Difference between Beige jeans, khakis, and chino?

[turtleswares17]

Most of the times it is hard to tell the difference between these 3 when it comes to beige/light brown versions, I usually end up just guessing as to whether they are jeans khakis or chinos, would it be better to put all those keywords with the beige styles or is there a distinctive way to tell the difference, even with levis I know some are beige jeans and some khakis, I used to assume they were only Jeans if they have the small white specs mixed throughout like blue denim has, but then other times they seem to be jeans but do not have that feature which may just be that they are khakis that seem like jeans. Any responses are appreciated.

[gloryglorygifts]

I believe khaki's, jeans and chinos are descriptions of styles and fabrics, not colors. Chinos lighter fabric, khakis heavier and jeans are denim and the heaviest. They can all come in beige......

[turtleswares17]

Would there be a good way of telling them apart other than weight? if weight is the only way I'll definitely have to do some hands on research to get a feel for the weight differences 

[chapeau-noir]

Here's an infographic from the Real Style site that explains it better than I can.

 

[gloryglorygifts]

@chapeau-noir gives a nice little visual. I think denims are pretty easy to pick out. Probably best to do a little homework and get to familiarize yourself with the differences. 

[12345jamesstamps]

More than half of the men in the world are color-blind. I found out I was when a retail store gave me a color test before hiring me. I, of course, failed the test.

[powell-memorabilia]

Nah, it is more like 10%.  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I'm so old that Chinos have a belt and buckle in the back below the real belt.

[turtleswares17]

This visual will work decently although some khakis don't have cuffs and pleats, the thickness seems to be a key point to tell though for sure.

[chapeau-noir · Accepted solution]

Yeah - I think the fabric thickness is the basic element.

My dad was - actually - colour blind. He could detect red and green sort of, but I suspect it was mostly due to knowing when things would be red or green (like stop lights). Every once in a while I would catch him going to work wearing a red shirt, black and white speckled bow tie, his olive green cord sport coat and brown cord pants (with a different wale width). I'd snare him and tell him he had to change SOMETHING out. He would grumble, but he had a big time job in aerospace heading up a space sciences program and he just couldn't go into work like that. I'd say "look, just change the shirt and they won't notice anything else because they will be fixated on that snazzy bow tie." His bow ties were very popular with the younger workers.  Turns out when he was young my aunt used to grab him before he would go out on dates and fix his colour scheme so he wouldn't freak out his date lol.

[maxine*j]

So that is what I learned new today:  That "khaki" and "chino" are now style of trousers.  I thought "khaki" was still just a color, a yellowish tan.  (Except in the UK, where many pronounce it more like "kar-key" and it's a greyish green.)  And I thought "chino" was still just a kind of cloth.  I am not keeping up!

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[chapeau-noir]

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@maxine*j wrote:

So that is what I learned new today:  That "khaki" and "chino" are now style of trousers.  I thought "khaki" was still just a color, a yellowish tan.  (Except in the UK, where many pronounce it more like "kar-key" and it's a greyish green.)  And I thought "chino" was still just a kind of cloth.  I am not keeping up!

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The clothing industry is full of mashups like this. It gets even worse when resellers don't know what the right terms are to begin with. On Posh "maxi" skirts are not always long, they're...some kind of shape I haven't been able to quite determine (seems like A-line). Here on eBay 'shrugs' are some kind of poncho and boleros are jacketty things having nothing to do with an actual bolero.

I'm glad the OP is wanting to nail the khaki/chino thing down because it makes it frustrating to shop when stuff is all under the wrong keywords.

[reallynicestamps]

Chino is a satin weave cotton.

Personally I can't tell the difference between khaki (which also describes a green fabric) and jean/denim fabric.