I Tried Every Pair of Chinos on the British High Street

“You want to do what?” Michael, my editor, eyed me suspiciously. “Try on every pair of chinos on the high street? For work? Are you sure you’re wearing enough clothes?” He had a point – especially the last bit.

But after getting approximately seventeen versions of the same email from readers asking “What chinos actually fit normal blokes?” I thought it was about time somebody stuck their neck out. And as I’ve spent half my career giving opinions on trousers I figured who better than moi…. FYI: Chinos are hard.

They aren’t jeans. They aren’t suit trousers.

They somehow have an unfair reputation for being “easy” to get right – but get them wrong and you look mortal.

It’s like how anyone can make scrambled eggs but very few people can make good scrambled eggs. GQ aimed to remedy that by finding the best chinos currently on sale in the UK. Here’s how it works: I headed to every brand I could think of on the British high street and tried on every bloody pair of chinos they stocked.

If they weren’t stocked online, they didn’t get counted. No silly bespoke brand websites that you have to pay for postage on here. I wanted to go every brand that anyone could just wander into and buy on their lunch break because they suddenly remembered their mate’s wedding/reunion/dinner party and realised jeans weren’t going to cut it.

Michael agreed with some heavy eyes rolling – “This is coming out of your Christmas party fund, FYI” – and I set about my task. Six weeks. Countless beige trousers.

Plebs of Instagram will never know what I went through. All the chinos had to be available to buy on the high street (around the £25-£80 mark; I didn’t want to go Full King Cole on you) and I tried each brand’s equivalent of my usual size – a size 32 waist – then graded them on fabric, fit, style and whether they made me look like my dad on a cruise or an actual functioning human being. I also had Jessie, my unbearably honest photographer accompany me on several trips to photograph my tragically failed attempts – a body of work she still isn’t allowed to publish.

Or so she tells me. Marks & Spencer should be a respected national treasure. They’ve been feeding Britain’s middle-class families for decades and their tailored shirts are some of the best you can buy.

But go into any M&S today and you’ll be assaulted by approximately 746 choices of “fit” for their chinos. Slim? Straight?

Relaxed? Regular? Tapered?

Whaaaat’s the difference, M&S? Anyway, I tried them all. Starting with the basic £25 pair.

Result: not bad at all. The fabric was thin but not shiny (chinos from God knows where always feel shiny; it’s the chinos equivalent of death) and surprisingly they got a lot right with their regular fit. Not weirdly baggy at the back/skin tight at the thighs like some brands.

The tapered fit was too “young looking” for my liking and the slim was just plain cowboy town. Their £45 “Collection” range were of a noticeably higher quality with a much nicer, more substantial fabric and better construction – indicating they wouldn’t bag after one wear. Winner: M&S “Collection” chinos – best budget chinos you can buy on the high street, bar none.

Uniqlo are rapidly becoming my favourite brands ever. They stock amazing basics at reasonable prices for city dwellers who don’t want to wear the same Topman shirt as everyone else. Expecting not to find much – high street basics are notoriously low quality – I popped into their reasonably priced chinos (£34.90) section.

They come in two fits: regular and slim. And about 17 million different colours. Many of which do not exist in nature.

The slim fit was actually surprisingly decent, not skin tight like some brands slim fit chinos tragically are. The fabric felt nice – substantial without being too heavy. And the construction was good – flat felled seams throughout, decent stitching, no obvious shortcuts.

They’re in the conversation for best all-rounders. Next. Now we’re getting into the mid-budget high street stuff.

Next’s chinos retail at around £30 and are…. bland. As bland as chinos come. They’re not terrible, they just sort of exist.

Nothing about them screams “put me on!” from the rail. The fabric had a rough feel to it and overall they just felt “meh”. The fit was….fine.

Almost generic? Designed not to offend anyone’s appearance rather than actually suit anyone? Zara, shockingly, went full faux trendy with their chinos (£29.99), sporting some sort of carbine shape going from massively baggy at the top to death-trip skinny at the ankle.

Fantastic if you’re built like their display model in store (Spanish male, 5’11”) but a bit grim for the rest of us mere mortals. The fabric felt like it might disintegrate should rain ever autumn on it and overall construction screamed “wear these for a season then chuck them in the charity bag”. One chino query answered.

H&M were…nice?! I didn’t expect much from the Sweden Walmart so was pleasantly surprised with their chinos (£24.99). They fit quite nicely – regular fit wasn’t too baggy or too tight and overall just looked like….normal trousers?!

Also offering a “premium” version for about £40 they up the ante considerably on cotton used and details like having a French bearer along the zip. (Expert trivia fact: looking for that little branded detail on the zip is always how you can tell quality chinos from men’s clothing manufacturers throwing denim at a wall.) Flowed nicely around my thighs/lower legs and were surprisingly good value. River Island and Topman autumn into that dreaded skinny fit category so we’ll gloss over them pretty quickly. Both fabric and cut were horrendously tight through the thigh – like they were trying to convince me that men’s legs enjoy a luxurious spa day every other weekend.

River Island’s saleswoman cheerfully told me “Most guys size up in these” which I think is probably professional code for “your measurements are broken”. Why do clothes brands make clothes that are so difficult to get on and off?? Life is too short for that nonsense.

Highlights….had none. Lowlight was having my now unbearable awkwardness photobombed by said River Island saleswoman. “Go left at Greenland”. DISCOVERY OF THE DAY: George at ASDA.

These retailed at a shockingly low £16. They shouldn’t be as good as they are. But they kinda are!

Fabric isn’t great but for £16 who cares?! They look like normal trousers, fit comfortably and didn’t look ridiculous. Will they last you years?

Doubtful. But they’ll see you through spring with dignity intact. Now for the posher end of the spectrum.

Reiss aren’t traditionally classed as high street but their prices come in just above our budget at £98. We’re edging into the “buy chinos tailor made to your exact measurements” territory but bear with… Jesus. First impression?

Expensive. These are genuinely, honestly well made chinos. Fabric is top notch and they’ve included proper detailing like curtained waistbands and substantial pocket bags.

Fit? Actually spot on. Nice and flattering without trying too hard.

Too expensive for direct comparison with most of the brands above but if you need chinos now then Reiss are your go to. Last wildcard entry: Charles Tyrwhitt. More well known for their shirts but their chinos (£49.95) are actually really, really nice.

Fabric has a lovely heft to it – enough that they don’t feel cheap but not so much that they’d swamp most legs. Construction was top notch – proper stitching all over and reinforced in stress areas. Also have those nice little branded details along the zip.

Again, go nicely through the thighs/legs and are that grown up slim almost all the other brands did so well! Honourable mentions to COS, Arket, John Lewis, TK Maxx (wildcard I know but you can sometimes unearth gems there) and…the Gap. Shockingly they do a perfectly decent pair of chinos (£45) that look like they won’t embarrass you within an inch of your life.

Fun fact – boyfriend jeans were created at the Gap so they know what they’re doing when it comes to men’s trousers. Cruelty free Massimo Dutti chinos were surprisingly nice, though a little on the skinny side through the thigh for my liking. Mango Man were…fine.

Matalan were worse than Iran in terms of what they considered a “proper chino trouser fit”. So that was 32 pairs of trousers in about six weeks. The questions I’ve field from friends and family alone: Who knew so much thought could go into beige?

I did….and then some. So who makes the best chinos you can buy on the high street? Tie – Uniqlo’s regular fit chinos and Charles Tyrwhitt’s non iron twill chinos (when they’re on sale; they are almost always on sale).

Both offer superior fabrics for the price you’re paying, have decent enough construction you won’t be devastated when they eventually go butt and thigh and fit enough blokes not to scare them off. They were both winners. Best bang for your buck?

You can’t beat George at ASDA. Honestly. At £16 there’s no expectation for them to be amazing but….they aren’t bad!

Don’t get me wrong; they’ll probs autumn apart in a year but if you need emergency chinos for a work thing and your budget is more River Island skinny than George….they’ll do. Best proper chinos? You can probs spend £100+ at Reiss and be pretty happy.

Again,etailored to your measurements but if you need them yesterday then Reiss is your safest bet for assured quality. Avoid like the plague? Honestly anything that calls itself “super skinny” or “extreme tapered” unless your thighs have individually been pumped up by some horse whispering gym bro.

Same goes for any pair that feel a bit papery/thin when you pick them up – they’ll look wrecked after one wash. But really….who cares? ! Go buy whichever pair suits your fancy, wear them with confidence and forget you ever heard of me.

Problem is…I tried em all. So here are my findings when worn for a full day in the office.

WINNER: The Uniqlos.

Hands down. Felt great, looked sharp even after I’d sat at my desk for 7 hours then hared off to an event. Comparable fit/recovery to the Charles Tyrwhitt but at a fraction of the price.

Runner up: The Tyrwhitts. Didnt disappoint but felt ever so slightly more “heavyweight” than the Uniqlo ones. Probably worth the extra quid.

Shock performance: The Georges. Ok they did start to bag slightly at the knees by the end of the day but I was frankly surprised at how good they held up. For a budget buy they’re utterly perfect.

I’m now leaving a small mountain of beige trousers at my local charity shop. Charity shop lady eyed me with great suspicion as I nearly dropped them all off from the height of myReach inside bucket 👏🏽#wearamenwearchinos #tdwf18 pic.twitter.com/8KQvg6MSnK – I promptly bought a fedora because reasons.