Dark green women's flat front khakis/chinos - do they exist?
May 20, 2014 9:04 AM Subscribe
I need to find comfortable flat front women's pants in dark green for work. +1 if they are high quality and wrinkle free, +2 if they come in petite sizes! Does this unicorn exist? Boys uniform pants fit me but all are scratchy or poor quality.
Response by poster: Unfortunately I need a medium or dark green, olive won't work. Thanks!
posted by stewiethegreat at 9:20 AM on May 20, 2014
posted by stewiethegreat at 9:20 AM on May 20, 2014
If you have access to your own washing machine, you can get a dark olive pair - either 100% cotton or 95%-ish cotton - and use RIT dye to dye them dark green. (You get a dark olive pair so that the stitching isn't a big contrast - it usually doesn't take the dye.)
What you would do is this (if you've never dyed stuff before, do a test run with a tee shirt):
Get your dye. If it's powdered, mix it well in hot water until it dissolves.
Run your laundry room sink hot water until it's really hot - this maximizes the amount of hot water in your actual washing machine.
Set the washer on hot and put the olive pants in while it fills. Once it is full and it has just started to swish around, stop the washer. Add the dye by lowering the dye cup into a clear area of the water - ie, don't pour it on top of the pants, let the dye sort of swirl into the water. Turn the machine back on and let it run a full cycle. Wash again in cold water with detergent. (This will also clean the dye out of the washer.) Dry pants; wipe down inside of washer with damp paper towels just in case you splashed dye somewhere - you probably didn't.
Unless you've dyed stuff a LOT, you won't be able to get an exact shade - you'll just be aiming for "dark green" in basically the same tone as on the bottle.
Powder dye can be messy if you are careless. For the first time, wear a dark shirt, keep a damp rag handy and stir the dye inside the sink. Dye will stain a light colored sink if you spill a high concentration of it; low concentrations (like what will come out of the washer) will not. I use a yogurt container for mixing dye and a chopstick for stirring. I've done this often enough that I rarely make a mess, and I'm a relatively sloppy person.
Some people say that you need ash or salt to fix a dye. I've never used these with RIT. Over time, a few of the things I've dyed have faded a little, but not the things I dyed a deep color using a lot of dye.
The first few times you wash the pants, wash them either separately or with darks.
I dye clothes all the time. Most of my clothes are very ordinary - from Old Navy by way of the thrift store, etc - and dying them helps to get more attractive and distinctive colors.
posted by Frowner at 9:45 AM on May 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
What you would do is this (if you've never dyed stuff before, do a test run with a tee shirt):
Get your dye. If it's powdered, mix it well in hot water until it dissolves.
Run your laundry room sink hot water until it's really hot - this maximizes the amount of hot water in your actual washing machine.
Set the washer on hot and put the olive pants in while it fills. Once it is full and it has just started to swish around, stop the washer. Add the dye by lowering the dye cup into a clear area of the water - ie, don't pour it on top of the pants, let the dye sort of swirl into the water. Turn the machine back on and let it run a full cycle. Wash again in cold water with detergent. (This will also clean the dye out of the washer.) Dry pants; wipe down inside of washer with damp paper towels just in case you splashed dye somewhere - you probably didn't.
Unless you've dyed stuff a LOT, you won't be able to get an exact shade - you'll just be aiming for "dark green" in basically the same tone as on the bottle.
Powder dye can be messy if you are careless. For the first time, wear a dark shirt, keep a damp rag handy and stir the dye inside the sink. Dye will stain a light colored sink if you spill a high concentration of it; low concentrations (like what will come out of the washer) will not. I use a yogurt container for mixing dye and a chopstick for stirring. I've done this often enough that I rarely make a mess, and I'm a relatively sloppy person.
Some people say that you need ash or salt to fix a dye. I've never used these with RIT. Over time, a few of the things I've dyed have faded a little, but not the things I dyed a deep color using a lot of dye.
The first few times you wash the pants, wash them either separately or with darks.
I dye clothes all the time. Most of my clothes are very ordinary - from Old Navy by way of the thrift store, etc - and dying them helps to get more attractive and distinctive colors.
posted by Frowner at 9:45 AM on May 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Here are some at Kohls in corduroy.
Coldwater Creek.
Here are some in Juniper Or this pair.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:46 AM on May 20, 2014
Coldwater Creek.
Here are some in Juniper Or this pair.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:46 AM on May 20, 2014
JCrew petite Minnie Pant in stretch twill in willoughby pine.
posted by amileighs at 10:28 AM on May 20, 2014
posted by amileighs at 10:28 AM on May 20, 2014
I would totally dye them as Frowner suggested. I have dyed lots of clothes (usually in a plastic bin placed in my bath tub to minimize mess) and it's much easier than I originally expected.
posted by celtalitha at 10:30 AM on May 20, 2014
posted by celtalitha at 10:30 AM on May 20, 2014
Dickie's Specializes in uniform/work clothes, I'd try there.
posted by Diablevert at 1:13 PM on May 20, 2014
posted by Diablevert at 1:13 PM on May 20, 2014
Oh I just did this. The Gap has some, the "skinny minnie" in "cactus". They are ankle pants, but I ordered the talls and they are like regular pants, adjust as needed for your height.
posted by annie o at 9:56 PM on June 7, 2014
posted by annie o at 9:56 PM on June 7, 2014
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posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:14 AM on May 20, 2014