Khaki Suits

Q. In a recent response you mentioned “a summer solid khaki suit." My wife and I debated the term "khaki." I was raised wearing "khakis" and they were of various fabrics, usually off-white to dark tan in color; however, my school allowed dark blue "khakis." In modern fashion, khakis are common in business casual attire. Wanting to keep a Professional (with a capital "p") appearance, I have chosen to not have any suits or slacks that are tan of any shade. Wikipedia says that khaki can refer to a color or a fabric. In your context I would assume color. But which one should be assumed in common usage? I don't want to sound completely clueless, but I guess my real question is: What exactly are khakis and what appearance do they give? Thanks in advance. 


A. You do not sound clueless at all. Only a man who is tuned into clothes and what they project about the wearer would have asked it at all. The answer to your question is complicated, because it has a few different parts.

You are correct (and so is Wikipedia) in saying that khaki can refer to a color or a fabric. But it can also refer to a style – casual cotton pants, called “khakis” – which I assume is what was meant at your school when they referred to dark blue “khakis.” While the term “chinos” is sometimes used interchangeably with khakis, I have never before heard the term used for blue pants, no matter what the fabric. What your school probably meant by that was “no jeans.”

As to a definition of khaki, Alan Flusser writes that it is a “Hindi word meaning ‘dust-colored.’ It is a neutral color.” He is, of course, referring only to the color.

When the term khaki refers to color, there is still more than one answer. It includes a range of shades from light off-white through medium tans to darker shades with a hint of olive green. When referring to fabric, it can be all cotton, a cotton blend, or wool. It can be a very light almost shirting-weight cotton, a medium cotton poplin suiting weight, or a heavier cotton twill. It can also be a tropical-weight wool suiting fabric in khaki color, a medium gabardine, or a sturdier wool fabric used in dress pants and known as “cavalry twill.”

Sometimes the term refers to both the color and the fabric, as in a summer khaki suit or year-round khaki dress pants.

Another point. Unless you work in an extremely staid (all-dark suits) business environment, I do not see why you would avoid suits, and especially slacks, in all shades of tan. Tans are less dressy than gray or navy, but not so much that you should exclude them from your wardrobe. If you are a regular reader of my column, you know I have misgivings about the usefulness of owning navy slacks (oddly, they don’t work well with most jackets). So, if you avoid all those versatile tan slacks, you have then narrowed your choices down to nothing but trousers in various shades of gray. The well-regarded combination of navy blazer and khaki pants (though a step more casual than navy blazer and gray pants) is a near essential in a man’s wardrobe.

It is always wise to look for ways to expand what a man has in his closet rather than narrow it down.