Confused about pant size/inseam, seeking advice...

[nycbsn]

I'm 5'8 and about 165lbs. I shop at Old Navy and Gap mostly for my casual khakis and jeans, I wear either Straight fit or Relaxed fit. I usually go for 30 inseam. The thing that I noticed is this... If I am standing, the pants cover the shoes with a slight break, not so much the rear bottom area of the shoe but no socks are seen, let's put it that way.

If I walk, the leg openings will rise about an inch upon completing a single step then go back to normal. But when I sit down, they rise up about 2 inches, it doesn't necessarily scream high waters but still you can see the socks.

My wife said maybe you need a 32 inseam in pants. So I went to one of their stores, tried 32 and there was just waaay too much stacking going on at the leg openings. It looked kinda sloppy to say the least. It's very frustrating, because most guys I see with casual pants/jeans are able to cover their socks whether they are standing, walking, or even sitting down.

So I'm thinking I need to do one of two options:

1) Get 32 inseam and hem it to 31?

2) Try a different brand. But what brand?

I don't know if the fit has anything to do with this problem. Like I said I normally go for Straight or relaxed.

 

[barrettdudley]

The fit is certainly part of the problem. The hem on pants and jeans is crucial if you're going to wear a straight or relaxed fit. As you've discovered, slightly too short will make them look highwater, too long makes them terribly sloppy. This issue is easier to deal with if you're wearing a slim or tapered pair of pants. Some break looks far less sloppy, and the shorter hem looks modern.

Having said that, with chinos, when you sit down, you should be able to see your socks, so the 30 length is probably fine for you. They're rising and flopping around when you walk because the leg opening is large. Your jeans can be a little longer. I would suggesting trying jeans and chinos with a tapered leg and maybe moving up to a 32 length in jeans.

 

[nycbsn]

Ok I see. So I should basically avoid anything like relaxed fit, just stick to slim or straight leg?

 

[mixProtocol]

Relaxed would definitely cause more bunching -- so if that's the issue you're seeing with 32's, moving to slim, tapered or maybe straight, might get you closer to what you're looking for...

 

[nycbsn]

Relaxed would definitely cause more bunching -- so if that's the issue you're seeing with 32's, moving to slim, tapered or maybe straight, might get you closer to what you're looking for...

yeah, for chinos/khakis.... In relaxed 30 inseam it will rise slightly with walking and you can see a little bit of socks when sitting... In straight 32 inseam it looks bunched/sloppy at leg opening. So perhaps I should try 30 straight.

 

[zippyh]

Try measuring the actual inseams to make sure you're comparing apples to apples.
The actual measurements are rarely equal to the marked size.

 

[mixProtocol]

For khakis, try on a few pairs of the Dockers Alpha -- it's a slim fit (but not skinny) with a low rise (the belt sits below your natural waist).