Anthro Pilcro Hyphen Chinos vs. BananaRep Straight Fit Chinos

The pilcro hyphen chinos from Anthropologie arrived yesterday - in the "moss" color. They have been a popular topic on the forum this spring so I thought I'd compare them to the BR ones I bought a few months ago.

The BR ones are more of a classic style, no stretch, and come in olive, navy, pink blush, and a khaki. The Pilcro ones are tapered, have just a tiny bit of stretch (1% lycra), and come in Moss, a mid blue, and several other colors. The moss just arrived. It's sort of a pale olive but also sort of a taupe..it's a hard color to describe. Not as obviously green as the BR olive, feels more grey/brown to me, but in some light has a little hint of green.

I got the BR in olive and navy a few months ago, and had to size up to get a good fit in the thigh area but the waist was too big and they were way too long. On the olive ones I took in the waist and shortened them. I also decided to try slimming the legs which did make them look a little better to my eye. (Have not done any alterations yet on the navy)

The pilcros fit much better overall, may need to take in the waist a little but maybe not. I almost always have to make this alteration on pants. The tapered leg is much more flattering (on me anyway), and I think it looks more modern as opposed to the more classic straight eg. Because of that taper the Pilcros will also look more streamlined when cuffed, and when unrolled they are at the perfect length for me to wear "unrolled" with flat shoes or even a small heel. I'm 5" 1"

The BRs are normally about $10 less than the Pilcros, and the BRs are on sale right now.

#1 + 2 the BR chinos in olive and navy

#3 + 4 Pilcros in moss and blue

#5 BR olive on me (altered and cuffed)

#6 pilcros in yellow that I tried on recently (rolled just a tiny bit)

I think the Pilcros are going to trump the BRs in my closet. Not sure what I'll do with the BRs, certainly not going to get rid of them just yet.

Banana Republic

Straight-Fit Chino

$78.00 $59.99

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Banana Republic

Straight-Fit Chino

$78.00 $59.99

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Anthropologie

Pilcro Pilcro Hyphen Chinos

$88.00 $39.95

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Anthropologie

Pilcro Pilcro Hyphen Chinos

$88.00 $39.95

Sale

View Info

Top Pick

8 years ago

Anonymous

Thanks for your analysis and insight, Chris. Posts like yours are super helpful in determining fit IRL.

If the BR olive pair are a slightly different colour *and* you've cropped them, they sound different enough from the Pilcros that you'll get wear out of both. I'm interested in hearing how the two pairs work out.

I'm right here--deciding whether to get the Pilcro Chino's or not--in the moss color. I will be near an Anthro store in mid-May and they are in stock right now. I could always return them when I'm in Seattle if they don't fit. That's my main quandry--which size to get? I can always order two sizes but I have this weird thing about charging two pairs of pants and needing to wait for my card to be credited after I choose one. Would much prefer shopping in person.

I love the pilcro's on you! I like that tapered leg. Very helpful to hear your take on the color of moss--not a true olive. But still versatile color, like the blue. What hue is that blue? Dark navy? bright blue? a little purple in it? I always find ways to use what I have like those olive BR's and you won't wear out the Anthro Pilcro's so fast!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I like the Pilcros on you very much.

I've been thinking about getting some olive back into my closet, and I looked at the "moss" chinos at Anthro yesterday, but they didn't have my size. I'm a little worried I will chicken out and not wear the peach ones -- but I could always cut them into clamdigger length, like I've done with some of my old jeans. Cutting to clamdigger/long shorts length seems to save some of my pants from orphanhood for summer wear. Maybe that's an idea for your BR pants?

I feel like colors are often tricky in Anthro lighting -- it's always just a little bit dim in their stores. I thought the color of the "moss" was a bit brownish too. I prefer an olive color to have a little less yellow and a slight blue tone, and this color was not that, but I wouldn't rule it out for myself. I did try on an olive 3/4 sleeve linen tee that I liked more than I expected to -- it seemed like a rare sleeved top that would be comfortable in summer for me.

CJ, the blue of the Pilcos is a pretty nice, neutral blue. Almost a light navy or a denim color. On the purple-to-green spectrum, it might fall just a hair on the purple side, but not by much. I find it very versatile, but blues are prominent in my wardrobe. I'm typically a size 30 in jeans, but in the blue Pilcros, I took a 29. In the peach, I needed a 30.

Muffin

Chris- (& Janet) thank you for your detailed review and comparison--much better than many reviews left online on the store sites. I am going to have to check out the Pilcros. I have the same issue with needing enough thigh room and then needing to take in the waist. I personally struggle with pants other than jeans or ones that have structure to them.

I struggle with the lighting in Anthro too (really Anthro in general) but they recently remodeled ours and a quick tour showed me than I needed to give it another shot.

I wish Anthro would stop hiding folded tees and such on the lower shelves of their display tables. You have to kneel or bend down to see what's under there, because it's never the same as what's up on the display!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Thanks for the review!
Both the altered BR pants and the Anthro pair are fantastic on you! The alterations take your time, so I think that more than makes up for the extra cost of the Pilcros. But having the two options--and knowing what alterations are needed on your BR chinos--gives you a range of colors to choose from.
I've tried on the Pilcro chinos in past seasons and liked them. I found a lot of size inconsistency in the ones I was trying in the store. But they are really nice looking chinos--they have a little bit of hand-look stitching on them, don't they? And the taper on the leg is nice.
My chinos have been Eddie Bauer boyfriend, Caslon, Lucky slim boyfriend, and Loft Marisa. Of the four, I like the Caslon fit the best--they have a nice taper to the leg, and I like the fit in the seat and waist the best. The Eddie Bauer ones are gone from my life--they made me feel dumpy, with a wider leg, and a kind of poofy looking fit in the rear. The Luckys are nice, but a little lower rise and some extra fabric in front. The Loft Marisa are not as good fit on me as the Julie (Julie is their curvy fit), but the chinos didn't come in Julie, and they are working fine--a little loose in the waist, which I can deal with later if need be. Long story short: I think the Caslons might work for you, too. Perhaps worth a try if they have some colors that interest you.

Loft

Cropped Skinny Chinos in Marisa Fit

Nordstrom

Chino Ankle Pants (Regular & Petite)

$39.90

Bonnie

Thanks for the review. I wondered about the Anthro and BR chinos, but haven't tried them yet. I bought two pairs of JCrew chinos and two pairs of Gap chinos and wear the Gap 'out and about '' and the JCrew around the house. The Gap chinos still look great after many wash and wears and the JCrew chinos look wrinkly and faded. Chinos are great for hot days when jeans seem too heavy.

Firecracker- thanks for the Caslon review- I will look there too.

Chris987

Aliona & others.. thanks for the kind words. I am trying to be much more analytical about what I buy and YLF is a great place to share my thoughts and learn from others.

Aiona - I hemmed the olive BRs at a "full" length and folded them up.
Maybe not important but thought I'd mention it. I don't have enough pairs of pants to hem any at a cropped length right now, especially since I'm still experimenting with it, so I'm doing the cuff thing.

Janet thanks for the description of the Pilcro blue color......I haven't received them yet. The clamdigger idea is in fact my first thought for the BRs if I decide to do something with them

Firecracker thanks for Caslon review...will check them out.

On a related note...is there a forum posting somewhere that defines the names for different pant lengths? I see so many different terms and I don't really know exactly what they all mean.

Very helpful review. Thank you for writing it. I am going to try the Banana Republic chinos based on your review.

Do you do your own alterations?

Sterling....Yes I do my own alterations, I learned to make clothes at a pretty young age and although I have not made anything new in many years I do almost all of my own alterations.

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