A great pair of trousers set the tone for your outfit. Where the jacket often gets the attention, trousers are constantly overlooked.
Good trousers are garments you can wear often and mix and match with the rest of your wardrobe. Because trousers are often overlooked, they are a great way to make an outfit smart without feeling overdressed.
A tailored pair of trousers can of course look great with a tailored jacket, but try matching them with a well fitted t-shirt. You will not appear overdressed, but well put together and smart.
Tailored trousers are not boring if you choose the right style and fabric. Your 4 seasons suit trousers from a standard business suit, will not work well as casual trousers. Lightweight wool suit fabrics, that feel dry to the touch, are not the ones you should pair with a t-shirt or a comfortable sweater.
Try instead a flannel for winter, where you can great beautiful greys and deep navy blues. Flannel is a thicker wool fabric, and can be very warm and comfortable for the colder seasons. Look into the flannel mill Fox Brothers from England to learn more about the origins of flannel.
For summer, well fitted cotton chinos are a great choice. If you are more adventurous in your trouser explorations, linen is the next summer fabric to try. It wrinkles easily, but once you get used to that textured look, they are the perfect summer trousers. Try in light beige, chocolate or rust red for a colourful outfit.
Not only can you make tailored trousers interesting with great fabrics, there are also many styles to explore.
The past few seasons, the Gurkha trousers has made a large impact. With origins in India and the British military, it was the Neapolitan tailor Rubinacci that spearheaded the comeback. Now, you will find this kind of trousers easily available in many stores around the world and they are a way of giving a twist of style to an outfit.
Note how the pleats are also a way of giving life to a tailored trouser, through a traditional detail made new again.
With trousers, as with all tailoring, the fit is key. There are a few components to get the fit right.
Firstly, they should fit your waist and bottom well, without being so tight as to pull the fabric.
Secondly, the leg of the trousers should have the width of your preference. A slim leg is modern, a wide leg is traditional.
Likewise, the rise of the trousers depend on your style. High waisted trousers are more traditional, but has become fashionable again in recent years. They can elongate the legs and are comfortable. Lower waisted trousers are a more recent style, but be careful not to go too low. If the trouser sits on top of your hipbone, they will never fall down and still be comfortable.
Lastly, the length of the trouser is important for the overall silhouette. Shorter is more contemporary and shows off socks or ankle, and longer is more traditional. When talking about trouser length, the concept of break is important to understand. Break is the visual break of the line of the pressed trousers where they hit the shoes. Both no break and half break can work well depending on your style, but be very careful if you want full break trousers. It is hard to pull off a full break without looking very outdated.
All in all, there are many ways to modernise a classic tailored trouser. Make sure you like the style and have the right fit and fabric. Finding nice trousers is like finding a good shoe you can treasure for years and wear every week.
Our two favorite brands for quality trousers are:
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