For a long time I’ve struggled to find a pair of chinos that:
- are long enough
- tapered in the leg below the knee
- fit my quads
- come in a variety of colours that I like
Instead of picking out chinos that I actually wanted I had to opt for whatever chinos I could find that actually fit. It’s easy to see how frustrating this could become. Most of the pants I could wear didn’t look very flattering at all. They were usually too baggy and only came in one colour, beige.
If you aren’t happy with the clothes you wear it will reflect in your body language and how you carry yourself. I thought to myself: this can’t be it for tall men’s clothing there must be some brands out there that tailor towards taller guys.
Around this time I remembered that a while back I received a catalogue in the mail from a British clothing retailer called Charles Tyrwhitt – a primarily men’s suit and shirt label. At that time when I received the catalogue I was so impressed that I ended up buying some Slim Fit and Extra Slim Fit shirts. If you are interested you can read my review about these shirts here.
Having a prior good experience with Charles Twyritt I decided to check out the trouser collection on their website. Wow, am I glad I did. Not only did they have a large range of different coloured chinos but they seemed to cater towards tall people too.
Chinos Options
Fits
Charles Tyrwhitt chinos come in 3 fits:
My personal preference is slim fit which slowly begins to taper from the waist down to the legs. It’s a little more form fitting but not too tight that you can’t squat or crouch down.
Sizes
One of the things that caught my attention straight away was the range of combinations available for waist size and inside leg length. Very rarely have I seen clothing brands that give you this much freedom with mix and matching your waist size and inside leg length.
Colours
One of the things that really surprised me is the large range of colours. You can get chinos in the following colours: black, charcoal, grey, marine blue, navy, wine, tan, camel, stone, olive, dark green, light brown and dark brown.
My Measurements
I took my measurements:
- 87 cm (34 inch) waist
- 94 cm inside leg length
and ordered a pair* of burgundy and camel coloured chinos; single pleat and non-iron. There is also an option to choose flat front (see left picture below) instead of single pleat.
*Prior to buying the chinos I did a little bit of online research on a few fashion forums and everyone almost unanimously said that if you are going to buy the slim fit chinos then you need to buy one size larger. I decided to listen to this advice and purchased the 92 cm (36 inch waist) with the 96 cm unfinished inside leg.
My Review
Quality
Perceived quality of the chinos is very high. The fabric is 100% cotton, is soft yet it feels very durable. Furthermore the stitching looks to be high quality too with company branding in the waistband.
Buttons
Charles Twyritt chinos use Corozo Nut buttons. There is one button on each of the rear pockets, one button at the waist and one clear button behind the fly on the inside of the chinos (an internal French bearer).
Fit
The fit of the chinos is great, especially around my quads. At first they felt a little bit too tight but after a little bit of wear and some squatting I ‘wore them in’ and they now fit perfect. They taper down to the leg eloquently and they sit firmly around my butt. I’m really glad I opted to get one waist size larger though. I feel that if I purchased my current waist size (87 cm) I would not fit into the chinos comfortably.
Pocket-wise both the side and rear pockets provide a good level of depth.
Versatility
The great thing about these chinos is that they can be dressed up or dressed down! I wear my camel coloured chinos to the office and dress them up with a white button shirt, brown shoes and navy blazer. Conversely I can also wear them more “relaxed” with sneakers, a plain white tee layered with a dark blue denim shirt.
Price
Each pair of chinos cost me AUD $79. Shipping to Australia is normally AUD $12.95 but I was lucky and had a free shipping coupon which came with my previous order of shirts. I paid an additional AUD $25 at the tailor to get the legs in both pairs hemmed. All up I spent AUD $183.
I think this is very good value for money. Sadly I’ve seen other brands of chinos that fetch a much higher price despite the quality and craftsmanship being nowhere near as high as those of Charles Twyritt. Most importantly the chinos fit comfortably and are long enough for my legs.
Overall Impressions
Charles Twyritt chinos are not only great value for money, but they are fantastic quality, very versatile, fit my long legs perfectly and come in a wide range of colours. I’m so impressed with these chinos that I’ve actually ordered myself another pair in dark green!
Click Here To Go To Charles Tyrwhitt Store
I hope this review was helpful for you and shows you that there is hope when it comes to buying chinos for tall guys. If you have any questions or comments please fire them away in the comments section below.
Stand tall and be proud.
