For £15 I closed my eyes, swallowed hard and pulled the trigger - with two minutes to go until the offer expired.  These are the USA-made chinos/pants that Jdemy was perhaps referring to and others seemed to like.  My idea is to give them about a dozen goes in the washing machine to soften them down then begin wearing them when my current crop of 501s give up the ghost.  But they must be soft and they must be spotless.  Some Ebay sellers are offering dirty, stained clothing. 
I read that Dickies were once on offer at Russell Street.  I certainly saw them in trendy shops in Italy back in 2005/6.

I threw the Silvermans' Uncle Ian recommended into the wash several times before there was any sign of softening.  Gurteen have been the same.  'Cardboard consistency' is spot on.  But, with my gradual reduction in weight, I need to experiment a little before investing.  I'm around a 39/40 from a 42.  Nothing to do with 'lockdown', either - I'd become a fat bastard before that, chiefly from having a sweet tooth.  But I heeded the advice of (the currently absent) Yuca and exchanged soda pop for water.  Also no chocolate, biscuits, cake, ice-cream etc.

It was sound advice.  Many thanks.
ASF isn't always the fucking idiot you take him for.

I bought three pairs of USA-made strides between seven and eight this morning: L.L.Bean chinos, the Dickies, then a pair of Farah cords.  The poly/cotton aspect of it all is displeasing but choices must be made based on: country of origin-size-colour-price-condition etc.  I'm sometimes not exactly spoiled for choice.

The idea of a perma-crease worries me.  I never could get on with Sta-Prest.
Years ago, though, Johnny Simons sold me (for resale only) some interesting coloured strides from the basement.  Very high waisted, styled to fit a slender ballerina on a crash diet, absolutely synthetic.  I assume they were sold online, together with those Fred Perry jumpers, some old G9s, shoes etc.  It seems like a thousand years ago.  I'm sure some were powder blue, thinking about it.  But they might have been pure polyester.

I had Dickies and Dockers in the nineties as a teenager. Dickies in all sorts of colours and Dockers only in natural. I think we have got the Dickies from skateboard/ trendy shops and we got the Dockers from posh stores bought by our parents.

I washed them upon arrival.  I washed them again after wearing.  They may not see much action now until the autumn.  I'm currently favouring a pair of navy, USA-made Ralph Lauren chinos (that actually look like the bottom half of a pair of overalls).

They'll do.  If not nicely then they'll do.  The same was once said, of a certain trumpet player, by Mick Mulligan.  'He'll do'. 
Robbie is basically right: they're a dodgy pair of strides.  But, when all is said and done, Robbie and I are a right pair of dodgy geezers.
(The trumpet player in question was the gentleman my late father invariably referred to as 'Louis').

Or my off white GAP chinos, which are a great fit.