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Trouser cuffs

lw36

New in Town
Messages
5
Location
Minnesota
Hi guys,

I'm of a pretty tall and thin build, and so I often have to sacrifice cuffs on my vintage suit trousers in order to extend the inseam to a serviceable length. As much as this bothers me sometimes (I like the look of cuffed trousers), I generally prefer a wearable suit to an unwearable one.

Sometimes however, I'm faced with a conundrum. I refer to those times when the trousers could be made to fit while keeping a cuff, but at the expense of the rise. When faced with this problem, I have to choose between being able to hike the pants up as far as they will go (which is good) or keeping cuffs (also good).

I'm curious as to what you all think. Are cuffs worth the sacrifice? How many vintage suits do you see without cuffs, and what is your opinion on their effectiveness? To clarify, these are full-legged, double forward-pleated, high-rise trousers I'm talking about.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
I don't think wearing high-rise trousers on the hips (too) low is a desirable solution... depends of course how much lower one has to wear them.

I also have to leave out cuffs quite often. I always go for false cuffs instead of cuffless pants.
On the inside a strip of cloth in matching color/fabric so nothing of the leg gets "folded in" and a sharp seam inside, creating (when ironed) the look of a cuff, without having any (or maybe max. 1-2 cm) depth.
 
Last edited:

Chasseur

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,494
Location
Hawaii
I've had that dilemma a couple of times. My inseam is not that long 31 1/2" or so but I have found trousers and suits that fit me perfectly but have 29" inseams... In most cases, like Fastuni said above, I've been able to have my alteration lady do a false cuff on the trousers and that tends to work well.
 

lw36

New in Town
Messages
5
Location
Minnesota
Now this is neat. I've actually never even heard about this. I just found an old thread on here about how to do it. I'm going to have to give it a try. Maybe I actually can get the best of both worlds!
 
Messages
17,176
Location
New York City
Here it is. Please make it a sticky (since the original thread is in "general attire.." it would fit the trousers caption in the sticky list.)

faux trouser cuffs

Thank you FFF. I love the schematic and picture of an actual pair with the faux cuff. It was exactly what I needed. (Not to mention that the schematic is hilarious, even though it makes sense, it has a bit of the Acme company feel from a Wile. E Coyote purchase.)
 

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