Fashion Friday: Khaki pants, what are these?

I received a comment from a reader on my SMART casual post.  She is just starting an internship for a non-profit organization and some of her time at work is going to be spent in a warehouse.  She had several questions so I decided I would devote this Fashion Friday post to answering her questions.

Here they are:

1. What types of shoes would be appropriate for this internship (which is for a nonprofit organization)? I doubt that I can wear my casual knee-high boots to work and since she specified no heels or flats, I'm really confused. 
2. What would be a typical outfit that I can wear? Some of the internship will take place at the warehouse (mentioned above) so I can't see myself wearing skirts or dresses or anything fancy. 
3. What are dressy jeans?

Her first question was actually in the post and it was my favorite.  She was told to wear khaki pants to which she asked, "what are these?".  Well, khaki is a color (a light, yellowish brown) and "khaki pants" is generally referring to a style of pants that is more casual and is made from a cotton, twill or wool fabric in this color.  I believe they originated from military uniforms.  You can also get these casual slacks in other colors.

Here's what I came up with as some suggestions for you.  Everything I picked out here I spotted at Target, Old Navy,  Rack Room Shoes or TOMS. 

1. Shoes:  I picked out some clogs and loafers that were a little more substantial if you will be working in a warehouse.  I would also suggest some TOMS if you like that look.
2. Tops:  Here I have picked out a cardigan for layering, a round neck shirt and your basic structured blouse.  You could mix and match these with different colored pants.
3. Pants:  These are cotton and twill casual pants in black, khaki and grey.  Again, these would work with a variety of tops and with the different shoes I have picked out.  If it were me, I would not go with skinny pants.  They are even more casual and youthful looking and they would not look good with the more substantial shoes.
4. Outerwear:  Find a great white blazer.  It will look great with all the pants and even jeans and it's a great layering piece.  I love this red trench coat I found at Target.  It looks much more polished than a fleece zip up.  That's one of my pet peeves - seeing girls put the effort into the outfit and ruin the look with her North Face jacket.  I like North Face jackets, just not with skirts and dress pants.

Finally, I would consider "dressy jeans" to be dark washed straight leg or boot cut jeans that don't have holes or extreme color fading in them.  For example:

From Buckle:  BKE Harper Boot:

Or these from Hudson:  Signature Bootcut:

I have to say that I don't typically wear khakis to work, so I had to look around a lot to put the looks together.  They just really aren't "my style" and I feel under-dressed in my office when I wear them (I feel a little bit like a camp counselor because I usually have to wear a Career Services polo shirt with them) but they do look really cute on a person who wears that style.  I would definitely avoid buying any khakis with pleats in the front, they just make you look frumpy.  If I had to wear khakis I would probably pick out some like this.

I have a lot of friends that are teachers and I notice that many of them wear clogs like the black ones shown in the picture.  They must be comfortable because a lot of people wear them who are on their feet all day.  Again, none of these shoes are really "my style" because they are more of a casual look and my office is a business casual setting.  I like flats, heels, boots and sandals but if you can't wear those I think these are a nice alternative.

Good luck with your internship!  

How would you style khakis in the office?