Because pants (that is, trousers) are an essential component of most every classic outfit, they’re often overlooked or treated as a secondary consideration–but they massively impact your overall outfit! Comprising about half of your overall look, they have a major effect on comfort and appearance. Any mistake you make with your trousers can critically compromise your ensemble. But, with the guidance we’re offering today, you’re never going to have to worry about those problems again!
Because we are primarily focused on classic style, we won’t have much to say about contemporary casual garments like joggers or skinny jeans. And while we’re not casting our pearls before sweatpants, most of what we’re sharing today can be applied to all trouser types and will be especially true if you wear classic style trousers.
Pants Mistakes to Avoid: 1. Trousers that are too long
It’s never a good look for your trousers to have people wondering, “Did he forget to have those hemmed after he bought them?”
Overly long trouser legs create distracting and unappealing drapes and folds. Breaks at the front and back of the hem – the potential for excess fabric to be dragged under the shoe or to be stained from contact with the ground. An overall loose, puddled, excessive appearance puts us a little too in mind of clown pants.
Remember this simple phrase: “puddling pants promote poor panache.”
Overly long trousers are common because many men are tempted to buy clothing that is too large. Assuming that this will give them room to grow into it and that it will be a better investment. You’re not likely to drastically change height after reaching adulthood, so ensuring that you have an initial good length in your trousers will make more sense than leaving extra length. Unless, of course, you want to revive the platform shoe trend.
Alter those trousers!
Seek an alteration tailor’s service to have those extra long trousers properly hemmed!
Fortunately, overly long trousers are one of the better problems that you can have because it is relatively easy to solve. Simply take the trousers to an alterations tailor and have them hemmed. You can choose from a variety of hemline options, including flat, military, or cuffed. Not sure if cuffed trousers are for you? Raphael will help you decide here.
Should You Wear Cuffed Pants?
2. Trousers that are too short
Unlike too long trousers, too short trousers are a bigger issue because, while you can remove fabric fairly easily, it is a bit harder to put it back. Traditionally, short trousers were associated with ill-fitting clothing. Something that was possibly a hand-me-down, something that had shrunk in the wash, a purchase without particular concern about style – like the look of Steve Urkel.
In recent decades, however, shorter hems on men’s trousers have become popular, intended to cultivate a slim, trim image, evocative of tightly-fitted, high-fashion clothing or dandified flare typical of Mediterranean styling.
While we love these looks that let us show off our socks, these extremely abbreviated hemlines are just another trend in trousers. So, you’re better off achieving a similar effect with a more classic cut like the no-break hem, popularly associated with the 1920s and 1960s, which offers a neat, sleek look that is also timeless.
The key to pulling off this look? When standing, your trousers should at least reach the top of your shoes. This is an easy way to determine if you’ve reached a timeless, no-break hemline. You’ll find more information on how to determine the perfect trouser break for your look with our guide to the proper trouser break and length.
3. Improper pleats
Pleats were a definitive component of trousers for a large portion of the Golden Age of Menswear. And, after decades of pleats being unfairly ridiculed, we at Gentleman’s Gazette are very happy to see that modern menswear is reviving the pleat.
Pleats are gathered folds of fabric in a Z-shaped fold that are pressed and sewn into a garment. They help to control fabric volume, shape the garment, and allow for greater range of movement. Preston helps you determine if you should be wearing pleated pants in another guide.
Should You Wear Pleated Pants?
We should note, though, that not all pleats are created equally. One of the most common pleat mistakes is not having enough pleat. Pleats require additional fabric, and many modern trouser makers are notorious for cutting corners. To save money, they don’t allow sufficient fabric for a full and well-cut pleat. If a trouser maker only cares about the appearance of pleats and not their functionality, the result is a superficial pleat that is simply too shallow to perform its proper functions.
Pleats like these do not benefit range of movement and they can’t even serve as guides when pressing a good crease. Shallow pleats are essentially a collection of odd vertical creases below your waist that produce unappealing bagginess and strange puffiness.
A similar mistake involves pleat fabric. During the Golden Age of Menswear, garments typically employed sturdier and heavier weight fabrics. But nowadays, often to save money, lighter fabrics are used, and lighter weight wools just can’t drape or hold pleats, as well as heavier weight wool, was able to in the past.
When you factor in flimsy synthetic fabrics like polyester or nylon, the results are insubstantial pleats that are prone to ballooning or opening. And your trousers should never resemble a wheezing accordion or other things.
Choose the Right Fabric
Natural, heavier-weight fabrics will keep your pleats neat and looking sweet.
Both of these factors illustrate what happens when pleats are treated like an aesthetic detail and not a functional component of the trousers. So, if you want your place to do their job properly, opt for natural, heavier-weight fabrics made with sufficient material. This will keep your pleats neat and looking sweet.
4. Unharmonious pairings
Beau Brummell once remarked that if your outfit makes others stop and stare, you’re probably doing something wrong. When it comes to trousers, we found two situations which might attract unwanted attention. High contrast pants that stick out like a sore thumb or trousers that too closely resemble another contiguous color in your outfit. So, because the garments don’t match exactly, something just feels off.
The former issue is fairly self-explanatory. Classic style does not rely on bombastic color combinations or jarring contrast to create visual interests. So, loud, brash hues or hyper oppositional colors just aren’t something that we’re going to see in this style of dress – unless Cesar Romero’s Joker is one of your style icons.
Instead, bold colors are employed as a singular detail, subdued and softened by the rest of the outfit. The latter issue, articles that are too tonally similar is a bit harder to pin down and resolve. It has even tripped up the modern James Bond costume department.
In a scene from “Spectre,” Daniel Craig is wearing a tan brown sport coat with dark stone trousers. But, under most lighting, these colors seem almost to match, giving the impression of a suit. It looks noticeably off because the jacket and trousers are not exactly the same color.
This look was likely inspired by Sean Connery’s ensemble in “Goldfinger,” in which he pairs light brown twill trousers with a brown tweed hacking jacket, a garment inspired by horseback riding ensembles. Although Bond prefers to be wearing his while riding in an Aston Martin DB5.
However, while Connery’s look works because of the obvious variation and texture and material help make the colors work together, Craig’s trousers and jacket are not sufficiently contrasted in either color or texture, causing the outfit to appear muddier and awkwardly too similar. This issue tends to be especially true of summer and earth tone ensembles. So, be extra attentive when working with these color palettes.
During the Golden Age of Menswear, gentlemen of style resolved their low and high contrast issues in their wardrobes by favoring trousers of versatile color and textures, also taking their shoes and socks into consideration. We’ve combined the sum total of their sartorial knowledge and experience, which you can find in a free eBook here.
5. Over-reliance on belts
A belt is a beautiful and elegant menswear accessory, but it’s not a miracle tool. A belt can help your trousers sit at your hips. But, for the most aesthetically pleasing effect, the variation between your waist and the waist length of your trousers should be minimum.
When the trouser waist is considerably too large for you, the belt might be able to cinch around your waist, but the results will not be ideal. The fabric around your waistband will bunch. There will be notable creasing, unsightly ballooning, and your trousers will look ill-fitting.
You might also try to solve overly large trousers by belting them higher up on your natural waist. This will give you a bit of a scarecrow look. Belts are also sometimes employed to remedy trousers that are too small in the waist, providing a mechanism for closure when it’s uncomfortable to fully zip or button the fly.
Suffice it to say, a belt is not a solution here. Larger trousers are. In fact, in the majority of cases, massive size discrepancies should always be resolved with a different size of trouser or with an alterations tailor – not a belt. You’ll find all you need to know about how pants should fit in our guide.
How Pants Should Fit
Sometimes, otherwise, even well-fitting trousers can look awkward around the waist. This is especially common with jeans because denim is very stiff and has difficulty conforming to the hollow of the human back. Assuming that your belt is properly sized, it’s not the belt that’s at fault but the construction of the jeans.
Get a Better Fit
Avoid this mistake by getting your jeans fitted at the waist by a tailor.
This issue is best resolved by getting your jeans fitted at the waist by a tailor. The work is actually less expensive than you might think and will produce exceptional results if you’re someone who rocks jeans.
6. Overly worn trousers
We all know what it’s like to find a favorite pair of pants that we love. Only to dread the knowledge that their time on this earth is limited. But, the fact of the matter is we put our trousers through a lot – repetitive stress from walking, friction from sitting, pressure at the seams, plus stains, and spills.
So, it’s no surprise that trousers tend to wear out faster than shirts or jackets. With casual trousers, these issues are less important and can sometimes add a lived-in charm to the garment. But, most day or business trousers and certainly any formal trousers aren’t good contenders for the distressed look.
Trust us, we know how hard it is to let go of a beloved pair of trousers. I own a pair of jogger pants that shrunk in the wash and look ridiculous, but I refuse to get rid of them. While Raphael has a pair of corduroys that are so old and worn that he’s literally worn away the cords.
Of course, we only wear these pants in the privacy of our own homes because they’re so damaged. Need help determining if you can keep wearing your old trousers or if it’s time to retire them? Preston explains the basics of acceptable wear and tear in another post.
7. Overly-full pockets
Our last mistake is less about pants themselves and more about what you put in them. Ladies often like to complain about the ample storage our trousers afford us, but this can be both a blessing and a curse. Because of our propensity to overload the pockets, well-cut trousers will allow basic items to be stowed in your pockets without creating excessive bulges or creases.
Over-stuffed wallets, mobile phones with chunky cases, massive key rings, and sufficient loose change to fund a weekend at the arcade – these will all spoil the beautiful lines of your trousers. This is especially true with skinny jeans. But, no pair of pants is improved by oddly shaped lumps protruding from your midsection and backside.
The solution? Streamline the contents of your wallet, then invest in a neatly-made wallet that is designed to fit neatly in a pocket. You can also distribute the items in your trouser pockets throughout your outfit.
Jacket pockets – especially interior jacket pockets – tend to do a better job disguising bulky items. If needed, consider investing in additional receptacles – ranging from a portfolio to a small case, up to a tote bag or attaché case.
And, of course, you can always just slim down your contents to what you actually need throughout that day. We have a list of our everyday carries for your consideration.
EDC: Our Everyday Carry (More Than Just Phones & Keys!)
Conclusion
With today’s seven tips, you’ll be able to avoid some of the common mistakes that impair the appearance of men’s trousers, ensuring that your bottom half looks just as good as your top. So, whether you call them “pants” or “trousers,” you’ll always be looking your best.
Have you fallen into these trouser pitfalls? Let us know about your pants fails in the comments!
Outfit Rundown
Did I miss any of our tips in today’s outfit? Let’s find out. Today I’m wearing a cream and black, double-breasted sports coat with a black short sleeve shirt, black trousers, and black dress shoes.
Good article. By far the rule most often offended, in my judgment, is trouser length (too long). It’s a rule regularly violated, sometimes by as much as 3 inches. I’m convinced many men are oblivious to it.
You see a lot of overly long trousers on Tuxedos at the Academy Awards. It really ruins a usual fashion conscience style, when the pants look like they were just grabbed from the closet.
Black tie is when proper fit is most important, but that is hardly the only black tie faux pas you’ll see at the Academy Awards.
No arguments there. To me, the major faux pas is wearing a long necktie (even if it’s plain black in the same fabric) in lieu of a bow tie. Either that or wearing brogue shoes mistakenly thinking the decorative broguing = more ornate and therefore more formal.
Indeed! We’re currently working on something that showcases some black tie mistakes – Stay tuned!
I may have missed it – which trousers (material0 should be cuffed?
It’s more a case of personal preference, Harry. The hard and fast rule is that uncuffed trousers are typically more formal, which is why evening trousers for black or white tie ensembles should remain uncuffed. For all other types of cloth, a cuff will give a little more weight to the trouser leg, therefore may improve how a trouser hangs. If you have something made from a particularly heavy or thick cloth, then a cuff may look a little bulky, but it’s all about what you prefer when it comes to your trouser cuffs.
Kyle looks great in the outfit shown ! But can a short sleeved shirt be worn under a sports coat??
Typically speaking, it is best to wear a shirt with a full sleeve length when wearing a jacket. But, this rule can be “broken” if the jacket sleeves are long enough to not look unusual. Kyle’s jacket sleeves are of a good length here, therefore allowing him to enjoy his short-sleeved shirt without looking like his jacket has shrunk! Preston takes a further look into short-sleeved shirt rules, as well as a few others, in this guide.