Regular readers will recall the khaki project we had in development last year. It sparked palpable enthusiasm here and in other parts of the Internet, but our partner was Bills Khakis, which developed business problems and shelved the project.

Well there are a couple of updates. First off, last week Pedro Mendes, who runs the Canada-based blog The Hogtown Rake, posted about custom trousers he had made after being inspired by our project and the above image. Obviously this option is not for the frugal. Here are his results:

In the meantime, I was recently contacted by a small, independent clothier who had also gotten wind of the idea of producing trousers with a full rise and tapered leg. He said he was already doing something similar and would be interested in tweaking it to cater to our readership. The downsides are that the pant would be from someone unknown to you who has nothing to do with trad, the pants would run $175, and they would be made in China (albeit made well).

I told him I was very skeptical but wanted to run it by you guys anyway. I think we would all prefer made in the USA from Bills, a brand we know, for $145 than made in China for $175 from a brand we don’t know. After all, probably the most cost-effective option is to just take the full-rise trousers you already own and have your tailor alter them.

What would you guys think of broaching the idea with Duck Head? Ivy Style already has a relationship with the brand as it is an advertiser. If this was to be more of a premium-priced dress khaki, how would you feel about the logo in the back?

Although I’m writing this post in jeans that are hardly full rise, I’m extra bully lately on full-rise trousers as they’re so much more comfortable. I picked up some new flannels from J. Press and got rid of some mid-rise ones from RL, despite the fine fabric. — CC