Men’s Trouser Fit Analysis for a clean, sharp business look.
Business casual to formal, cotton khaki’s to beautiful gabardine trousers, when your jacket is off, your shirt and trousers are on stage. Use these simple rules to ensure you have a good fit. FEEL for too small – this one is easy – are they tight, pulling, restrictive? LOOK for too small – do the pockets gap out?
You want a dress trouser to skim your backside at the top, and then drape down from there, not curve around your derriere like a jean does. In the front you want a smooth flat front, without any delineation of what might be underneath.
FEEL for too big – is the waistband too large and buckling over under your belt? Do the legs feel big and baggy? Does the rize (the length of the crotch) hang down too low? Is the butt baggy?
LOOK for too big – you want your dress trouser to lay smoothly over your backside and curve down to the thigh, without the ability to grasp a handful of fabric at the center seam. This phenomenon requires tailoring of your trousers, commonly called “seat shaping”.
LOOK for too short – the length of your trouser is in direct proportion to the width at the hem. Narrow (skinny) leg = shorter hem at top of shoe. Wider/traditional width pants need to be longer, and have a slight break over the top of the shoe, and the back of the trouser rest just above the sole of the shoe.
LOOK for too long – this is far more common – 50% of the men’s dress trousers I see are too long. You can’t see it looking down at your feet. You have to stand tall and look in a mirror. A “break” is just a little buckle in the crease of your trousers at the lower shin. A puddle is more.
Great trouser fit is easy to get off the rack when your own measurements are similar to how trousers are manufactured. Seat “drop” refers to the industry standard of creating a men’s trouser that the waist is 6″ smaller than the hip (your butt at the largest diameter) measurement. So a size 34 trouser has a 40″ hip/butt measurement. This is not marked anywhere on the trouser – it just is how they are made. If you wrap a tape around yourself at your trouser waist, and then the largest part of your backside, you will see your “drop” measurement. Less than 6 inches means that when trousers fit you in the waist, they will be too big in the hip. (get seat shaping by a tailor) More than 6 inches means that when trousers fit in the waist, they will be tight, pulling, pockets gaping in the hip.
(Buy up a size and have waist taken in) I hope this helps you get a great fit on your ready to wear trousers!
I am a Personal Image Consultant and a J Hilburn Stylist, Trainer and Recruiter
I bring confidence, organization, efficiency to your life.