Meet Les Nyikos — a man devoted to destroying fabric.

It isn't an irrational fear or deep-seated hatred of textiles. Les is a Lands' End fabric expert. We pay him for all that pulling, tearing and scraping to ensure the high quality of our products.

Recently, we asked him about the merits of cotton twill.

"Combed cotton, like Lands' End uses, is the only way to go," said Les. "Carded cotton just isn't gutsy enough. 

Gutsy? "Carded cotton contains shorter fibers and trash," he explained. "They create thick and thin spots in the yarn, which makes it weaker. When we get carded cotton fabric in the lab, it goes to pieces a lot more quickly."

And combing helps? "Absolutely," Les said without hesitation. "Not only does combing align the cotton fibers, so they're smooth and straight, it gets rid of the shorter fibers and trash. 

So you're left with only the best of the cotton. That makes a superior yarn — smoother, with fewer weak spots. And it's softer too."

Wait a minute. We've felt plenty of carded cotton twills that were very soft. What's up with that?

Les chuckled, saying, "You can make anything soft if you put enough enzymes in the wash. Of course, the softness comes at a price. Enzymes literally eat away at the cotton. And if your fabric's weaker to begin with — say, carded cotton..." his voice trailed off and he shook his head.

Only combed cotton makes the grade for Lands' End Chinos. 100% good stuff. The combed cotton's smooth and strong, and we build them right too. Brass zipper, clean-finished seams, deep pockets. Men's have onseam side pockets and two button-through welt pockets in back. Women's have offset side pockets and one button-through rear pocket.