What is the proper length for denim jeans? (Or your preference)

[sygyzy]

Realizing that's entirely possible to wear an instead 36 when you are a 30 and use copious amounts of bunching, folding, or rolling, what is the "correct" length? I believe LA Guy says he wears his exact inseam which means that if he's standing barefoot, the very edge of the hem should roughly tough the floor, covering his ankle. This also means that when he's wearing shoes, the hem will sit 1/2-1" above the floor due to the sole of the shoe.

In an article about denim, Mauro says that it should fall slightly above the ground. I assume he means when you are wearing shoes.

People who come to Denim Bar want their jeans to be the perfect length, so Mauro measures customers with jeans on. Sometimes he sends the men home to get the shoes they plan to wear with the jeans, or he lends the women high heels, like bridal shops do. He marks the right length, so that the jeans nearly touch the floor in back

So which is it? What do you prefer? Of course Mauro's method will result in a slightly longer inseam, maybe 1.0 to 1.5 inches. Let's assume for the sake or argument that we are not going for the gangster/hood look.

 

[DNW]

I like when my jeans just barely touches the floor when I'm standing barefoot. I'm not a big fan of the jeans covering the entire shoe, or bunching approach.

 

[Jetta]

I have always done it the same way as LA Guy. I can see the other method looking good, but only if you always wear the same shoes and I rarely wear the same pair.

 

[sygyzy]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

I like when my jeans just barely touches the floor when I'm standing barefoot. I'm not a big fan of the jeans covering the entire shoe, or bunching approach.

Do you feel like it's too short when you are sitting in a chair or crossing your legs (ankle up to thigh)?

 

[sonick]

With bootcut, I go by the barely-touching-floor-barefoot.

If its straight leg, I don't mind it bunching up a bit on top of the shoe, as long as the leg opening is not too big that my heels step on the jeans.

 

[HEWSINATOR]

For me, as noted above, it is entirely dependant upon the cut of jean.

 

[cultpop 0217]

Originally Posted by sonick

With bootcut, I go by the barely-touching-floor-barefoot.

If its straight leg, I don't mind it bunching up a bit on top of the shoe, as long as the leg opening is not too big that my heels step on the jeans.

yeah bootcut jeans need to be just right. with skinny/tapered jeans a little bunching looks alright.

 

[Luc-Emmanuel]

I wear a 32, for roughly a 31 inseam. Sometime I pull out a 34 with boots and a lot of bunching. I always cuff my jeans too.

!luc

 

[sygyzy]

Originally Posted by cultpop 0217

yeah bootcut jeans need to be just right. with skinny/tapered jeans a little bunching looks alright.

How much is a little bunching for you? How many inches past your true inseam?

 

[headtowall]

I like some bunching at the bottom around my shoes. With shoes on, I like them to be about an inch to 1.5 inches or so from the ground in the back.

 

[cheapmutha]

check the what are you wearing thread for how i like my jeans. long and bunched at the bottom.

 

[Sator Sartoris]

Do you hem the jeans right when you get them? On dry denim won't it shrink a little?

 

[sygyzy]

Originally Posted by Sator Sartoris

Do you hem the jeans right when you get them? On dry denim won't it shrink a little?

Yes dry will shrink. My Levi's 501XX Shrink To Fits shrunk about 2-3 inches which is exactly what the directions predicted.

What's funny about shrinking is you have people talking about it then they also talk about stretching. I think I am more confused about fit than before I joined StyleForum. Oh yeah, get such and such jeans a size smaller. Then you "stretch' them out as you wear it and then wash it and it'll shrink right up. And lay in a tub of water too.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by sygyzy

Yes dry will shrink. My Levi's 501XX Shrink To Fits shrunk about 2-3 inches which is exactly what the directions predicted. What's funny about shrinking is you have people talking about it then they also talk about stretching. I think I am more confused about fit than before I joined StyleForum. Oh yeah, get such and such jeans a size smaller. Then you "stretch' them out as you wear it and then wash it and it'll shrink right up. And lay in a tub of water too.
Maybe part of what's confusing you is whether the jeans are sanforized or not? STF are not sanforized, thus they shrink up tremendously. Once they shrink, the waist willll then stretch out some as you wear them continuously. Washing them will shrink the waist back down to more or less where it was after the first wash. A lot of the other dry jeans--most of them, probably--that get mentioned here are sanforized, which means that, while there is usually a little shrinking after washing, it's mostly just an inch or less in the length, and nothing notable in the waist/etc. However, as usual, if you wear your jeans for a long time without washing, any areas that are stressed (like the waist, the thighs on tight jeans, the knees, etc) will stretch out. And when washed, they'll return to more or less where they were before they started stretching. And then when you wear them for a while, they'll stretch right back out again....

 

[Goblin]

I wear straight legs cuffed twice so the bottom of the cuff just touches the top of my sneakers. Not quite "my feet are soaked, but my cuffs are bone dry!"

I don't cuff my one pair of bootcuts, and the back hem just touches the ground when I'm wearing sneakers. I don't think bootcuts look quite right cuffed, and I can't be arsed to get them hemmed.