Chino Tasting- Best Overall

Trad Dad 1st Row Far Left

Dad's Khakis

Bills Khakis

The Bullard

We all bring baggage to everything we do and I certainly have a Mayflower truck following me. The desire to find anything today made with the quality of yesterday is what I strive for with The Trad. My taste and passions may not be yours and that doesn't make me right and you wrong. Until it comes to khakis.

I was surprised when my taste level in a simple cotton pant lined up with the judge's assesment of the Bullard by Bills Khakis. Easily taking the high score of 97.5, there has been a complaint from a contestant that they too could build a decent khaki for $165. Maybe.

When I pitched the chino tasting to a contestant I mentioned throwing some ringers in the mix. A 1970's US Army khaki and a 1950's French Army khaki. The maker emailed me asking for clarification. Did I want cotton or wool? Their khaki expert Googled my ringers and the description was for wool not cotton. I assured the maker I was looking for cotton.

I'm not a khaki expert. But Bill Thomas is. He didn't so much create the Bullard as much as he took an American traditon and improved it. Thomas didn't choke it to death with bogus details but by keeping it simple and pure he created a khaki better than any I've ever seen or worn. Better than what was issued to me at Ft Jackson, SC in 1976.

A Master Sergeant told me, "It's not what you do in life that makes you a man. It's what you don't let people take away from you." At the risk of sounding like a J. Peterman ad - I think that defines the Bullard.