Cuff It Up
Aug 3, 2010 at 3:00PM
There two things I know for sure: off the rack never fits just right and I hate when men's pants scrunch around their ankles. This, in turn, leaves us with only two options. You either have to cough up some dough for a tailor or cuff it up yourself. For dress pants and nicer denim (or excessive amounts of extra fabric) I will always recommend you make your way to your friendly tailor. However, when it comes to everyday jeans, casual pants, and shorts you just have to know a few simple cuff pointers to get yourself out the door while still looking style-smart and put together.
After the jump, a guy's guide to how to roll a cuff, with plenty of visual examples...
In my opinion the jean of choice lately (skinny, stupid) looks better cuffed or rolled up a little higher to show some ankle. It's like side boob for guys. Well, I guess it's not but its still exciting to see some extra ankle in the right pants. If your khakis are also skinny same applies. However, if your casual pants, or jeans for that matter, have a wider leg (which is totally cool if that's what suits your body) I'd say keep the hem closer to the floor and just give it one turn up. I've seen a few people try to roll up the cuff of their looser tousers with varying success. Usually there's a tad bit of a ballooning effect. Try it if you're adventurous but keep the whole outfit relaxed so it doesn't come off as silly.
When it comes to cuffing your shorts its really a matter of preference. It depends on how long your legs are and how much of those legs you want to show. I'm short and have convinced myself that the shorter my shorts the longer my legs look. Whether or not this is a scientifically proven fact (yet) is debateable but I think it looks good so I end up rolling up all of my shorts up at least once. But even if you're a taller dude or if you're wearing longer shorts, I still think it looks more interesting to cuff your shorts.
In general I think making that extra adjustment adds character and detail to your outfit. It's personal touch that says "I cared enough to look in the mirror this morning" - even if you didn't. The bottom line is that cuffing your pants is an easy and good looking shortcut to getting the desired length you want on your pants without going to a tailor. If its not perfect, cuff it. That's simple enough, right?
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