never need to squint at a brand's size guide again.

How Tellar Works

Measure once — use your chest, waist, hip, or simply enter a brand size you already know fits. See how to measure.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size in any brand — COS, Reiss, Uniqlo, Everlane, Arket and more. Find your size here.
Shop with confidence — no guesswork, fewer returns, better fitting purchases.
Always free — no downloads, no sign-up, works straight in your browser.

Alongside the tool sits the Tellar Fashion Hub: a growing library of free posts written by our stylists, covering every fashion query you can think of. Honest. Unbiased. Independent. Always free. Style advice, top picks and best brands, with nothing sponsored and nothing hidden.