Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we discuss how pants or trousers
should fit specifically dress pants.
Finding a perfect fit for pants is a huge challenge and although most people look at
the jacket, it's a more difficult garment to fit, getting pants to fit properly is very
very difficult as well and often neglected. For one, you want the pants to be not too
loose and not too baggy but also not too tight or skin tight. You want a proper inseam length
which means it's neither too short nor too long. You also want the right circumference
around your waist, your seat, your thigh, your knee, and your ankle. Overall, a perfectly
fitting pair of pants has no wrinkles and clean lines. Especially if you have pleats
or just an ironed crease. Pleats can open up a little bit underneath the waistband but
they should never gap especially around your thighs and the top part of the pants. From
the back, you should always have clean lines, there should be no break, neither on the knees
or the calves, or thighs, and it should just flatter your overall look. In my experience,
pants that sit higher on the natural waist and not on the hips have a much better natural
fit, drape, and they are also more comfortable. Also, a pair of suspenders might come in handy
because it allows you to have a waist that's a little wider, it's more comfortable when
you have a big lunch or dinner but at the same time, the pants stay at the same height
all day long. The disadvantage of suspenders is that you can feel them on your shoulders
and some men find that uncomfortable. Personally, I don't mind the feel and I like the clean
consistent look of my pants all day long. To understand the proper fit of pants, we
have to take a the look of the components of trousers.
First, you have to look at your waistband. Basically, it's a strip of fabric around your
midsection and traditionally, in the 30s, 20s, those were cut really high because the
natural waist is a good point to have trousers so they stay up and it creates a clean, long
leg line that is flattering because it makes you look taller. Ten, fifteen years ago, a
waistband was typically about 1/2 - 2 inches wide. Recently, it has become very popular
to have very wide waistbands so sometimes you can see 3, 3 1/2, sometimes even 4 inches
of waistbands with buttoning points. I personally believe that's a fashion trend that will vanish
rather quickly. Something that you rarely see and that usually you can only get bespoke
or custom made, by the way, check out our video here about the terminology if you're
not sure what it means. Something that you can only get custom made is a pair of pants
without a waistband. What that means is you don't have that extra piece of fabric but
your pants come up all the way and then they open up with pleats. It's a very elegant style
but it's only available bespoke and sometimes you can find it with a half waistband in the
back or sometimes with no waistband at all. Most of the time, you'll only find that with
suspender buttons but you can also find it with belt loops. Bespoke aficionados want
to be different, usually go for the style without the waistband.
The next area is the front or the seat. So the seat is in the back, the front is in the
front. it can be a tricky area if you have a bigger bum like I do.
the next thing to pay attention to is the so-called rise. The rise is measured from
the front of your waistband to the back of your waistband going through your crotch.
Now, a pair of pants that has a high rise has a longer measurement and a low rise has
a shorter measurement.
One aspect of pants that depends on the current fashion is the fit. If you go back to the
20s, they had Oxford bags which are cut extremely wide, lots of volume, lots of fabric. if you
look at today, you have rather slim pants and actually, they are quite similar to the
1920s, however, in the 20s, they had a higher rise versus now, you usually find lower rise
trousers that are very skiny. So while the outside seam of your pants depends on the
rise, the isneam of your pants always remains the same. It's a great measurement to know
by heart when you buy new pants because if you know the pants are too short and there's
not enough material to let them out, they will never be able to fit you properly. At
the same time, if the pants are too long, you can always accurately hem the,m to the
exact right length even if you don't have the proper shoes on. Although, if you go to
an alterations tailor, I always suggest to have the shoes on that you're actually going
to wear with that pants which would mean a pair of dress shoes with dress pants and not
flip flops.
And now the big question, how should pants fit?
A classic pair of pants should never have any puckering, pulling, or wrinkling. A wrinkle
that shows that something is too tight is usually in the shape of an X and so you can
always tell "Oh, something is too tight here and needs to be let out." Of course, you can
only do that if there's enough fabric to let the pants out. Back in the day, tailors would
use heavier fabrics that draped really well and would create a clean, nice look. Today,
most fabrics are very lightweight because most people assume that they are too hot.
The flip side is that those fabrics even if they're high-end, will never drape as well
and wrinkles will be much more apparent. So unless your pants are custom tailored y a
very experienced custom tailor, even made to measure pants can look off and wrinkly
simply because the fabric is too thin. So it's one thing to keep in mind. You also want
no ripples or lines that are horizontal, vertical, or diagonal on the waist, on the seat, or
on the pants themselves. Sometimes what happens is you have legs that are either x shaped
or o shaped and that can cause wrinkles if the pants are not tailored accordingly.
The second hallmark of well-fitting pants are the pleats. If you have a single center
pleat, it should go down all the way to your shoe in one straight sharp creased single
line and it should just slightly open up on top. It's just a beautiful look and you can
always tell if something is custom made by the way the pleats hang. The number of pleats
really changes with fashion. Two pleats is great maybe even one pleat is a little more
popular right now. Sometimes you see people with three pleats or more pleats, as long
as you stay in the middle, you'll always be classic and will never go out of style. Pleats
are particularly helpful if you have a big bum like I do because it gives you extra room
and so the pants can hug you on your waistband without being too tight when on your seat.
most of the time, pleats face outwards which is just a fashion style. Personally, I think
it's better for them to be faced inwards because they open up when you walk, that's more comfortable
and I also find the look is more elegant.
Three, the line of the pants should be straight. there should be no breaks in the front or
in the back except for the amount of break on top of your shoe in the front. Now if you
want to learn more about please check out our video on pants breaks here.
The fourth thing I look at in pants is the knee area because if the crease hangs straight
center in the front and in the back, you know you have a well-cut pair of pants. If it's
slightly off to the side, to the outside or to the inside, you know an alterations tailor
will have to make adjustments.
So how can you ensure you get pants that fit?
Well, for one, you can go and have them tailored to a true custom tailor. That's a very expensive
proposition. very few people can afford that and it's not realistic for most of us. That
being said, even if you have tailored pants you can still opt with not so well-fitting
pants especially for the first pair and it's a process that you need to be part of and
understand and don't expect perfect results right off the bat.
If you buy pants off the rack, bear in mind that they will never fit you perfectly and
you have to go to an alterations tailor. There is simply no perfect fit off the rack because
you are not symmetrical, you're a human being and as such, there are always slight variations
that are never considered in a standard off the rack pants pattern.
Of course, the fewer alterations you have in a pair of trousers, the better.As such,
if you have a brand or a specific fit in a brand where you know it fits you well around
the waist and has enough room for your big thighs, then you should stick to that brand
and then have just made these alterations over and over again, that way you ensure you
get a consistent fit without having to spend too much money on a tailor.
Now fixing pants in an alterations tailor seems easy and most of them just do hemming
or lengthening or taking the waist in or out but there are probably about 23 different
things you can do depending on the wrinkles you see and we will do a separate video about
how to fix pants so stay tuned!
Whenever you have pants altered, make sure you wear the accessories that you will wear
later. Which means a belt, if it has belt loops or suspenders if it has suspender buttons.
A pair of dress shoes or boots if that's what you'd wear with it afterwards, or maybe a
pair of boat shoes if you think that's what you are going to wear with it.
On the waistband, you want to avoid a so-called muffin top. That means your waistband is too
tight and your belly fat hangs over. Of course, your figure may change over time and having
a pair of pants that has an extra reserve in it really helps to change it so you can
always wear it. Traditionally, tailored garments have a lot more fabric reserve then especially
inexpensive off the rack garments and that's the beauty of going custom because even if
you change your physique, the pants will still be able to fit you.
On the flip side, your pants are too big if you can pinch more than about half an inch
to an inch. If you wear suspenders or braces as they're called sometimes, you can get away
with an inch or maybe an inch and a half that just creates more room, is more comfortable
but you may have problems with your shirt coming unticked depending on how your pants
and your lining interact with your shirt and how long your shirt is. To learn more about
that part and how you get a shirt that stays tucked in, please check out this video.
A common issue that you can see in the front and in the seat are X wrinkles. That's a sure
sign that something is too tight and you need to let some things out. On the other hand,
if you see excess fabric draping around those areas, it means it's too big and they need
to be taken in.
In terms of cut, you know that your pants are too tight when the fabric clings to your
socks and you get these uncharacteristic wrinkles especially after yousit and stand again. Sometimes
it's necessary to pull down your pants. in that case, I would either suggest you go with
a pants lining that helps to slide back down or you simply get a pair of pants that's cut
a little wider so it can naturally hang.
A pair of pants or cuffs help to pull down the fabric so you have clean lines.When you
see a lot of material around your thighs, it's flopping around or material that's bunched
up on top of your shoe, it means your pants are too long and too wide and you have to
have them fixed. The problem is if it's too extreme, you can't do that so consult with
an alterations tailor will be able to help you.
Next up is the inseam. There are lots of people who have different opinions on what the perfect
trouser length is. I believe that a slight break in the front is the perfect look, you
can also go without any break whatsoever but my personal preference is to have a slightly
angled hem because it allows you to have that little break in the front but a really long
pair of pants in the back is just the most elegant look of all.
Now, these are just a few points and we have a lot more in our in-depth guide on our website.
so check that out, here.
Overall, you may think this is a lot of things for such a simple garment and yes, our standards
are quite high and personally, I would say that I only have two pairs of pants that I
think fit perfectly for me so high standards are a good thing because there is always something
you aspire to but don't be afraid and here are a few final tips that help you in getting
pants that will fit well.
Do not buy goal pants because chances are, you won't get it in the shape you want at
a point in time so the pants will never fit and stay in your closet.
Do not be afraid of pleats. Most men today think that pleats are outdated but in fact,
you should just look at your body and if you have bigger thighs, a bigger seat, pleats
are always more advantageous for you. If you are skinnier and thinner you don't need pleats
but they can still look good.
In the same vein, don't ve afraid of cuffs or turn ups because they provide extra weight
at the bottom of your pants so they pull them down and help you to have a clean pants line.
That is especially true if you go with a thinner fabric. Sometimes you can even add a little
bit of weight that is sewn into your cuffs that help you create those beautiful elegant
lines.
No matter if you buy bespoke or off the rack, or made to measure, it helps to know your
measurements so you can immediately see if something is off at the alterations tailor
or when the pair of pants are ordered. The most important measurement to remember is
the inseam length because that should never change and if that's off, the look is bad.
When you buy pants off the rack, don't take the pant size at face value. That is especially
true when you buy it off the rack because every brand has a different understanding
so size 34, 32, can be very different at Ralph Lauren than at is at Levi's for example. So,
always measure the pants and try on different things so you know you get the fit that suits
you best.
Don't squeeze into the 32s because you want to be a 32 when in fact, you are a 36. just
because you are a 32 in one brand does not mean you are in the other. That's why you
have to try them on and measure because that's what's actually there.
if you enjoyed this video, please check out our guide and sign up for our newsletter so
videos like this come right to your inbox.
Stay tuned for our next one!