Mastering Trousers: The Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Fashion Faux Pas and Embracing Timeless Style

Greetings people!

Now, after a long hiatus we’re back with another email…

And back with a bang.

Today’s email is about trousers. 

With all the fuss and noise about trousers on the internet lately, 

Especially with Pitti Uomo last month, And Wimbledon last night.

I’d assume that it’s pretty safe to say that you’ve come across the now infamous Gurkha, and all the high waisted pleated variations that’ve sprout up.

I’m actually wearing a pair right now, while writing this email.

But, I think people are starting to get a little tired of them, 

Wanna be fashion influencers rolling around in these, trying to catch a fad or look the part… 

But failing miserably.

So in today’s email we’re going to spill all there is on the craze, 

So you can avoid fatal mistakes when it comes to your trousers (which i’ve made several of, having made several pairs of these trousers at the shop, both for myself and customers)

But before we carry on…

Belts. 

Had to be mentioned… 

But boy am I glad that people are really starting to move away from them and are opting to side adjusters (or whatever other non-belt mechanism name you’d like to use) 

Belts, for the most part, act as some sort of division between your torso and legs that tend to be quite harsh at times… 

Perhaps, this is just the the air that we’re all breathing from the times we live in speaking through me, 

(and if so, great to be on the trend band wagon) 

I must say, it’s refreshing to see so many people opting for the beltless look, 

Which in general is great for men’s fashion as a whole, 

And for the average gent who just wants to dress better, 

And now feels like it’s much easier for us to dress this way because of this trend!

Now, onto the outfits…

1. Harold Clothes 

harold.clothes_

View more on Instagram

This brand firstly has been doing a stellar job with their trousers… 

The reels will have you watching until you reach the end of their feed.. 

At least they did for me… 

This is one of my favourite reels for this brand.

Now, as more and more people are starting to wear these higher rise trousers, a lot of people are opting for the thick 2” waistband, and with the side adjusters smack bang in the middle of it.

Which are great, but I would implore you to explore the other options available, namely the gurkha, button adjusters.

Exactly like the reel from Harold Clothes.

In this reel, the trousers are worn to perfection, just because they’re made so well.

And, when paired with a good shirt and accessories,

You don’t look like someone who’s trying too hard to fit in and dress well, 

But rather, you are the person who dresses well, 

It’s just who you are. 

2. Miguel_label7 with his beige masterpiece

This pair of trousers are in my opinion some of the most beautiful trousers around,

And this is the basic DNA I implore 90% of people to wear and look for in a pair of trousers. 

They’re simple, plain almost.

But beautiful.

You still have the side adjusters, 

They’re still a mid to high rise trouser. 

But, the waistband isn’t as thick!

This size, about 1.5” wide is personal golden zone.

And the pleats are drape perfectly.

You might even want to expeirment with a pair of this that don’t have a pleat, with the side adjusters.

Grab a few in different colours and you’re good to go!

3. The finale @Igarashitrousers

This brand, out of Japan is incredible!

This pair of trousers are probably one of the most aestheticly pleasing, yet quiet and charming pairs i’ve seen. 

At least on the mannequin, that it is. (keep reading to make sure that you can pull off this sort fo look with your body)

It’s literally everything I’ve mentioned in this email.

1. 1.5” waisband

2. Mid to high rise

3. Side adjusters between (slightly offset from) the waistband and the panels of the trousers

4. Not obnoxious, yet incredibly stylish.

This is what you should look for when purchasing a pair of trousers. 

Get a couple paris of these, in different colours. 

Then experiment with thick or narrower waistbands, if you want pleats with the trousers and with different types of fastening mechanisms. Like these:

Honorary Trouser mentions

1. Make sure the fly isn’t too long

This is crucial! Although these are high waisted trousers. You don’t want the damn things to be sitting above your navel (belly button for all the todlers out there)

Nor do want to feel like a 110 year old with a shrinking body.

So make sure the rise of the trousers, whcih is simply how high the trousers sits on your body isn’t too high, but also not too low.

Now, if you’re really going to be precise about this, like I can be.

Use a tape measure and measure the different in length between the outside leg and the inside leg. Subtract the two from each other.. And you’ll get the rise of the trouser.

My golden are for this is about 10.5: to 11.5” of rise.

But this is something you’ll have to figure out when you go shopping, and try a trousers on. 

2. Watch the gut 

This is a serious problem I see some men encounter, when they decide to get dressed up. 

Make sure, that your trousers either sit on top of your belly… and rise all the way up. 

As this tends to sit below the belly and can create a muffin top effect, drawing attention to the tummy area.

3. Cuffs - and how much

Cuffs, or turn ups are underrated!

~ The general rule of thumb is that turn-ups or cuffs are less formal and more casual, and that you’d typically want to have turn-ups on trousers that have pleats. 

And they’re trending…. People are wearing them more and more.

And they’re something I’d suggest you try and experiment with. 

Grab a pair of trousers and make sure there’s enough material at the bottom folded in (you’d want about 4” at least) and take them to your tailors and ask them to put a turn up at the bottom, and you might have to ask for a false hem as well at the end of the turn-up. 

4. Trouser length 

Shorter trousers like we see a lot of Italians wearing typically with sockless loafers are something you’ll have to experiment with yourself. 

Ask Okey - would hate for you to do this…

But, it’s something i’d implore to experiment with.

I for one wear trousers that are slightly narrower shorter - about the height of my ankles - and trousers wider lower down. 

But what you want to avoid like the plague are trousers that bunch up ontop of your shoe.

That’s it for this edition of the newsletter!

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Carpe Diem!
The Composed Man.