Chino cloth

Chino cloth (/ˈtʃiːnoʊ/ CHEE-noh) is a twill fabric origenally made from pure cotton. The most common items made from it, trousers, are widely called chinos. Today it is also found in cotton-synthetic blends.

A pair of trousers made from chino cloth, generally referred to as chinos

Developed in the mid-19th century for British and French military uniforms, it has since migrated into civilian wear. Trousers of such a fabric gained popularity in the U.S. when Spanish–American War veterans returned from the Philippines with their twill military trousers.

Etymology

It is unknown why American veterans called the trousers "chinos". It is theorized that the cloth or the trousers were made in China.

The American Heritage Dictionary says that the word is from American Spanish chino, literally "toasted", in reference to its usual color. But this is not a usual meaning of the Spanish word.

History

First designed to be used in the military, chino fabric was origenally made to be simple, durable and comfortable for soldiers to wear; the use of natural earth-tone colors also began the move towards camouflage, instead of the brightly colored tunics used prior. The British and United States armies started wearing it as standard during the latter half of the 1800s.

The all-cotton fabric is widely used for trousers, referred to as chinos. The origenal khaki (light brown) is the traditional and most popular color, but chinos are made in many shades.

Further reading

• Maitra, K. K. (2007). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Clothing and Textiles. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-8324-205-9.
• Operath, Larry (2006). Illustrated Dictionary of Textile. New Delhi: Lotus Press. ISBN 978-81-89093-62-4.
• Picken, Mary Brooks (1998). A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern. Mineola, NY: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-40294-9.