Category Archives: Fashion

Essential Steps to the Perfect Pant: Part II

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Pants are overlooked.

As I stated last week the role of the pant is a supporting one; the jacket undeniably being the star of the show.  Even other supporting characters like shirts and accessories get more attention as easy ways to add a bit of pop to a look.  No more – it’s time for pants to get their due!

Stylistically pants ground and set the tone for an outfit.  They’re also the workhorse – you can undo a jacket or loosen a collar but a pant is always worn to its fullest.  For these reasons a perfect fitting pant is crucial.  Today is the second post in a three-part series on how to achieve exactly that perfection.

Part II – Get the waist, seat + hips and thigh right.

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Where do you start?

Always start with the seat.  In tailoring a pant is based off the seat measurement as opposed to the waist.  The seat represents the widest part of the body thus we first establish the width at this level and then shape the area above (waist) and below (thigh) as much as necessary.

Likely this is opposite to every pant purchase you’ve made as standardized clothing is based off the waist and outseam length measurements.  This is a major problem as there is essentially no standard waist to seat ratio.  The result is that most guys have a choice to make; fit for the waist and have tightness through the seat verses fit for the seat and have a loose waist.  The debate is over – fit the pant to the seat and then alter for the waist.

What makes a good fit?

It’s a combination between the actual dimensions of the pant and the aesthetic of its style.

Undoubtedly the best dressed guys base their style decisions off the their body type.  They understand what works for them and what their limitations are.  In other words; just because you appreciate a certain look and style doesn’t mean you should be wearing it.

Also keep in mind the influence of fabric.  Wool is light, airy and fluid in terms of its natural drape.  Cotton on the other hand is heavier and doesn’t have the same fluidity in its movement. It will also stretch and ‘bag out’ in a way that wool will not.  This means we generally cut cotton closer to the body to allow it to take the shape of the wearer.  With wool we cut slightly looser due to the lack of stretch but also because it’s visually lighter.

The seat & hips

Irregardless of style and cloth a pants fit through the seat should remain relatively the same. Due to the anatomy of our backsides it’s expected that we’ll fill out the seat area of our pants. That said there should be adequate coverage with no sign of strain at the middle seam nor any pulling from the sides and pocket area.  Equally there should also be no extra fullness pooling in these areas.  As a test you should be able to easily grab an inch or so of cloth between your forefinger and thumb at the widest part of the seat.  The image below right is a great example.

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Also critical is what’s happening on the front of the pant at this level – see the above left image for a good fit.  The ‘filling out’ effect can never happen at the front – this is from a style and comfort point of view as well as out of respect for the general public.  As discussed in Part I the hips are in constant motion so this is an area of high tension.  Adequate ease is crucial at the front hip area or else the pockets will flare and you won’t be able to fit anything into the front pockets.  Too much cloth though and you look sloppy.

To assist you here are some rough numbers as a guide; to figure this out simply measure your pants at the widest point of the seat and compare them to your own seat measurement.  With wool the seat of the pant should measure between 2 – 2.75″ more than your actual seat measurement.  With cotton it should measure 1.5 – 2.25″ more.

The waist

Ultimately the waist should sit comfortably exactly where its designed to sit – be it at the natural waist or lower towards the hips.  What determines comfortable comes down to personal preference – as a guide I usually cut pants a half inch bigger than a clients actual waist.  It’s about one finger of room – just enough so that things aren’t tight when you’re sitting, but firm enough that it’s locked in place when standing and moving.  Keep in mind that a pant shouldn’t need a belt – it’s decorative as opposed to functional.

A special note for those of you with small or flat seats.  Typically two things happen in this case; the first is that the waist will always drop at the back creating a roll of excess fabric right below it.  The second element has the area behind your quads collapsing which leads to a pool of cloth in the back and inner thigh area.  To deal with this effect when I make the pant I’ll simply reduce the height at the back – this eliminates the excess by pulling everything up and off the back of the quads.  Easy enough when making the pant from scratch but definitely something you can alter even if you’re buying off-the-rack – it may cost a bit but it’s necessary and worth it.

The thigh

The thigh is crucial to get right as it has a massive impact on both comfort and style.  It must be noted that as silhouettes get trimmer and trimmer it becomes quite tricky to get that balance absolutely perfect.

The first thing to keep in mind is that all of us have to sit down – be it for short periods in a car or for long stretches at the office. This leads to an expansion of the quads that simply needs to be accounted for in the width of the thigh.  I mention this because consistently I meet guys who want a very trim look through the thighs only to find sitting very difficult.  The reality is that your body and its dimensions dictate how trim you can go; know your bodies limitations and go from there.

Here are some rough numbers that will guide you in this process; keep in mind the importance of the impact of different cloths.  With wool the thigh should measure between 3 – 4″ more than your actual quad measurement.  With cotton – due to the fact that it stretches naturally – it should measure somewhere between 2.5 – 3.5″ more.  These numbers will provide you with a trim style on the low side and a clean yet slightly more relaxed look on the high.

Measuring the thigh

A fair amount to digest – as always let me know if you have questions or comments.  Take care.

Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

Client Question: Why are there ripples at the inside thigh when I sit?

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Why are there ripples?

I got a lot of feedback from Part I of last weeks Perfectly Fitting Pants post – it’s great to hear from you so please keep the questions coming.  One of the more interesting ones had to do with the ripples that occur on the inside thigh of pants when they come under stress – be it from sitting down or when striding as we walk.  It’s a fitting question as it very much ties into this coming Wednesday’s post.  That said I’ll address it today as it’s a specific enough question that it won’t be sufficiently dealt with in the post.

For those of you who are unsure what we’re referring – take a look at the image below:

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I’m sure this looks familiar – it’s one of the more miss-understood aspects of tailoring as these ripples often get labelled as the result of poor sewing.  This is definitely not the case; the real reason is ease.  In the context of making tailored clothing ease refers to the joining of two pieces of cloth whereby one side is longer than the other.  The short side is stretched to fit while the longer side gets eased in with the extra fullness being evenly distributed along the full length.  That fullness is what you see in the form of ripples when the thigh area get stress put on it.

Still with me?

Hopefully this is making some sense!   In the case of the pants the fullness is put into the front of the thigh.  There are two reasons for this – the first is that this extra fullness is critical for when we sit down.  Because our seat and upper thighs are pressed into a surface we want that extra room to be on the top/front of the thigh.  The second reason is that it creates a cleaner line of the pant at the back of our quads.  You want the fabric to fall straight from the seat towards the knee without it collapsing onto your quad – adding shortness assists in this process.

Apologies – this was a bit of a tailoring geek-out but I hope it helps somewhat in understanding how your pants are constructed!  As always let me know if you have any more questions.

Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

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Friday Style Debate: The Wet Sheep vs The Double Collar…

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Time to debate!

This week is a battle between my two least favorite trends of fall 2014/15.  I’m a huge fan of wool overcoats but I don’t understand the stringy wet sheep look that took off with the Pitti Uomo crowd this winter.  I also appreciate a light turtleneck but it confuses me as to why you would want a collar underneath – redundant and uncomfortable in my opinion.

So which is the worst offender of fall 2014/15 – the wet sheep or the double collar?

Let the debate begin…

 

Essential Steps to the Perfect Pant: Part I

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Pants are overlooked.

Their role is a supporting one; the jacket undeniably being the star lead.  Even other supporting characters like shirts and accessories get more attention as easy ways to add a bit of pop to a look.  No more – it’s time for pants to get their due!

Stylistically pants ground and set the tone for an outfit.  They’re also the workhorse – you can undo a jacket or loosen a collar but a pant is always worn at its fullest.  For these reasons a perfect fitting pant is crucial.  This is the first in a three-part series on how to achieve exactly that perfection.

Part I – Get the rise right.

What is the rise?

The rise is the distance between the top of the waistband and the bottom of the crotch.  To determine the rise; subtract the length of the in-seam measurement from that of the out-seam. Generally the difference will be between 9-12 inches.

The rise is crucial because it determines where the pants waistband will sit on your body, which in turn creates your perceived waistline.  I say “perceived” because by playing with the rise you are able to alter the proportional relationship between your torso and legs.

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What is meant by a low or high rise pant?

We’ll use the Navy pant above as our starting point – it’s an example of  a 10 inch rise which is standard for men’s tailoring.  Now imagine cutting horizontally along the dotted line between the waistband and the crotch. With this cut we could hypothetically open it up and add more length; as such the waistband moves up, the bottom of the crotch moves down and the rise gets longer or higher as it’s commonly described.  Conversely we could also remove length to shorten the rise; in this case the waistband moves down, the bottom of the crotch moves up and the rise gets lower.

The images below show the results of this process – the Grey pant on the left is a more traditionally cut 10.5 inch rise; the Olive pant on the right being a more contemporary 9.5 inch rise.  As you can see the “perceived” waistline is very different.

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Impact of the rise: on style

The three examples shown above clearly show the visual impact that different rise lengths have on the wearers mid-section.  This in turn effects the visual length of the torso and the legs – below are some full body examples to show the influence of this proportional relationship:

Shorter Rise

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Right away you should notice the longer appearance of the torso with a shorter rise.  The effect is countered though by the base of the crotch being higher which acts to elongate the legs. These two counter points play off each other to create a very delicate balance – get it wrong and your proportions can start to look very odd.  Those of you with long legs and a shorter torso can go this route without worry.  Everyone else needs to play with this a little to find out what works best for them.

Longer Rise

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With this set of images you’ll notice that the torso doesn’t appear a great deal shorter; not at least when compared to the elongation that occurred with the shorter rise.  This is simply because a longer rise mimics the natural shape of our bodies hence less visual manipulation.

What is noticeable is a greater sense of length along the outside of the leg; it’s an effect that is countered though by the base of the crotch being set lower.  The  result is a balanced overall appearance that is applicable to the widest range of body types.  Those of you with a short torso should avoid the longest rises; a medium length will provide the right balance.  Everyone else should be playing with it to find what works best for them.

Impact of the rise: on comfort

Unquestionably a higher sitting pant is more comfortable than one that sits lower on the hips. Our hips are the body’s main pivot point and are in constant motion – when the waistband sits at this point there is nothing it can do but move which in turns causes tugging, pulling and general discomfort.  With the waistband on the natural waist it sits in a place that has very minimal movement hence greater comfort.

That said most of us are willing to sacrifice a little comfort for style in certain situations.  In making this decision it simply comes down to your body type – I’ll use myself as a reference point.  My years in the squat rack have given me the classic “hockey butt” that many of you are familiar with.  Mine is particularly troublesome because I have a very developed upper seat – the result being it pushes the waistband upwards making a lower sitting pant very uncomfortable. As such a higher sitting pant is more comfortable as it allows for more fullness to be introduced into the upper seat area as it is a more gradual increase in circumference from the waistband itself.

So guys with a hockey butts – I’m afraid a shorter rise is likely not your best option from a comfort point of view.  For those of you with flatter or more medium proportioned seats it’s an option that is absolutely open to you.  The key is to try different styles on and get a sense what works for you.  in doing so make sure you walk around the room for a few minutes as opposed to just standing still in front of the mirror – this movement will determine what happens at the waistband and the level of comfort that occurs with it thus guiding your decision making process.

The takeaway:

The proportional relationship between the torso and the legs is a very personal matter.  What looks right to one person may look completely odd to the next.  This post was not about hard rules rather it’s aim was to make you think and look at the choices out there with a new sense of what might work best for your body.  Likely you’ll be like me and enjoy having a few different lengths in your arsenal.

As always let me know if you have any questions or comments – take care.

Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

Old(er) Man Style…

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Some sartorial inspiration to start your week off right. 

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Introducing Yukio Akamine – most known for his iconic days with United Arrows.  This is a fellow who knows exactly what style works for him and he’s versatile enough to do it equally well in the casual sense as well as a slightly more formal.  Well done…

10 Essential Tips: How To Care For A Suit

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Suit Care 101 – Ten Essentials:

1.  Dry clean twice a year – once per season.  Never any more.

2.  Spot clean to deal with daily stains.  Take a wet towel and dab at the stain to pull it out of the cloth.  No wiping, no rubbing – only dabbing.  Avoid soaps and chemicals as they can change the color of the cloth – a problem that is usually more unsightly than the original stain itself.

3.  Softly brush the suit before and after each use.  Head to your local cobbler and grab a basic horsehair shoe brush.  Go over every part of the suit – should take no more than two-three minutes.  What you’re doing is brushing away dust and dirt fragments as well as opening up the wool itself to allow it to breath.  With wool being a natural fiber that breath-ability allows the not so pleasant odors to escape and the cloth to physically perk up and look better.

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4.  Let it breath – after a days use and the brushing process is complete leave the suit in an open space to let fresh air circulate through it.  The more time we give it the more the odors will disperse.  Conversely if we jam it in the closet the exact opposite will occur.

5.  Proper hangers.  The key is to get yourself hangers with at least 2-2½” of width at the end – this is crucial as it helps supports the shoulder area when it’s not in use.  Do not keep it on a skinny plastic hanger as the shoulder will quickly loose its shape and it is very difficult to get that shape back.  For the pants – it’s best to hang them upside down from the bottoms.  The waistband and upper portion of the pant is heavier hence the creases that formed in the day will naturally fall out of the cloth when left upside down.  An easy solution – get to Ikea as they offer serious value at 99 cents per hanger.

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6.  Never steam a suit – not even quickly by hanging it on the bathroom door while you shower.  Never – period.  To create the shape of the suit we use both steam and heat to shrink the cloth in some areas while stretching it in others.  Miss-used steam destroys that work and again it’s hard to get the shape back.

7.  Rest – at a minimum you need to give at least a full days rest between uses.  Ultimately you have a few suits in the rotation so you’re able to wear each suit once a week.  If it has to be twice then sticking to these directions is critical in order to maintain and ultimately increase the life span of your suit.

8.  Common sense.  This is dress clothing and you always need to think about that fact.  If you need do a deep knee bend – first slightly pull the fabric up at the knees to reduce strain on the seams above.  When reaching upwards to grab something off a shelf – first unbutton the jacket to again reduce strain on the seams.  When sending your suit for cleaning or pressing – put it in the suit bag to transport it rather than roll it in a ball and throwing it in a laundry bag.  Suits are expensive pieces of clothing and need to be treated as such at every stage to increase their lifespan.

9.  Send it for a pressing.  After doing all of the above there will still come a time when the suit begins to look a touch sloppy.  That is when you take it to a trusted dry cleaner and get the suit lightly pressed.  Repeat – lightly pressed not dry cleaned.  When dropping it off you need to stress it’s to be a light pressing – especially on the lapels.  A light pressing will give life to the cloth and make you appear a bit more crisp and sharp.  Over pressing will simply beat the life out of the cloth and make it shiny.  Roughly every 8-10 weeks will do.

10.  Be aware.  As you’re brushing take stock of how the garment is wearing.  Are there any pulls in the cloth?  Are any of the seams showing signs of strain?  It’s a lot easier to manage little problems in wear and tear as opposed to dealing with full on rips and blowouts.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions – take care.

Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

Friday Style Debate: Can a textured wool tie work with a smooth worsted suit?

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Time to debate!

This is a classic example of mixing textures – and it’s this critical element that keeps a look visually interesting (and will be the topic of its own blog post in the coming weeks).

In this case a co-worker who I share studio space made the comment that the rough texture of the tie wasn’t harmonious with the smoothness of the suit’s cloth.  I can see his point of view and it got me thinking – is it?

Let the debate begin…