I had been looking to get a pair of flannel-lined chinos for the winter months this year. Typically for very cold days here in Germany, I wear Tweed, Wool flannel or 8 wale Corduroy trousers, but the flannel-lined chinos have been very popular for years back in the states so I thought I should give them a spin. Now a number of US-based brands offer these at various price levels, the LL Bean and Lands End have been some of the best known to offer these and at a price that won't break the bank. I have been wearing Lands End Chinos and Oxford shirts for a while now and have been very happy with everything that I have bought from them. LL Bean is a true old-line American brand and I have been wanting to purchase from them for a while, so I decided to buy an example from each and to provide a brief review.
Lands End:
These chinos care available in classic fit which is fuller in the leg and the straight fit, which are a bit narrower overall. I tend to like my trousers closer fit, so I opted for the straight fit. I know from my own experience that Olive or Navy chinos, which they also offer will not get nearly as much wear from me, so I purchased their
Antique Bronze color, which featured a solid brass zipper, nice darker horn style button-through back pockets and are lined in cozy Black Watch patterned cotton flannel. The fit as you can see in the photos is still roomy but not vintage style baggy with a smaller leg opening. The rise is what I would call a nice medium. I opted for 34-inch length, which provides enough length to roll the bottoms to show off some of that great looking Black Watch flannel. The Black Watch pattern which Lands End uses is a bit brighter and bolder also than the LL Bean version.
The Chino fabric is 97% cotton/3% spandex and the lining is 98% cotton/2% spandex, which allows for both the inside and outside fabric to stretch a little bit and to stretch together. Build for these trousers is solid and obviously well made as will all the Items I have purchased from Lands End, these feel like great quality.
LL Bean:
The LL Bean if not the inventor of the flannel-lined chino is perhaps best known for its offering in this speciality. LL Bean only offers what they call
'Natural Fit' chinos, which as you will see are quite baggy. I purchased the standard chino khaki color rather than their Dark Kahki because I wanted to differentiate them from the color of the Lands End chinos above. After a brief inspection, I can pronounce them also very nicely put together, however I did notice a slightly different construction method with these which results in the seam edges showing on the inside of the pant legs. Typically this would not be an issue, however, since I would prefer to wear them cuff to show the contrasting flannel, I would have preferred that they use the method used on the Lands End Chinos:
Tidier Lands End Construction method along the side leg seams gives a cleaner cuff look:
The LL Bean otherwise has been constructed very well overall. These chinos are, however, much fuller in the leg, probably closer to the Lands End traditional fit which is generally much fuller in the leg than I typically prefer. Indeed, I would go so far as to call them baggy (I guess I've got skinny legs). It first I didn't think that I would like them much but after a day or so wearing them, I much say that I began to appreciate the old school baggy fit. I will note however that since they are not as close-fitting as the Lands End Chinos, they don't keep me quite as warm in really cold weather.
You can really see the difference in the cut in these photos. Please bear in mind that both of these chino trousers are 35-inches at the waste and 34-inches in length. One good thing is that leg opening is about the same, otherwise, the Bean chinos would have been returned:
LL Bean Chino at left, Lands End Chino at right:
However, having overcome my initial hesitation with the fullness of the Bean chino trouser legs, I came to really like the fuller leg old school look and have quickly determined that I can happily live with them. I do also like this slightly higher rise and the 100 percent cotton fabric:
