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The Ultimate Guide To The Khaki Cotton Suit

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A preview of coming attractions, featuring our nav

A preview of coming attractions, featuring our navy blue linen suit styled simply. In the meantime, you can shop the suit at the link in bio.

Today on the He Spoke Style website, we’re takin

Today on the He Spoke Style website, we’re taking a close look at the venerable (and sometimes controversial) khaki cotton suit, answering pretty much any question you could have about one. Like, where did khaki come from?

Well, like a lot of menswear, khaki’s origins are military in nature and based on practicality. To find it’s roots, we travel with the British Army to India during the mid-19th century. At the time, soldiers wore bright white uniforms, which they found not only uncomfortable in the quite hot Indian climate, but also easily noticeable, making them easy targets.

In order to solve for both of these problems, the soldiers began dyeing their uniforms with a heady mixture of tea, curry, and mud. The result was a dusty, earthy color that proved much better as camouflage in the Indian landscape. The new uniform color was dubbed “khaki,” which is a Persian word that means “dust” or “earth.”

The British Army officially adopted this new khaki uniform by the time of the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 and the world took notice of the uniform’s practicality and effectiveness. By the early 20th century khaki became the standard color for military uniforms in a variety of Western countries and widely used by soldiers on all sides during World War II.

Following the end of World War II, as often happens, these uniforms — or at least versions of them — found their way into civilian attire. Since then, khaki has become an extremely popular color for a plethora of garments, from suits to sport coats to the iconic casual khaki cotton trousers.

Head to the link in bio for the full post (and feel free to leave any questions we left unanswered in the comments).

Here are five ways to use clothing to look slimmer

Here are five ways to use clothing to look slimmer.

Tip number one: wear black. Black clothing creates a streamlined silhouette, hides shadows cast by bulges or extra weight, and focuses attention to your face rather than areas you may feel self-conscious about.

Tip number two: wear a sport coat. A sport coat does a great job of hiding extra weight, especially in the chest and around the waist.

Tip number three: vertical lines, not horizontal. Vertical lines draw the eye up and down, creating the illusion of length and making you appear taller and slimmer, while horizontal lines draw the eye side to side, making you appear wider.

Tip number four: get rid of baggy clothing. Overly baggy clothing might be comfortable and hide extra weight well, but the overall effect makes you look bigger than you are which is why…

Tip number five: you need to wear clothing that fits you. Properly fitted clothing can help you look slimmer by highlighting your natural shape and avoiding unnecessary bulge.

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