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Khakis are the most ordinary of pants, but as singer Elton John writes in the preface of “Khaki: Cut From the Original Cloth,” (Tondo Books, $50): “There can be greatness in the ordinary, the everyday.”

Indeed, the popular trousers have a colorful history that belies their rather bland hue. Though khaki is technically the name of a color or type of cloth, Americans use the term mostly for cotton pants of that neutral shade.

Sprinkled throughout the 156-page coffee-table book are facts about khakis, as well as an essay by Richard Martin, fashion scholar at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Khakis, Martin writes, imply order: “In style’s wars for our souls, khakis are the classic noncombatants.” No wonder they’re part of the uniform for casual Fridays.

The most popular version of the khakis invention is credited to British Lt. Henry Lumsden, who was stationed in Punjab, India, in 1846. He traded in his regular red felt uniform for cooler cotton pajamas. He had them dyed with yellow saffron dust to help him blend in with the sands of India.

In the years since, khaki has been used for safari jackets, military uniforms and collegiate dress and, as the book illustrates, in the casual dress of such well-known figures as Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Pablo Picasso, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Martin attributes khakis’ popularity to the neutrality of the garment’s color, which is compatible with most surrounding colors. “Khakis are a peaceful core of comfort in dress,” he writes.

Proceeds from the sale of the books--available soon at bookstores as well as the Web site https://www.dockers.com--will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

KHAKI MOMENTS

THE GREAT SAFARIS

The safari jacket helped popularize khakis. Teddy Roosevelt, shown here in his Rough Rider uniform, commissioned his hunting apparel from Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

HOLLYWOOD AND WORLD WAR II

In the 1930s, the U.S military began using khaki uniforms. Hollywood picked up on the trend, associating it with adventure and courage. Stars, like elegant Katharine Hepburn, right, were often photographed wearing them. And the deluge of World War II veterans on college campuses brought the rage to the academic world.

ALL-AMERICAN ERA

President John F. Kennedy typified the casual All-American man in his khakis, paying touch football with his family. Later, khakis were the uniform of the college-bound young man, as seen in “American Graffiti,” below.

CONTEMPORARY KHAKIS

Khakis make it to the runways. In 1996, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, at right, mixed streetwear with high fashion in a pair of cropped khakis by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. Today, the Gap ensures another generation of khaki wearers with its ads of boogie-woogie swing to the sounds of Louis Prima.

Source: “Khaki: Cut From the Original Cloth”