Choosing the right pant length

“The right length for the legs is when they touch the ground,” said Coluche.

This absurd and lively outburst, beyond humor, is a call to accept oneself as we are, to self-deprecation even. This subtext is for me the beginning of dressing well. Because from this necessary acceptance will be born a stylistic reflection taking the body as a starting point, but not just any body: yours.

Alright.

So if we're talking about the legs, let's look at the pants that dress them.

TWO IMPERATIVE AWARENESSES

1. WHO’S THE BOSS?

I have often heard that short pants are the fashion. Maybe, but fashion shouldn't interfere with how you wear your pants . It's your legs that decide. This is the first awareness you need to have.

When he wears the costume, Takahiro Kinoshita is a disciple of Thom Browne, whose obsession is to reinterpret the costume à la Mad Men. This won't suit everyone. Not many people actually, even if it's fashionable.

Well, in the case of Takahiro Kinoshita, he doesn't lack style all the same!

2. MAGIC LENGTH DOES NOT EXIST

To illustrate the second realization that must be made, I would like to briefly recount a recent experience.

Came to Scavini for pants, I had to determine the length of my pants, with the help of Quentin (the brand's communications manager) who welcomed me. And, while I said: "the pants should fall in such a way that they can go with ankle boots... and derbies... and moccasins... and...", I understood the nonsense of my words.

Feeling like a whip between the shoulder blades, I realized that I couldn't have it all. It was an absurd request for me to make. A request like I had heard myself during my years in the store and which saddened me. Like someone looking for a pair of shoes to wear with both business suits and jeans. Impossible.

There is no such thing as the perfect pant length to wear loafers, derbies, brogues AND ankle boots. How could this exist? How could different models produce the same effects on the same pants?

It was like trying to fit a square into a circle at all costs.

On the left the pants are quite short; on the right no. This is obviously due to the fact that on the right he is wearing boots and on the left not. And the pants are similar in length.

This being said, this implies that you must:

• Accept that some pants fit better with some of your shoes than with others.
• Or reserve the use of certain pants for certain shoes only.

In the real world, however, don't worry too much: if you choose the length of your pants to match your physique, rotating your pairs of shoes should not involve any stylistic missteps. At most you will be guilty of a little guesswork.

CHOOSE THE LENGTH OF PANTS BASED ON YOUR PHYSIQUE

The length of the pants can ruin everything.

I understand the excitement one can have, after purchasing a new pair of pants, wanting to wear them without delay. We roll up the bottom and off we go. Well, I believe we must resist this urgency. Well, if it's jeans, it's different. The piece, casual in essence, lends itself well to rolled-up bottoms, within reason. If you are slender then this does not pose a problem. On the other hand, if you are small, it is better to abstain.

THE CASE OF NEW JEANS

You should wear your jeans several times before having them altered. The reason for this is that the canvas will move: it will relax in the first ports and then, when you decide to wash it , the fibers will shrink and the legs will lose a few centimeters.

This is the ideal time to have it retouched to the correct length. If you do this before, you risk ending up with jeans that are too short for the rest of your life.

I have developed a trick to allow you to give the illusion that the jeans are the right length even though they are not altered:

1. Determine where you want your jeans to stop.
2. From this point, tuck the excess canvas inside the jeans. BUT BE CAREFUL!, the existing hem must not also fit inside. It should remain visible as you tuck the excess inside. Stop so that the hem extends 1.5 cm or 2 cm .
3. Roll up the hem on the jeans.
4. Smooth everything out, especially at the calf where the canvas tends to rebel.

It's simple, it's common sense, but it changes your life.

THE RIGHT LENGTH OF PANTS WHEN YOU'RE SMALL

The challenge of a small physique is to grow through dress up game .

These tips also apply to people who, without being particularly short, have rather short legs compared to their bust. In this case, pants are a crucial piece: if you've never thought about wearing high waists, do it. This little tip can change people's perceptions of you and, more importantly, your own perception of yourself.

So, to give a visual impression of leg length, you must:

• A simple hem, as the cuff stops the leg line earlier.
• Let the pants break little. Too much fabric creates a feeling of bunching. It's better to make it shorter.
• Opt for low shoes to give the pants time to express themselves.
• Socks in the same color as the pants, ensuring a certain visual continuity.
• Plain, faux-plain, discreet patterns or vertical stripes.
• Avoid low waists at all costs and choose high or medium waist pants.

THE RIGHT LENGTH OF PANTS WHEN YOU'RE BIG

If you are really very tall, it may come to mind not to accentuate this height further. Pants are crucial in this case. As in all cases elsewhere.

Some elements on pants, which we recommend when you are tall:

• Have the pants break once on the shoe, or make them fall straight without breaking but above all not too short, so that they come to lick the tongue of your shoes all the same.
• Not having an opening legs too narrow. 4
• Opt for one reverse is wise. 5
• Choose socks in the color of the shoes to break up the length of the leg or wear high tops.
• Avoid vertical stripes and choose large tiles if you want patterns.
• Do not choose pants waist too high. 6

THE RIGHT LENGTH OF PANTS WHEN YOU'RE NEITHER REALLY BIG NOR REALLY SMALL

In our opinion, it is better to opt for pants that do not break and touch the top of the shoe . Pants that fall straight over the shoe will always look impeccable. Sure, when you sit down, the pants will ride up more than with long ones, but that may just push you to improve your sock game.

Over time, you will know very precisely the ideal length for your physique and will easily be able to give your pants to be altered by simply indicating the desired length .

ABOUT RETOUCHERS

Before going to a retoucher, clearly define the result you want to achieve. If it's cropped pants you want, expect the retoucher to insist on making them longer. Often, these are people for whom pants have to break once, or even twice.

But you have the truth! If you want cropped pants for the right reasons (short just enough, be careful not to look like a clown or like a 1940s goofball), you need to be firm in your choice. You shouldn't give in if you think it's still too long, just because you've said "shorter please" to the retoucher three times.

It is important. Style is a matter of details. You can't let anyone decide for you.

WHEN TO CHOOSE A BACKPACK?

The reverse is like a hat, it looks better on a middle-aged person. You have to have the experience to carry on your shoulders (or your ankles rather!) the weight of the classic connotation of this type of trouser bottom.

Personally, I see no problem for a young man to wear lapels. This is getting old, so what? If it is the wish of the wearer.

As I mentioned previously, four centimeters seems appropriate. We can modulate according to the physique but as, in any case, it is better to avoid wearing lapels when you are short, the lapels should not be less than 3.5 cm and not exceed 4.5 cm.

4 cm is good.

Another thing: one might believe that the reverse, as it is rare, is dressed. But, it's quite the opposite. It should be avoided if you are wearing a double-breasted suit. The reverse weighs down the silhouette and is especially suitable for thick fabrics (tweeds, flannels, moleskin, solaros too, etc.).

So, for your formal suits, it is better to opt for a simple hem. More casual suits lend themselves well to lapels. Chinos too. Velvets. But, when it comes to jeans, having a tailor cuff them goes wrong with the rebellious nature of the piece.

Tip: If you like short pants (perhaps even too short in most people's opinion), the cuff is a way to signify that this short length of pants is voluntary. I noticed this, based on my own discomfort with slightly short pants worn without cuffs.

PANT LENGTH WEIGHTED BY WIDTH

The width of pants varies greatly depending on the era and the person.

In the 1930s, it could reach 25 cm. Nowadays, I see men in denim leggings and I cry tears of blood every morning and others, most of them, who, without falling into this extreme, prefer rather narrow pants (around 17 cm opening legs).

Impact of narrow leg opening:

• If you wear high socks with narrow, short pants, in a rough material, the pants will tend to "slip" badly on the leg and you will spend your time pulling on them to put them back in place (like Michel has just done as he gets up to go on his lunch break!). Be careful not to make it too narrow on the one hand and still long enough even if the opening is narrow.

Impact of wide leg opening:

• Pants with heavy fabrics flow better with fullness. Moderate magnitude, say 19 to 20 cm in my humble opinion, but this varies depending on physique and influences. In short, this is to say that pants considered wide should not be too long. Even breaking it once would be taking the classic aesthetic too far. It seems to me that the pants must be cut straight and fit the tongue of the shoe or opt for a slanted hem.

THE FINAL WORD...

It's true, I'm not getting wet by saying this, but an ideal length of pants is neither too short nor too long .

This is the only valid answer because it is your body that must be at the origin of your reflections: what morphological traits do you want to erase? which ones do you want to highlight?

Pants are a critical piece of the silhouette, they have the power to make you tall or small. You should spend some time finding the shape that suits you best. This will transform your figure forever.

A man of style is someone who plays with reality and modulates it as he wishes. You must be an illusionist.

To dress well is to deceive others.

Not forgetting our own pants...

Chinos cut with a scalpel, pants in Japanese canvas, but also in Italian flannel or Vosges velvet: it's happening here!