Chino washing instructions & aftercare

How to wash & care for our Chino Shorts & Pants

I want to share some of our extensively tried & tested tips for wearing & caring for the most comfortable men’s chino shorts and men’s chino pants in the world, and because I want you to have and enjoy these chinos for a long time! Quality clothing is a big investment, so following a few guidelines will ensure it pays off!

For the most part these will be some of the easiest items in your closet to care for, and they will hold up longer as well! I use the most premium materials available, pay my factory very well, and typically make these in relatively smaller batches as a small business operation. But the bottom line is that these are made to last a very, very long time with the right care!

☝️ Before Washing

You should wear your shorts several times before washing, or wait until they are actually dirty or you absolutely have to! This helps the materials stretch out and conform to your unique body shape (mostly in the waist, thigh and butt areas), and you’ll be much happier with the long term fit result if you hold off!

⚠️ Note that your shorts have an extra button placed in the back pocket – take it out and save it in a safe place! If you lose it and need to replace a button in the future, you’ll find similar buttons on Amazon for a very reasonable price. We want you to have these for a long time – you will too, as these will quickly become your favorite casual shorts!

How to wash & dry chinos

1. The detergent & softener you use greatly affects the longevity & quality duration of chino shorts! After extensive testing over the years, we have found 3 clear standouts – and no they are not the cheapest, but neither is our clothing and we want you to enjoy these chinos for years to come! They keep cotton chinos from fading and shrinking the least, as well as the most wrinkle-free…

If you have Prime Membership you can save quite a bit by buying these on Amazon:

Detergent: Persil ProClean Liquid Laundry Detergent
Fabric Softener: Downy Wrinkle Guard Fabric Conditioner
Dryer Sheets (use 2-3 per load): Bounce Dryer Sheets

2. Button up buttons before washing & drying. This helps to keep them from catching on other items in the load, or on appliance fins and parts during cycles.

3. Always wash in cold water, preferably on delicate setting for the longest life, and to maintain vibrant colors.

4. As with most items that have bold colors such as pinks, blues, greens, deep golds or reddish browns, it is recommended that you wash them separately once or twice just to make sure any small amount of residual dye doesn’t bleed onto other garments. After a wash or two, they’re good to go!

5. For the best fit, air-dry your shorts for at least the first 2 or 3 washes. After this, dry your shorts on the lowest setting for your dryer. No, they won’t fall apart if you dry them on regular heat! But if you do you may notice them slightly shrink, or tighten up. However, if you want them to tighten up then go for it and even try drying on high if you want the highest possible fit or need to shrink to fit.

Chino after care

Being made mostly of cotton, the shorts *will* shrink a little. The liner being entirely synthetic, will not. This may cause the liner to become a little looser over time, and it may slightly pouch along the inside of the bottom hem – but it will not fall below the line of the shorts. Don’t worry about this, as it actually makes them more comfortable since it simply covers more of the interior bottom hem stitching! ?

How to fix chinos that shrink too much in the dryer

It happens buddy, but don’t panic! Cotton does shrink in standard temp and hot dryers, especially for long period drying (large loads). You can get them *moderately* back to their original shape by washing in cold water, then after removing them from the washer simply hold each side of the shorts and shake vigorously to stretch them out, and then manually stretch them by hand wherever too tight (such as around the thighs or waist). Be careful not to rip any seems, just a gentle stretch using both hands and a firm grip.Then, lay your shorts out to air-dry.Finally wear the shorts several times before washing again, and skip the dryer and just air dry from now on!

But, you ask…want to shrink them up a little without returning or buying a full size down?

This, my friend, can be accomplished! After you get them if it’s clear you’d like to go about a halfor a little less than a full size down for a tighter & more flattering fitting pair, you can wash them according to directions above and then dry them once on standard heat. If additional shrinkage is desired, wash & dry on standard heat again, and so on.Most importantly, when they get to the perfect size, return to the standard washing & drying instructions above!

How to keep chinos wrinkle-free

1.Take your load of laundry out of the dryer immediately after it finishes, before your clothes have completely cooled.

2.Put your hand into each pocket to straighten them out, then grab your chino shorts with each hand on the left and right opposite ends of the waistband, and shake them out vigorously several times until they look pretty flat.

3.Lay them on a soft surface like your bed and gently smooth with your hands (again, this should be while the shorts are still a bit warm from the dryer).

4.Don’t put them in a drawer – hang them in your closet with what’s called a “skirt hanger” which is simply a hanger with a straight vertical piece of wood and two clips on each side. If you hang them after you shaken and smoothed them, and they are still a little warm, they will get very flat as they hang and cool and you shouldn’t need to iron! (But if you still want too, a relatively cool iron is fine!)

It also organizes and helps you maintain a pristine closet with an impressive “retail look” that’ll remind you of all your badass options without digging through your drawers every morning!

My favorite hangers for shorts & pants: Whitmor Wood Clip Hangers