old
To be honest, whether the cuffs are turned is more of a personal style, and there is no rule that explains whether orthodox trousers will be flanged.
Compared with the discussion of the attribution of orthodox trousers, it is more the prejudice of modern men against flanged trousers. I don’t know what kind of magical thinking it is to label the cuffing of pants as rude and unseemly actions.
This trend has become increasingly evident in recent years, and coupled with Mr. Tony’s penchant for short-term “pushes”, fleece trousers are not welcomed by the mainstream market.
What kind of true connotation does this classic trouser element represent, and can it cause a dilemma for classic men’s wear lovers when it has existed for a long time?
What is “flanging”?
Generally, it refers to the folded edge at the end of the trouser leg that looks like a flanged treatment of a French shirt sleeve, which is “transplanted” onto the trouser leg.
Traditionally, the formation of the cuff is not additionally sewn onto the trouser leg, but rather folded with excess fabric directly from the end of the trouser leg.
Therefore, the function of cuff is to leave the “leeway” needed to adjust the length of the pants, switch at will according to the pants length state you need, release the cuff, and the length of the pants will be extended.
It’s just that usually there is not enough fabric to re-flange after it is released, mainly depending on the amount of cuff itself, if the amount is relatively small, in this case you need to sew additional fake cuffs.
That is to say, it is not made of the same fabric of the pants themselves, but is cut out of other fabrics separately and sewn to cope with the embarrassing situation that the cuff is not up to the ideal pants length.
For customized trousers, there may sometimes be angled cuffs, which are more demanding for the master’s craftsmanship and are generally fake, after all, it is difficult to make an angled cuff directly from a continuous fabric.
Or that sentence, the human body is three-dimensional, thick, may be a cut fabric notch will look flat when flat, but after making pants and wearing, the curvature of the hips, the expansion of the waist, the protrusion of the knees and other physical conditions will affect the line of the pants.
The advantage of the angled cuff is that the pants are just right from the front after people wear them, but at the same time, the back of the trouser legs is almost at the heel, achieving ideal coverage, and will not step on the cuffs, but also appropriately show part of the shoe body.
The origin of Turn-ups
The initial appearance of cuff is just a kind of “open side” for gentlemen: generally it does not fold the legs of the trousers, and only after rain and in some muddy places in the countryside to avoid staining the pants.
It was not until 1890 that Edward VII included trouser cuffing as a daily sample, which meant that the cuffs no longer depended on the weather, but were replaced by aesthetic considerations.
At the initiative of Edward VII, cuffed trousers became a standard element in business suits from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.
It was later during World War II that due to the shortage of fabrics, people pursued a simple dress style, and the setting of cuff was “abandoned” by everyone. They wanted to save as much fabric as possible to make more clothes.
Since the 50s, the post-war demand for cuffed trousers has not returned to its most popular period, but until now, they have still existed in the menswear scene, occasionally showing their faces in the mainstream market.
By the way, the British do not use cuff to describe the flange of trousers, but specifically refers to the cuffs of the sleeves of the shirt, instead of “turn-up”. In terms of formality, cuffed trousers will also be lower than unflanged trousers.
Choice of cuffed trousers
Usually most suitable trousers in the Italian style will have a cuff, and it is also popular in white-collar industries such as lawyers and accountants. A proper cuff can make the silhouette of the suit look more grounded, especially suits with straight stripe patterns, such as Pin Stripe, Rope Stripe.
Maybe everyone will use cuff + socks treatment in summer to free the ankle, but in fact, seasonal factors do not limit the choice of cuff, even in winter you can find cuff on flannel or tweed pants. Cuff is very pleasing to men who love traditional styles.
In addition to suit trousers, cuffs are also commonly found in single pants or slacks, and are more symbolic. This is one of the reasons for prejudice, and workers often roll up their trouser legs in order to move.
The exaggerated amount of cuff combined with the appearance of tight and narrow pants has become one of the elements criticized by the younger generation. According to their words, like overdevelopment, or lack of money for pants…
Do you want cuffs ?
Like I said at the beginning, flipping or not flanging is a personal style option. People who really understand suits will not judge the quality of a pair of pants because of whether there is a cuff or not.
One of the advantages of cuffs is that the fabric is laminated or additionally stitched to add a certain amount of weight to the lower edge of the trousers, which improves the drape of the trousers, especially trousers with pleats.
On the other hand, cuff can also coordinate the visual balance of the suit shape, such as double-breasted button settings will visually have a tendency to expand horizontally, if the lower body is wearing a pair of fitted, cinched trousers will have a sense of violation of the width and narrowness, and the overall line is not beautiful.
Another example is a straight striped business suit, which is not very friendly to thin men, and adding a certain amount of cuff to the cuff can add a bit of weight.
If you want to make a traditional pair of wide pants with enough margin, it will be more retro with cuffs. However, if you prefer modern tailoring, it is best to abandon the cuff setting, so that the outline will be clearer.
If there is a cuff, the choice will certainly be more abundant, after all, the extra fabric can adjust the length of the trousers, even if you think about it later, you still don’t need to use it, that is, find a community tailor to tinker with it, it doesn’t hurt.
On the other hand, if you decide from the beginning that your trousers are going to have a cuff, but later find that the amount is not enough, and the fabric is too thin and brittle, it will be difficult to get another cuff amount.
How to pinch the size of the cuff
First of all, a living cuff needs to be horizontal after the pants are worn, as mentioned in the previous article explaining the coordination between trousers and shoes, I think you can’t go wrong with a half break that just touches the upper lace.
In general, cuffs are more aesthetically pleasing than letting the cuffs pile up on the upper, if they only reach half break length (when wearing shirts rather than low-top shoes, make sure the trousers are long enough to cover the top half of the boot).
Therefore, it is best to make a pair of flanged trousers slightly shorter than the natural length, if the trousers have both a cuff and a front pleat, a proper break can avoid piling marks to damage the pants.
As for the size of the cuff, there is no right or wrong, because historically, from one inch to all the way to two and a half or even three inches. I recommend that it is safer to keep it between 3~4cm.
When determining the size of the cuff, it is best to also pay attention to other elements on the suit, whether there will be a sense of violation or incongruity, such as the lapel of the top is wider, it is not recommended to match a slender cuff, it looks disproportionate.
Also, look at the height of the back collar of the top and try to match it to the size of the cuff.