Ask Fashion Girl

Dear Water-skier,

You should have no worries about wearing your plain pocketless khakis to school because they are definitely in style right now. In fact, khakis seem to be competing with jeans as the all-round American fashion classic. Recently both Dockers Khakis and The Gap stores have launched huge advertising campaigns for their khakis. In television commercials, on billboards, and on the pages of fashion magazines it looks as if the trend is turning away from jeans and towards khakis. Many hot designers are including khakis in their collections of casual wear and combining them with everything from shimmery metallic halter tops to dark earth-toned military style coats.

Khakis have been around a long time, in fact they originated back in 1846 when the British Army needed a light weight pair of pants for the hot plains of India. The uniforms were dyed with mulberry juice for camouflage. Of course in the hot sun they faded to a shade of brown which they christened 'khaki,' which meant dust-colored earth in Hindu. Khakis have an interesting history and a great place to read about their American evolution is the Dockers Khakis website at www.dockers.com.

The recent khaki revival has given rise to lots of variations on the classic pleated style. Most styles of jeans can also be found in khakis, in cuts like slim fit, loose fit, relaxed fit, and low rise hip huggers. The khakis with big pockets on the side are called cargo pants, inspired by the work pants that painters and carpenters wear. Cargo pants are definitely in style right now, as a twist on basic khakis. But regular khakis have been in style for decades, and you can count on them staying in style in the future. Get creative and have fun trying out your khakis with different shirts and jackets to add variety!

Good Luck,