Khaki is defined by the tan or dust-colored clothing worn by military and paramilitary organizations throughout the world. These clothes are often made of a soft cotton blend material. Over the decades, popular culture worldwide has come to recognize the term khaki as meaning a soft cotton blend material of a tan shade. Additional pop culture influences have brought the term to mean specifically pants of a tan shade made from cotton material.

Khakis in military use were originally employed due to their camouflage qualities in more arid regions. The appeal of these pants has little to do with camouflage in the world of popular fashion and has become synonymous with comfort and flexibility of wardrobe.

Khaki military clothing has a long-standing history, spanning nearly two centuries. However, its popularity in personal fashion came into its own in the 1950s, with the emergence of more comfortable and casual clothing for everyday wear.

Khaki pants are among one of the most versatile of wardrobe items for people today. They can serve as casual clothing, or can be a component in a business casual wardrobe.  It was from the pants that the khaki shorts were soon created.

With the prevalence of khaki in personal clothing, the collision of khaki with short pants was inevitable, though it took some time to culminate. Shorts after all, developed in personal clothing history on a timeline all their own.

Short pants were originally seen as juvenile clothing, as a result of their use in school boy uniforms in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It wasn’t until the late 1950s that shorts as we know them emerged. They were predated by a range of shorter pant styles.

The emergence of shorts in popular fashion, and their acceptance as adult attire can again be largely contributed to military clothing history. Men serving in tropical locals often wore shorter pant styles to accommodate for higher temperatures and more taxing climates.

With the return of veterans from World War II, more men were comfortable with the concept of wearing shorter pants in warmer weather, without feeling they were scarifying their masculinity or adult status. Men’s khaki shorts logically followed in popular fashion, as manufacturers recognized the trend and cashed in on it.

Women, who had be accustomed to showing their legs more readily by the wearing of skirts and shorter pant styles had to face a separate set of trials associated with shorts. They had to overcome the public belief that a woman who showed too much skin was lacking in morals and proper upbringing. The post WWII era aided in the transcendence of these ideas as well, with it becoming more acceptable for adults across the board to find comfort in clothing, especially in casual settings during the hotter months of the year.

Over the course of the next several decades popular clothing styles merged khaki and shorts to present modern people with a variety of clothing options and styles designed for comfort, fashion, functionality, and durability. Khaki shorts are now a mainstay of popular fashion.

Women’s khaki shorts can serve as dress or casual apparel through their combination with appropriate tops, shoes, and accessories. Men’s khaki shorts are a standard in most wardrobes. Children’s clothing maintains the presence of kid’s khaki shorts regardless of what other trendy fashions may arise. You can get both girls khaki shorts as well as boy’s.
Khaki cargo shorts and khaki carpenter shorts serve functional purposes in addition to building on fashionable components, allowing wear’s easy storage of various items in a number of pockets throughout the item of clothing.

Regardless of the season, khaki has become the uniform of the casual individual. Khaki shorts are a cornerstone in popular fashion, showing no signs of disappearing any day soon.

It is also ideal for everyday, casual wear especially during the warmer months as it is roomy, allowing for ventilation. Its fabric is quick drying and doesn’t even require ironing. Men’s khaki cargo shorts are particularly ubiquitous pieces of apparel for men. They are trendy, practical, and never seem to go out of style. Although they are as casual, durable, and commonplace as jeans, they offer more functionality by virtue of the pockets, the wider cut that gives freedom of movement and comfort from the heat, and the wash-and-wear quality that makes them indispensable travel essentials.

The same qualities are present in a pair of boy’s khaki cargo shorts. However, instead of the shorts’ toughness being tested in hiking trails or beaches, it will be put to good use when the little boy spends time in the playground. The usual roomy pockets will hold all his toys and candy bars safely while the soft cotton or polyester fabric will ensure his comfort and ease of movement. Moreover, the familiar and trendy design will earn him additional admiration from his peers.

Throughout the decades, the term ‘khaki’ has evolved from simply referring to a yellowish brown or tan color, to a kind of fabric made mostly from cotton and having the same color. From there it came to refer to clothes made from that specific material for use by the military. Nowadays, around the world, it means clothes made from cotton or other materials having that distinctive shade of tan. Among these universally appealing pieces of clothing, khaki shorts are a prominent sight especially during summer or spring, and of course, cargo khaki shorts can brag of the same appeal.

Khaki cargo shorts are popular for one more reason. One can easily match a variety of other clothes and accessories with a pair without risking what some people call a fashion blunder. Nevertheless, the wearer should still be mindful of a few minor things when wearing these essentially all-around shorts. For instance, the legs of the shorts should not go below the knees, otherwise the man wearing them will seem shorter than he actually is. On the more practical side, when purchasing a pair of these shorts, one must avoid a tight-fitting pair that fits above the waist instead of hugging the hips. Doing so would defeat the purpose of having one of these khaki shorts that appear never to fade from popular use.

Men’s Khakis

Girls’ Mossimo Supply Co. Khaki Cream Cargo Pants

Women’s Borderless Pants – Retro Khaki

Of all the styles of pants available on the market, very few are as versatile as khaki pants. These dust colored or tan pants can easily be worn as work slacks or as casual clothing, making them one of the most flexible clothing items in your wardrobe.

With the versatile nature of khakis and the ability of these pants to easily match so many different colors and styles of clothing it’s hard to imagine a world without them. It’s equally hard to believe that the clothing style has only been popular for about fifty years, with khaki pants only coming into the fashion world for the average person after World War II.

It was, in fact, exposure of military men to the khaki clothing worn in the drier and desolate parts of the world during the war that brought khakis into popular demand in the post war world. In the 1950s when more casual clothing styles became acceptable for everyday wear khaki pants for men began to emerge on the market.

It took longer for khaki pants for women to find their way into the mainstream. The real surge for khakis for both men and women in the clothing industry emerged in the 1980s. These comfortable pants have remained among the most popular of styles for the last several decades and will likely never lose their place, as they are so very versatile.

It is the flexibility of the style that has made it so steady in the clothing industry. Khakis have become a part of every working person’s wardrobe, and have even been incorporated into the uniform styles of many businesses and schools.

Mens and womens khaki pants are now found in a number of styles, ranging from everything from dress slacks to short pants. The cuts and designs of khakis commonly found in local retail stores are only a few among many that can be found in the internet retail market.

While those styles that are popular, like skinny khaki pants that are similar to skinny legged jeans that are all the rage in the contemporary fashion world, can easily be found in trendy, local clothing outlets, the range of styles available online vary greatly. The internet retail market appeals to an even broader customer base than to large city markets, making it possible to find just about any style or design that suits your fancy.

Khaki pants vary in price, with name brand clothing items of course topping the range. Cheap khaki pants can easily be found in both local and internet stores, though local shops will only offer sale prices periodically, as their local competition for business is limited.

The best prices can often be found online, as internet retailers must compete within a much larger market on a daily basis, requiring them to offer clearance and sale prices more frequently. Typical in store prices are usually $20.00 or more, depending on where you shop. Khaki pants online can frequently be found for less than $10.00, especially if you spend some time looking for clearance sales or check out sites like eBay and Amazon.