The Proper Fitting Steps for Men’s Dress Trousers

Last week my husband bought 2 pairs of new plain bottom trousers. When he got them home they were an inch shorter than they should be when he tried them on after a week of “hemming”. Of course this is the result of the wrong measurements taken by an inexperienced store clerk. We all know that for the most of ready-made dress trousers, a tailor will hem the trousers after they have been sold. This is a standard procedure. But with fewer stores having qualified in-store tailors these days, it leaves our clients at the hands of store clerks. Most have no real fitting training and are only eager to sell you what is available with as little alteration as possible!

If you bring your client shopping for dress trousers, remember the following fitting steps which will help you gain more trust and respect:

1. Ask your client to wear dress shoes with proper heel height when shopping trousers with you. (Some high-end store with in-store tailor provide dress shirt and shoes)
2. After your client slips on the trouser, ask him to stand naturally in front of the mirror. (do not try to hide any extra pounds)
3. The Client should place the trousers as high on his natural waist (1” below his navel) as comfortable in order to provide ease of movement.  (Never places pants on hips or below any beer belly). The waist should not be too tight (there should be extra room for 2 fingers).
4. With pleated trousers, the pleats should lie flat while he stands and pants should be wide enough to cover his shoelace. For men under 5’10” cuff size should be1-1/2”, if taller than 5’10” should be 1-3/4”.
5. With flat front, plain bottom trousers you should ask a slant hem half inch downward from front to back and pants should be long enough to cover the tops of his shoes.
6. If you need to taper the legs it is essential that both inside and outside seams be pinned to insure that the crease will remain vertically straight.

As it is true with shoulders, most people have one hip higher than the other which translates to imbalanced legs. So my suggestion is to take a separate length measurement one leg at a time, to ensure proper fitting pants, balance and an elegant finish.