Style Challenges, Solved: Cuffed Pants
A large part of your tastes in men’s fashion likely came from the important guys in your life: your dad, your granddad, an older brother even. One of the problems of this kind of family style tradition is that not all of the practices are necessarily advisable. Cuffing the bottom of every pair of trousers is a particularly robust tradition. Is it a good idea?
Rules of Pants
The ideal pair of pants is already exactly the length you need it to be, no cuffing required. While the rule is fairly flexible for casual and office attire, there’s no getting around it when you’re wearing formal. When wearing black tie, you have to wear it right.
Cuffed pants are styled that way for particular reasons. It could be to improve the drape of the fabric, such as with pleated pants on heavy-set guys. Cuffs can also help balance out your silhouette if your legs are overwhelmingly long. In fact, you could even take the cuffed route a la Thom Browne and Brad Goresky to show off some ankle and reduce your visual height to better proportions.
Be careful that your cuffs, if you’re going to opt for them, aren’t too big; they ought to be around one and a quarter inches at most, about the width of a slim necktie. Any thicker and they’ll be too conspicuous an addition for your own good.
Cuffed Casual Style
Although cuffs are an extra style detail that you have to consider carefully, the secret to pulling them off on a casual outfit is to seem like you didn’t think about them at all. Part of their charm in casual ensembles comes from a slightly scruffy and laid back vibe that most people find endearing.
Start with a pair of light cotton pants; chinos work best for this kind of fashion statement. You can leave them un-ironed and wrinkly, since the texture adds another layer of cool to the item. Fold up about a thumb’s length of fabric first, and then roll up another length. Scrunch and bunch the folds as a finishing touch, then pair with clean, sleek sneakers. Denim works the same way, only you press the fold into the fabric.
Even if you’re not a big fan of cuffs, folding your pants outward will always be better than folding them inward, especially if you’re just doing it to alter their length easily. The lack of a hem or cuff – visible ends to the pants – makes the garment seem awkward.
It must be stressed that cuffed styles are and will always be less dressy than their cuff-less counterparts. First, this means that the rest of the outfit should jive: polo shirts and Chuck Taylors instead of neckties and lace-ups. Second, you won’t want to use cuffs as your go-to fashion statement because it won’t work for a lot of situations. It’s not as formal as Karl Lagerfeld’s suit and floppy tie or as classic as Michael Kors’ ever-present blazer.
Can you wear cuffed pants? You most definitely can, especially if you have the long legs that will complement their abbreviating effect. Should you wear cuffed pants? It’s not always a good idea. But then again, fashion and style have always been about what you feel will look great on you.
Other Suggested Readings:
Belt Fashion Mistakes
Guide to Mens Suits Cuts
Your TieKing Team – The #1 Place for Mens Designer Ties