Welcome back to the Gentleman’s Gazette!
In today’s video, I discuss how to pinroll jeans, why people do it, the history behind
it and everything else you need to know about it.
First up, if you are a regular viewer you might wonder, is Raphael really wearing jeans?
Well, I do.
Very rarely, but if I do when it gets hot, I definitely pinroll my jeans.
Pinrolling your jeans is actually a very classic look.
It became popular with boys in 1950s and was really popularised by James Dean in the movie
Rebel Without a Cause.
Ever since, it has been the epitome of a classic, summer, casual look for men.
To learn more about the history of pinrolling jeans and the details, please check out our
full fledged guide here.
Why do People Pinroll jeans in the first place?
Basically there can be many reasons.
Some people simply want show off their nice shoes or their socks.
And what better way to do it than to pinroll your jeans.
Personally, I like to pinroll my jeans when it gets hot because then I can feel the air
around my ankles and feel noticeably cooler.
It has a very functional purpose.
You can also pinroll your jeans when you take a bike ride and you don’t want jeans to
get stained by the chain.
Or, if you are at the beach and will prevent your pants from getting wet.
Same holds true during winter or fall or in a muddy area where you don’t want to get your pants
dirty.
Some people simply do it because it has this casual look that makes everything a little
more nonchalant.
Whereas others simply want to shorten their jeans.
It also helps to create a more tapered look up your jeans because you tuck it in a certain
way, which I will explain in a minute.
Okay, enough introduction.
So how do you pinroll jeans?
Well first of all, you need a pair of relatively tapered or straight cut jeans.
Skip the boot cut.
Skip the wide ones because it will look terrible.
So, don’t do it.
If you can pinch more than 4 inches or 10cm around your ankle, it’s probably too much.
Second, you want to pinroll your jeans after you're completely dressed.
So, put in your jeans, your belt, your socks, shoes whatever else you need.
Once you’re done, locate the inside seam on one leg.
Now, pull it up to the slimmest part of your ankle.
Pinch the extra material vertically either to the back or to the front.
Personally, I like the look better folded to the back.
Some people prefer it the other way.
At the end of the day, you won’t see too much because you folded it up twice.
What’s important is to have a very tight pinch fold.
So whether you go forward or backward, make sure it’s tight.
Of course you don’t want to cut off your circulation, but it should be quite tight.
Now hold the pinch in place with your hand and with the other hand, fold it up by about
1 cm. or half an inch.
Make sure that the fold goes all the way around.
And once you’ve have done that, fold it up once more.
As you can see, the pinroll is actually a fold and not a roll.
Ideally, two folds are enough.
If one fold is not enough, 3 are too much.
So go for the golden middle so that then your pinroll sits exactly in the narrowest point
of your ankle, and it’s attractive, keeps you cool and is casual.
Once you are done, you simply repeat the process on your other leg and you’re done.
Now that you know the technical aspects of pinrolling jeans, let’s talk about the do’s
and dont’s.
As I said before, roll it up at least twice.
They pair really well with boots, boat shoes or any kind of casual shoe for that matter.
Don’t pinroll jeans that are too wide or boot cut because they will look awkward when
it tapers down to the leg.
It will be bunched up to the roll or the roll will be too thick.
Don’t pinroll your jeans unless you have shoes that is worth seeing.
It really accentuates your shoes and if they are ugly, it is really the wrong thing to
highlight in your outfit.
Don’t pinroll formal pleated trousers or ones with cuffs.
Do pinroll chinos, seer sucker or jeans or other long casual trousers.
But stay clear of pinrolling formal pants.
Don’t make the cuff too big or too small.
Starting out with half an inch in the first fold and then the second afterwards gives
you the perfect proportion.
Do, fold it proportional to your height.
Most guys look great with about a half inch fold the first time around and just do it the second
time.
If you are short, go with a narrow fold, If you are tall, go with a wider fold.
The reason is you want to look proportional and if you have a big fold on a short guy,
it just look off.
Likewise, a tall guy with a narrow fold.
Don’t pinroll your jeans if they are too short or too long.
If they are too long, basically the fold sits below your ankle and it’s simply too low
to look casual and right.
It simply looks like your pants are too long.
If you’re pants are too short to begin with, pin rolling them make it look like man capris
and that’s not an attractive look.
If you’re jeans have more than a single break when unfolded, they are too long.
The good thing is you can easily have them hemmed to the right length at your alterations
tailor.
It shouldn’t cost more than 10 bucks.
So what should you wear with pinrolled jeans?
As I said, casual shoes, boat shoes, loafer, driving mocs, boots can work but it has to
be the right proportion.
If the boot is too high, definitely won’t work.
Otherwise some people like sneakers with it.
I’d suggest you go with some leather sneakers with your jeans.
Otherwise I would not wear it with tennis shoes, or other athletic shoes.
Of course, if you wear socks with your pin rolled jeans you want to make sure they look
good.
So you can go with something bolder, you can add some colors, some stripes.
But ideally you shouldn’t have the Mona Lisa on there and pink because it is just
too flashy and screams look at me.
Instead I mix up maybe blue and red or maybe orange and blue or something that is subtle
yet defining.
Looks great with a pinroll moment.
Your socks should definitely go up your pinroll.
So there should be no hairy skin exposed.
And, if you are in the summer, you can also skip the socks entirely.
Maybe just go with the boat shoes and the pin roll for a cooler feel at the beach.
If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe and check out our in depth guide with pictures
in our website here.