This whole thread is perfection! I recently started an in-house tailoring program for Proper Cloth and I reference your posts when educating staff on all aspects of tailoring! Keep it up!
If they had a water mark that showed in certain filters, we could see they r all rentals but a few :)
Only a few r hand made to the size of their bodies. Or lucky it fits good :)
I would never pass muster with this guy with my rumpled fashion sense. I mostly wear long or short sleeved t-shirts or hoodies, and shorts or jeans depending on the weather…of course I’m retired & no longer need to impress anyone so…🙃
At the same time, you wouldn’t go around acting like you’re a style icon, either, and if he gave you fashion advice and helped style you, I suspect you’d follow it.
I love reading his posts & would love to sit with & have lunch or a drink & talk. And I can picture you dressing for the occasion 🙃 You go out more than I do, & if I did I’d probably dress up more.
Derek thread drops and I know I’m in for a long informative read. I make sure I have a full cup of coffee. I read it and always learn something new and laugh at how he gets in his (accurate) roasts.
Happy to say I've been following the cuffed guidelines but horrified to discover some of my formal trousers look like "Republican hems." Brb going to annoy my tailor a bit.
Do you have advice for brands that sell good winter wool trousers? Mostly for casual wear. Can be vintage as well. I’ve been looking for a while, but have only found good vintage Burberry trousers
Thanks for this thread! I have a 26" inseam, so the thought of stylistically cuffing my pants makes me cringe...but maybe some day when I have a grown up fancy guy outfit I'll consider it!
As usual, there are no hard and fast rules on hemming. Everything depends on the aesthetic you're working within. In some aesthetics, it's fine to have a very cropped leg (pic 1). In other aesthetics, it's fine to have a stacked leg (pic 2). Depends on the look!
You can't be dogmatic about hemming bc much depends on the overall silhouette (including shape of pants). These silhouettes would look wrong if you didn't have fabric pooling around the ankles. Granted, there's a fine line btw intentional pooling and sloppy—so beware.
But with classic men's tailoring—meaning outfits involving suits, sport coats, tailored trousers, and such—you're pretty safe going with one of two options. These are nicely outlined in this Fantasy Explosion tee for Bloomingdale’s 150th Anniversary souvenir capsule collection.
There's what we'll call a "shivering break." Or what your tailor may know better as "no break." This means the trousers just kiss the top of your lace-up shoes (e.g., oxfords, derbies). This distinction is important bc slip-ons and boots can affect the break.
A shivering break is nice because it creates a clean, uninterrupted line from the top of your pants to the hem. This is particularly good if you trousers have a center crease (a detail that can make the trousers look sharper and more formal).
One problem with a shivering break is that, depending on how the trousers are finished, there can be a gap between the back of your hem and the shoes, potentially exposing your socks. You can see this *almost* happening here, but not quite.
His analysis on the last few posts ain't too bad, but I had to look away at one point because I swear it was like "why do poor people wear jeans on the plane?"
I'm $7 away from being a hobo and even I know when you rent a tux you kiss the shoe, otherwise youre basically wearing Jncos and should be ridiculed. oh wait they are all retarded and feel they shouldn't be held the the same standard
I know this thread is about hems but as far as ill-fitting coats go, how does the end guy in blue compare to someone who has class and style, like a Kennedy?
I used to love buying clothes in Turkey. After purchase they take you to a nearby tailor who adjusts hems, shoulder and sleeves so they look like they are made for you.
Can you explain what is wrong in this video? In the beginning, the two gentlemen stand, and the distance of their hems from the floor is comparable.
When they sit down, one has hems still close to the floor, while the hems raise significantly on the other one.
Yep, my (poor Chinese) tailor always did a single break in the front and thus longer, straighter in the back. I am ignorant about these things, but always liked this.
I love your threads. I love learning about things that have zero consequence in my own life, but that are really really important. Also, Cary Grant could have worn a sack and looked amazingly well turned out.
Being well turned out is exactly the attention to detail. Being as we focused on the floor in this series of posts, we should go to the other end of the man. 1/5
One sign of lack of attention is the Igor-mini-hump between the tops of the shoulder blades. It shows up as ridge between shoulder blades. The jacket has to be tailored to lie flat when the arms are at rest. 2/5
The sleeve length is dependent on the preferred style of cuff—button or stud—showing more or less shirt cuff. The jacket cuff, however, cannot cover the wrist bone. Often a problem for short guys who don’t attend to their tailoring. 4/5
Trousers have changed often over time, at times more baggy and at times more slim. With slimmer pants, it may be prudent to discuss with your tailor whether you dress left or right. You may want to be accommodated on the left side of your fly or on the right, for appearance as well as comfort. 5/5
No one can say, "Hey, your pants look too long, I know a seamstress, tailor, friend ...." Power and money doesn't make you a sharp dressed guy as shown here.
Please do something on untucked shirts next. And please include advice for non-rich and non-standard size people about finding shirts that are the correct length for them.
The trousers bend just above the shoe. The suit coats don't fit either.
Where was the tailor? Were those rented suits or were the tags hidden so they could be taken back the next day? Maybe they just didn't care how they looked.
My grandmother was a seamstress and her son, a tailor. I'm a sewist.
Cowboy boots with a suit is just bizarre - like here in Canada, you'll see pics of Indigenous leaders (chiefs, elders, etc.) wearing their traditional feathered headdresses with Western business suits.
They’re not terribly bowed, but I feel that cuffed pants look saggy and bunched up, while straight (no cuffs) draws attention to the bow. To me it’s down to picking the lesser of two evils.
tangentially relevant (in that the same tailor could do the trousers hemming)…
Q: Do you have recommendations for NYC tailors (who would be willing to take the shoulder pads out of a suit jacket, and raise the armholes—& hem the trousers)?
Love your work! Enjoyed your writing on what makes a jacket formal or informal, but don’t know what makes trousers formal or informal. Like, chinos/jeans are informal, worsteds are formal I guess, but what about things in the middle? Pleats? Patterns? Belt vs none?
Fuq Elon. Fuq Zuk, Fuq the Orange Baboon and Fuq every politician that voted to kill apps so they can control the narrative. It’s time to stop accepting what we can’t change and changing what we are no longer willing to accept. #tiktok
Comments
You’ve been… slacking 😬
Only a few r hand made to the size of their bodies. Or lucky it fits good :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkUAjWpg1E
When they sit down, one has hems still close to the floor, while the hems raise significantly on the other one.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZpuzqKXwok8&si=YZ-uM3ZSdjjhDXKk
Where was the tailor? Were those rented suits or were the tags hidden so they could be taken back the next day? Maybe they just didn't care how they looked.
My grandmother was a seamstress and her son, a tailor. I'm a sewist.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/battle-of-the-boots-from-rossi-to-rm-williams-why-pollies-choice-of-footwear-matters-20250116-p5l4ws.html
They’re not terribly bowed, but I feel that cuffed pants look saggy and bunched up, while straight (no cuffs) draws attention to the bow. To me it’s down to picking the lesser of two evils.
Q: Do you have recommendations for NYC tailors (who would be willing to take the shoulder pads out of a suit jacket, and raise the armholes—& hem the trousers)?
p.s. Re: the pic, her dress is not walkable.
Also for 🇬🇧 suspenders = braces - very different here!!!