If you’re anything like we denizens of Mogg Towers, you’re growing weary of winter. Please bring on Spring, with some milder temperatures and some brighter and longer days. And yet, the thing is, winter in Berlin has not been particularly cold or snowy. But, it has been long, grey, damp and windy, and we’ve had enough of it!
And, when thoughts of Spring dominate our thoughts as is now the case, we naturally start thinking about a warm weather style. Longing for lighter suitings in Spring/Summer fabrics, sunglasses, alfresco dining, open doors and windows … you get the vibe!
One thing we’ve been debating chez Mogg is cotton chino trousers. And, as is typical of us, we’ve been discussing different options — cloths and colours, fastenings, pleats, cut. The types of details which, as you know, constantly occupy our thoughts.
In addition to being inspired by our winter fatigue, the topic of chinos became one of our latest obsessions as we were looking through the thousands of fabrics we have at Bleibtreustraße. And, we found the perfect cloths for making some gorgeous summer trousers for our clients — some wonderful cotton twills from Brisbane Moss.
These cloths are impeccable for chinos. They are an ideal weight and density, which makes them cool and comfortable, but also ideal for cutting into a stylish Spring/Summer trouser. Plus, we’ve got some amazing colours — blue, sand, cream, taupe and brown are our favourites, and there are several other colours if you want to go a bit more off piste.
In terms of cuts, we’ve been tossing ideas back and forth amongst ourselves, and here are the options we prefer.
And, when thoughts of Spring dominate our thoughts as is now the case, we naturally start thinking about a warm weather style. Longing for lighter suitings in Spring/Summer fabrics, sunglasses, alfresco dining, open doors and windows … you get the vibe!
One thing we’ve been debating chez Mogg is cotton chino trousers. And, as is typical of us, we’ve been discussing different options — cloths and colours, fastenings, pleats, cut. The types of details which, as you know, constantly occupy our thoughts.
In addition to being inspired by our winter fatigue, the topic of chinos became one of our latest obsessions as we were looking through the thousands of fabrics we have at Bleibtreustraße. And, we found the perfect cloths for making some gorgeous summer trousers for our clients — some wonderful cotton twills from Brisbane Moss.
These cloths are impeccable for chinos. They are an ideal weight and density, which makes them cool and comfortable, but also ideal for cutting into a stylish Spring/Summer trouser. Plus, we’ve got some amazing colours — blue, sand, cream, taupe and brown are our favourites, and there are several other colours if you want to go a bit more off piste.
In terms of cuts, we’ve been tossing ideas back and forth amongst ourselves, and here are the options we prefer.
- You can choose to have belt loops, side adjusters or Daks closures
- If you opt for belt loops, we’d recommend a flat fronted trouser, with either a zip or (as I prefer) button fly
- If you opt for side adjusters or Daks closures, we’d recommend pleats, single or double, either forward or reverse style (I prefer the English style pleat for any pleated trouser, Max thinks reverse pleats are a stylish option for chinos)
- Whichever style you choose, we recommend our usual capacious, dust-collecting deep turn-ups
I’ll close with a personal anecdote on chinos, and why it is important to cut and style them smartly and correctly. Back in the late 1990s, during the height of the dot com boom, your correspondent was an investment banker. Back in the mid 90s, when Bob started in that career, the banker’s dress code was straightforward — you turned up to work every day suited-and-booted, parlance in London’s Square Mile for wearing a suit and tie with smart black shoes (in Bob’s case, always Oxfords).
As the last decade of the 20th century progressed, the idea of “smart casual” became part of the zeitgest, largely because all the tech types (who were not only clients, but also poachers of talent from the banks) dressed that way. The banks, therefore, all wanted to be part of this cool new trend. The problem with this was that chinos became part of a new uniform, but the trousers were badly cut and poorly designed most of the time, and everybody started to look the same! Ironic, that by ditching the traditional uniform of suit, tie and black oxfords, the individuality that existed pre-dot come era was jettisoned. Not for Bob, though, who insisted on being properly suited-and-booted at all times, even as most people around him were succumbing to the new “style.”
Rest assured, dear reader, that your chinos from Bleibtreustraße will be stylish and elegant, as you’ve come to expect (and we hope love) from the House of Mogg!
