-Slim khakis are an essential part of any wardrobe upgrade. I recently bought J. Crew's Ubran Slim-Fit chino, their slimmest cut khaki, and found that they were fuller than I'd hoped. Lawrence beat me to the punch espousing the merits of the Levi's 511 trouser, but I thought I'd throw up a hands on look at my new favorite non-denim pant. Since I 'graduated' from the 514 to the 511 about 2.5 years ago, I've acquired four pairs of the jeans and a pair of the corduroy version. A few weeks ago I came across the 511 trouser at Urban in Portland. I grabbed a pair (the khaki colored pair below) and didn't even bother to try them on because I knew that the 511 in a 32 would fit me perfectly.
-After about two weeks I realized that the 511 trouser was just the pant my wardrobe had been missing: A casual, slim and surprisingly solid feeling chino. I hit up the Levi's site and ordered the blue pair and I think I like them even better than the khaki joints. At $54, I really don't think there's a better go-to khaki out there right now.
-There seems to be a recurring debate between style-types about the cut of the 511 vs. the 514. I was pumped on 514s when I was in high school, but back then I was still wearing skate shoes regularly, so the larger 514 leg opening didn't really bother me. To me, upping your style game begins at the feet. When you slim down your shoes, the next thing you notice is the ratio of leg opening to shoe. As the Top-Sider became my go-to shoe, the awkward 514 leg opening didn't look or fall right, so I moved on to the 511 and have been satisfied ever since.
-One of the commenters over at Sart-Inc points out that the jean pocket makes these more of a chino-jean than a true trouser, which is definitely a valid point, they're not really office appropriate. But, as I rarely find myself in the types of places where such distinction are important, I'm keeping my Hill-Side pocket square in the jean pocket and digging that these pants cant be dressed up (relatively) or down with ease. These pants have given my denim a much needed rest this spring.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
School Supplies: Levi's 511 Trouser
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11 comments:
Like the colors and fitting of the levis jeans! Will check if they have them in my Levis store in Berlin too.
Already have 3 classic sand color chinos but mine dont fit as good.
Great pictures tho!
Goood work
yo really feeling this post. i hear what you're saying about the slim shoes to leg opening ratio, i thought i was the only one who really payed that much attention to it haha. funny, b/c i dig the 511s, havent manned up to buy a pair yet, but these trousers/chinos are giving me even more reason to purchase something w/the 511 tag on them. im tired of having to take my jeans to the tailor, and these look fresh.
Do all 511's fit true to size?
Paul,
Get on the bandwagon.
Chris,
Yeah they seem to fit true to size in my experience.
Great post and all - but lets talk about those frames...what are those..illy. Good stuff Angelo.
I'm really digging your blog dudes. The 511 is as must have for sure. Personally i have 2 kaki (one a size too big for a roomier fit) and one in the navy.
you should follow my blog as i am just beginning to hone in on my own aesthetic, i should be attempting more personal, and elaborate posts soon. (right now its kinda in the inspiration phase) Look forward to more from you guys.
www.layeredgoods.blogspot.com
i've been wearing the khaki 510's for a while now because i've got some skinny lil legs, definitely a standby when i dont feel like wearing denim.
More power to you if you can get down with 510s
these are the best thing i've seen all season. so easy and true.
buying them now...
good call sir, good call!
the rise is way too low on the 511s...
the blues are looking good. used to rock the 511s, but now i'm starting to expand the leg a bit. big fan of the raw 501 shrink-to-fits. size the waist DOWN 2 inches, then wear em in the tub for the first shrink. the waist will stretch, while the rest of the pant shrinks. not as slim as the 511s, but slimmer than the 514s.
keep up the good work.
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