If you can’t hem ´em… roll ´em
The NY Times just did a summer trend piece on guys rolling their trouser bottoms. Although not targeted to a shorter audience, I thought this quote brought it home to guys like us, who have to hem everything:
This is an easy way to get around shortening your pants,” said Josh Peskowitz, the style editor of Esquire.com, who had rolled up his pants that very morning. “It’s noncommittal.”
Especially when I take it out of context and let it stand alone like that.
Anyway, I beat the Times to the punch by a full week. As the pic above proves. (I’m just barely holding onto my coolness here, in the face of fatherhood)
That’s me on vacation up in Portland, ME, around the 4th of July. I’m chasing my 16-month-old daughter up a hill at Fort Preble. Awesome, wild, crazy seaside-stormy half-baking-sun/half-angry-clouds-and-pelting-rain weather that day.
Anyway, forgive the rear view. But it does show off my lillywhite ankles. That’s how I roll.
The NY TIMES on HOW TO ROLL:
“Getting the roll right is harder than it looks, and the experts differ on technique. Tom Julian, [a fashion consultant and the author of two men’s style books with Nordstrom] suggests rolling one inch of cuff three times for cotton canvas trousers, and a single two-inch cuff for dark jeans.
“For slightly looser pants, like chinos, Mr. Peskowitz advises creating a peg by pinching the fabric slightly at the front during the rolling process. Starting from the bottom, you flip once, making as small a fold as possible, then twist the front of the pants leg by about an inch, then roll twice more while holding the pinch tightly. The pleats should stay in place.
“‘You want to make sure that both are pointing inward — for the left side, fold it to the right. For the right, fold it to the left — to stay symmetrical,’ he said. ‘I just figured that out a couple of weeks ago.’”
–NYT
July 20th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Hi, what brand and cut are those kahkis? What are some good brands,places where you can get good pants that are reasonably priced? Great blog, I appreciate it.
Thanks,
Josh Lasserre
July 21st, 2010 at 12:26 am
I like this look, but I can’t wait for it to pass. Too many hipsters have been doing this for quite a while.
July 21st, 2010 at 9:48 am
It’s weird to see trends from my childhood come back, like pegging pants. That was big when I was in grade school.
I generally only roll pants during the first few wears, to make sure I like them before having them shortened. Or if I’m going around barefoot.
July 21st, 2010 at 10:12 am
Josh: J.Crew Bowery/Classic Fit. Shoulda said. I like the fit a lot. But I bought a second pair and the stitching popped a bit in one place on the leg, so that’s not cool… Shirt is Uniqlo. Shoes are Vans Authentic. Belt was $2 at Goodwill. Thanks for the blog-praise!
Randy: Agreed, mainly. The hipster thing is weird: I share a lot of their taste in music, clothes etc. Have hipster friends. But I wouldn’t consider myself to be one of their number. Living in Queens sure does help. I just don’t have to see that crap every day. If I had to ride a train to Brooklyn every day, I think I’d become enraged. The other thing is, you leave a big city or a certain neighborhood and you instantly remember: oh yeah, the other 99.9% of America sure ain’t reading the fashion blogs. So yeah: it’s sort of a big old tired trend. But in the grand scheme of things, it looks good (and very few outside of western Brooklyn dress that way).
Robert: Ha! Yeah. First draft of this post had a line about flashing back to seventh grade, when tight-rolling your jeans and twirling the laces on your boat shoes and knotting them on the sides were the skills to have! I will say: cuffing them like this with no socks makes it a heck of a lot cooler on hot days.
July 28th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
I think if most people reading here can afford a pair of chinos, they can afford a $6 / leg hemming fee. Either that or you are more lazy than I care to imagine :)
And really it’s north Brooklyn that is chock full of hipsters. Us south Brooklynites really like our neighborhoods, build them up, and are not afraid to wear a suit or custom clothing, and normally don’t have 45 year olds on skateboards riding by. Now strollers and liberals, that’s an entire other story!
July 30th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Rolling your pants is great—for tall or average height guys. We short guys should NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER roll our pants. Did I say NEVER? Rolled pants on a shorter guy only highlights and calls attention to where the pant leg stops, highlights how short the pant leg is, and hence calls too much attention to how short the person wearing them is. It also just happens to make the person look like a child. Short guys like us should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS hem our pants, which elongates the leg, or at least de-emphasizes wear the leg ends.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Forgot to say earlier that when a tall or average height person rolls their pants, it looks like it’s on purpose. When I see a short guy roll their pants I think, “Oh, they’re short, so they had to roll them, and they’re too cheap or lazy to have them hemmed.”
July 30th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Brandon: Thanks! Appreciate your opinions. Even if I disagree with ‘em.
JT: True, hemming’s pretty cheap. But I have a million little things I want to accomplish scribbled onto a million little scraps of paper. A lot of times, getting to the tailor gets lost in the shuffle…
August 1st, 2010 at 6:51 am
What an awesome website, I just found this yesterday. I’m 5′5″ and 145 pounds…I’ve always found it hard to find pants that fit right, especially since I’m not quite a 32 inch waist and a 34 is actually just a bit too big for me. This summer I found some awesome cargo pants on clearance at jcrew for about $30, I got a pair (33 X 29) and I’ve never been happier with a pair of pants before. The extra material just seems to bunch up around the ankles, but it looks great and the overall fit is excellent. Run out and get a pair before they’re all gone!
August 2nd, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Dan: glad you found me. And thanks for the J.Crew recommendation.
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:55 am
As an older guy, I must tell you the pants roll up thing was considered a Jethro Bodine look years ago. At least in the places I lived. You rolled your trousers up when you walked on the beach or into the water. That was it.
Understanding things have changed I can’t get Jethro and his rolled up jeans over his boots (Redwings no doubt) outta my ancient mind.
August 12th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I am not a “roll up” pant fan. Take the extra time and effort to get clothes hemmed properly…and capri pants for guys is another fashion NOT!