Linen shirts and chino pants are 2 Men’s Summer Essentials that are also great if you live in a tropical, warm climate year-round. I more-than-briefly discussed them in my Summer Essentials Ebook, but since I’m about to leave on a tropical getaway (follow me on Instagram for all the fun), Dorian and I stopped by one of my favorite budget-friendly stores to show you what to get and why.
Their linen shirts are super breathable, well-constructed, have a good, slim fit without being too slim, and they’re budget-friendly. What’s not to love? Be sure they fit according to these fit rules, though.
The chinos have a fantastic slim fit (one of the best I’ve seen, actually) and I love that Uniqlo will hem them for free right after purchasing them in-store. There’s no other budget-friendly brand, that I know of, who does this. Be sure your chino pants are fitting properly before buying, though!
Lots of readers/viewers have been asking me to do an article and video about how to roll or cuff men’s pants, so I’m finally doing it! The article is great and all, but the act of rolling your pants is not something easily shown in still images, so do yourself a favor and watch the video below for the fully experience.
With the exception of jeans and boots, you should only be rolling your pants in the spring and summer, unless you’re in a climate where it’s warm all year-round. This is very much a warm weather flair to add to your dark wash jeans, chinos or khakis or even wool pants and trousers. But it is a little odd to wear during the colder, winter months.
How To Quickly Measure Cuff Width
Before we begin, let me show you a quick and dirty way to figure out the proper width of your cuff by using your finger joints. The each joint of your index finger is roughly an inch long.
So if you need the cuff width to be about 2″ wide, the top of the cuff would hit right around the second or middle joint, like in the picture below:
The Simple Cuff
This cuff works especially well with slim fit jeans. I like to use this cuff when I’m going for a cleaner, sleeker look with a client. I’d caution against using it with chinos or other pants, as the fabric can be a little floppy around the ankles.
You also want to avoid using this cuff if you’re wearing straight fit jeans because your ankles will be swimming in a bunch of fabric. Use the pinroll cuff in the next section, instead.
Before you start cuffing, you should already have your jeans and shoes on. Otherwise, it’s harder to tell what the finished product looks like and if you’re showing the right amount of ankle. Hopefully you’ve already seen my men’s jeans fit guide so you know that your slim fit jeans should have a slight break at the hem. This cuff won’t look right with any other type of pant break.
How to Cuff
Low Top Shoes
If you’re wearing low top shoes, roll up your jeans’ cuff once. The cuff width should be between 1.5” to 2”. If you’re on the shorter side, get the cuff as close to 1.5″ as possible. If you’re on the taller side, go for 2″. This will maintain the proper promotions for your body type.
Make sure that the roll is the same width or thickness on the front and back of the pants before you do the second roll. After finishing the second roll, the bottom of the cuff should just hit the top of your outer or inner ankle bone, like in the image below:
Boots or High Top Shoes
It’s the same as low tops: do at least 2 rolls and make sure to maintain the 1.5″ to 2″ cuff width, depending on your height.
The bottom of the cuff should either lightly graze the top of the shoe or boot or go a little bit past the top of the boot or high top. The image below, has the pants rolled up 3 times on the left and 2 times on the right. Both are equally acceptable lengths. I prefer 2 rolls, as 3 makes it look a little too military for my tastes, but 3 is just fine if that’s what you prefer.
The Pinroll Cuff
This cuff is great for any cut of jeans, as well as chinos. I like this roll because it eliminates the issue of your pants swimming around your ankles when they’re cuffed.
Again, start with your pants and shoes already on. Check my men’s jeans fit guide and chino pant fit guide for details about the type of break your pants should have before cuffing. If your pants aren’t fitting properly or they’re too long at the hem, the roll will look big and chunky around your ankle, which you don’t want.
How to Cuff
Low Top & High Top Shoes and Boots
To start, pinch the fabric on the inside of your ankle so it feels slightly snug against your leg or ankle.
Now fold the fabric over towards your heel. The reason why we do this is because it hides the fold better than if you folded the fabric towards the front.
With your thumb still holding the fold against your ankle, start rolling the cuff up with both hands. Make sure the roll is between 1 to 2 inches wide. If you’re on the shorter side, keep it around 1″ and go closer to 2″ wide if you’re taller. This will maintain the proper proportions for your stature.
Now roll up the cuff a second time. You want to roll at least twice to make sure that excess fabric that we folded over won’t come undone. It won’t stay with just one roll.
if you’re wearing low tops, you want the bottom of the cuff to hit around 1.5 to 2” above your outer ankle bone, like the image below. If you need to roll 3 times to get there, do that.
The only exception to the 3 roll maximum is if you’re wearing boots or high tops. Then you need the cuff to just cover the top of your boot or lightly graze the top of your high tops when standing up. The image below has the cuffs rolled twice.
Chino & Khaki pants, you know them, you love them, as do I. Now let’s get into how they should fit, regardless of your age or body type.
To see my Chino & Khaki Pants rules that most guys break, see here.
Waist and Seat
Like all your pants, they should fit perfectly around your waist with no need for a belt to hold them up. For chinos, the waist will sit lower than suit pants, but should hit exactly where the waist of your jeans should be – right in between the upper and mid hip-bone area. The image below shows jeans hitting perfectly in the mid-hip bone area. Anything below that will look terrible and sloppy.
The butt area, AKA the seat, should lightly hug your butt and not be saggy or very tight. If it feels like you’ll split your pants when you sit or bend down, they’re too tight. If it looks like you’re carrying a full load, you should probably try a different fit or brand. if that doesn’t work, you may also be able to go down a size and see if that fixes the issue. And if that doesn’t work, you can get need get the upper thighs taken in by a tailor to compensate for the extra room in the seat. Just a warning, though, this will cost so much that you can likely get a new pair of chino pants for the same price. RealMenRealStyle has the perfect illustration of how the seat of your chino pants should fit:
Legs
Thighs
They shouldn’t fit too tight, but lie comfortably close without feeling like it’s pulling at the knees when you walk or bend down. Unlike jeans, you want a little more room in the thighs. You should be able to pinch a minimum of 1 inch of fabric, but no more than 1.5 inches on either side of your thigh. If you can pinch more than that, try a different style or brand or, if possible, go down a size. As a last resort, you can get a tailor to slim the legs to this size, but just like taking in the seat of your chinos, it’ll probably cost more than buying a whole new pair of pants.
How long should chinos or khakis be?
A lot of (older) guys think their chinos should fit like long drapes on their legs. Unlike jeans, wool pants and trousers and suit pants, you want your chino pants to be hemmed to leave a slight or no break. Also, unlike your wool trousers, you want them to be hemmed straight across instead of slightly longer in the back.
If you’re thinking about going sock-less with your chinos, then go with a slight break. This enables you to switch it up – if you want a no-break or cropped look, you can just roll them up and unroll them when you don’t want that any longer. It gives you a little more flexibility and versatility.
The gentleman in the right image, wearing sand colored chinos, has no break/cropped pants. The fella on the left is wearing his chinos with a slight break.
Slight Break
No Break/Cropped
The Best Chino & Khaki Pants For Men
See my Men’s Wardrobe Essentials: Chino Pants article and video for my favorite pairs of chinos & khaki pants you should own, regardless of your age or body type.
Jeans, Denim, Blue Jeans, whatever you call them – the bottom line is that they’re a staple in every man’s wardrobe. But that doesn’t mean most guys know how to choose the right pair.
Every single man, no matter their size, age or body type should have a few pairs of dark washed jeans in their closet. They work for nearly all occasions outside of a formal setting and look good with virtually everything- especially my list of men’s wardrobe essentials. They’ll never steer you wrong and are likely the pants you’ll wear a majority of the time.
The 5 Aspects Of Jeans
1. Wash or Rinse
This dictates how light or dark the jeans are as well as how they’re treated. Light wash = lighter colored. Dark wash = dark.
My preferred wash is dark blue, sometimes called indigo, depending on the brand.
Because of the title of this article, you know I’m recommending that you own dark wash jeans. The reason is because this wash looks great on everybody, hides skinny or thicker legs better than any other color and can be dressed in a casual or less-casual way. I love them so much that I put them on every single one of my clients.
2. Style
This is also called the “cut” and sometimes also called the “fit” of the jeans. Depending on your body type, you should be wearing a certain style. We’ll get into that in a minute, but the most common styles are (in order of slimness):
Skinny
Slim
Straight
Boot Cut
Relaxed
3. Size
The waist and inseam (leg length) measurements of the jeans. Ex: 32×32 (inches).
If you’ve seen my Fit Guide, you know appropriate jeans sizing, but here’s a quick refersher:
They should fit your waist without needing a belt. They can even be slightly tight, as denim will loosen as you wear them.
The inseam (length) should leave a slight or full break where they meet your shoes. Anything shorter will look odd and anything longer will bunch at your ankles and throw off your proportions.
4. Denim Type Or Fabric Blend
Denim material can be blended with a variety of other fabrics. Some jeans may have two to three percent spandex and others might have polyester blended into them.
A quick thought if you go with spandex blends:
Spandex blends, while a little more comfortable and forgiving in the thighs, tend to stretch out and not retain their shape as well as 100% cotton blends. I’ve definitely seen some “poopy pants” as a result of this.
It’ll depend on what you prefer, I can go either way on this – some of my recc’s below are blends, some are 100% cotton.
5. Fit
I get asked all the time “How should men’s jeans fit?”
Here’s the the trifecta of how your jeans should fit, regardless of age or body type:
You should be able to pinch a minimum of 1 inch of fabric, but no more than 1.5 inches on either side of the thigh.
They should fit your waist without a belt.
They shouldn’t be too short or too long – having a slight or full break.
A quick note about your height: It doesn’t matter. My clients range in size from 5ft 3in to almost 7ft and I’ve never put them in different jeans because of their height. These are the best jeans for short men, tall men, medium-sized men and so on. The only thing that matters is your build: slim/regular or larger.
Slim or Regular Build
You’ll want to get a “Slim” fit. Slim-fit jeans tend to slightly hug the thighs, knees, and calves while tapering down from your knee to ankle.
A lot of my slim & regular built clients initially believe this style will make them look too skinny. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s just that they’re used to wearing super baggier clothes to try and hide their slimness, which, coincidentally, just makes them look slimmer. A proper fitting pair of jeans just looks right, regardless of your build, and doesn’t make you look one way or another – I promise.
Things to avoid:
Don’t make the mistake of thinking “Skinny” fit is the same as “Slim” fit. “Skinny” fit jeans are usually skin-tight and not appropriate.
Avoid “Straight Fit” jeans. Like the name implies, the leg of the pants are looser and will be cut straight down from the knee to ankle. This cut will look terrible on you.
If you can pinch more than an 1.5 inches of denim on either side of your thighs, you need to move down to a slimmer cut or get the legs taken in. If you can avoid it, don’t rush to the tailor. Try a size down first or another brand. This is costly for a tailor to do. Having too much fabric on your thighs will make you look smaller, shorter or wider than you are.
Designer
I’ve personally worked with and touched each pair of these jeans (in all sections) and they’re awesome. The fit is very accurate, the pocket placement and stitching is great. Diesel runs a little larger in the waist, so go down a size (ex: if you’re a 34 waist, get a 32).
I love these because the quality in relation to the price is very good and you can never go wrong with a classic like Levi’s and I love Uniqlo’s wash and they also offer free hemming!
The classic “Straight-Leg” fit is perfect for you. No matter a man’s build, but especially in your case, it’s all about balancing your body’s proportions to make sure your bottom half complements your upper half.
There are a few great brands out there that offer straight-legged jeans with a slightly roomier thigh area which will hopefully solve your frustrations with finding jeans that fit properly.
Things to watch out for:
Avoid any cut of jean (all pants in general, for your build) with a taper in the legs. A taper will make you look really top heavy.
If you can pinch more than an 1.5 inches of denim on either side of your thighs, you need to move down a size, go to a slimmer cut, try a different brand, or get the legs taken in by a tailor. Don’t get the legs taken in if you can help it, it’s costly for a tailor to do. Having too much fabric on your thighs will make you look wider than you are and completely throw off your proportions.
Designer
The wash, quality and fit of these are great and I use them all the time for my larger clients because it makes them look really sharp.
Just like I said for the slim to regular built options in this category: I love these because the quality in relation to the price is very good and you can never go wrong with a classic like Levi’s and Uniqlo’s wash is great and they offer free hemming!
In this article, I want to talk about and show you how should a suit fit if you’re going for the perfect fit. These fit rules are for every single guy, no matter your age or body type. A lot of my older clients say, “I don’t want to look like an older guy trying to look young and hip in a suit.” and my younger clients say, “I don’t want to look like some old stuffy guy in a suit.” I always reassure them that I’d never fit them to look younger or older than they are.
Well here’s my dirtly little secret – no matter their age or body shape – I fit their suits exactly the same. A well-fitting suit looks good on everybody. Can you guess how many times they’ve complained after we got them fitted in a suit?
0 times.
The below items are everything I look at and adjust to ensure my clients look razor sharp in suits.
Note: The model used for these shots is around 6 feet tall. Just so you have some frame of reference.
How should a suit jacket fit?
Length
The suit jacket length will dictate how “balanced” your upper body is to your lower body. Mess up the length of the jacket and the whole suit will look off. The jacket should end around mid-crotch if you’re under 5’9”. Mid to lower if you’re any taller than that.
The model’s jacket below is perfectly in the “mid-to-lower crotch” area. A tailor can shorten your jacket up to an inch without messing up it’s proportions, but they can never really let much out because there’s no fabric there. Overall, you generally want this part to already be perfect when you’re buying a suit, even off the rack.
Shoulders
You want the shoulder seams of the jacket to end at the end of your shoulders – where they start curving down to your arm, basically. You should see no divots or wrinkles in the shoulders anywhere. The shoulders should lay perfectly flat, with no divots or rumpling or pulling on the shoulders. If you have more rounded shoulders, the seam should still end in the same place, you would just need a little more padding in the shoulders to make them appear less rounded. If the shoulders are too big or small, a tailor will have a very hard time fixing this, and it would be very expensive – if it was even possible. So ensure these fit properly when buying a suit from anywhere, as well.
RealMenRealStyle has this awesome graphic showing the proper shoulder fit.
Sleeves
When you bend your wrist so your palms are facing the ground, the jacket sleeves should be about ¼” above the top of your hand. A lot of people recommend that it hits the top of your hand, but that’s BS – then none of your shirt sleeves will be showing, like in the picture below. This length allows for a little bit (¼”) of your shirt sleeve to peek through. If your sleeves are longer, a tailor can easily fix that. If they’re shorter by more than an 1.5″, ditch the jacket because there’s probably not enough fabric in the sleeves for your tailor to let out.
Body
With the top button fastened (never the bottom button), the jacket should lightly hug your midsection, but not feel tight or constricting. The jacket shouldn’t be pulling at the button, creating an ugly “X”. The X mean’s it’s too tight. If it’s roomy around your stomach/waist area, you can (and should!) have a tailor take in the sides of the jacket so it fits properly. This is a very easy and common fix for a tailor to do. Remember: For tailoring purposes, it’s better to have a jacket that’s slightly too big in the body than too small.
For details about the items in this exact outfit, see here.
Collar
The collar should rest against your shirt collar, which in turn should rest against the back of your neck. All of these should touch lightly, without significant gaps in between. If there’s a gap, it’s too loose. If there’s bunching just under the back of the jacket collar, it’s too tight or the stance of the jacket is off.
Armholes
They should be high, but not so high that they’re cutting into your armpit. The picture below shows where the armholes should be on your jacket. Notice it’s not cutting into his armpit? They should be large enough that you don’t notice them, but not so big that you have a few extra inches between your armpit and the bottom of the hole. The arms should be able to move somewhat independently of the jacket’s body during normal motion, but not excessively.
While I’m speaking about suits and motion, a lot of guys who are new to wearing suits usually complain that they should be able to move their arms more while wearing a suit. Let me tell you that a suit is not activewear, so don’t think you should be able to do everything you normally do while wearing a suit. It’s just not built for that purpose.
Button Stance
The jacket’s second button from the bottom (aka the top button) should lie just above your belly-button, never below. My rule of thumb is no more than an inch above and never, ever below. Otherwise it’ll throw off your body’s proportions and you’ll look really odd in the suit.
How should suit pants fit?
Waist and Seat
Suit pants should fit perfectly around your waist with no need for a belt to hold them up. They should hit around the high hipbone area, or even slightly higher. You do not wear suit pants at the same waist as jeans – which are usually designed to sit lower. Saggy dress pants is a big no no.
The seat, or butt area, should lightly hug your tokhis (Yiddish for butt – I just love the word) and not be saggy or super tight. If it feels like you’re going to split your pants, they’re way too tight. If you’ve got a bunch of extra fabric around the butt, they’re much too loose. A tailor can fix this, it won’t be easy or cheap, but if everything else on the pants fits, definitely get it done.
RealMenRealStyle has the perfect illustration of how the seat of your pants should fit
Legs
You want to be able to pinch around 1 inch of fabric on either side of your thigh. If it’s less than that, your pants are too tight. If it’s more, have your tailor slim the legs with a slight taper so that it gets narrower towards the ankle. This will look great on every body type/size.
Hem & Cuff
Always default to having your suit pants hemmed to leave a slight break. It looks more polished and sharper than a full break and no break at the hem is a time & place kind of thing, and not generally for everyday wear. A slight break works for everyone.
If you’re not familiar with the different type of pant breaks, PrimerMag has some great images to help you understand:
A trick I do with all my clients is to have the tailor hem the pants so that it’s slightly longer at the back of the hem. That way, when you’re walking, you’ll show less sock and when standing still, it’ll lay nicer on the top and back of your shoe.
There are very few times, I’d argue almost never, when you’d cuff your suit pants. I’ve never cuffed suit pants for a single client because it’s not necessary, no matter their body type.
My Suit Recommendations
Check out my post about the Gray 2 Button Notch Lapel Suit for my favorite suits that’ll fit any budget and look amazing on every body type.
I love the bomber jacket, t-shirt, and chinos look and every so often get a chance to do this with my clients. The sleeve length of the jacket is spot on – hitting at the bend of the wrist. I love the simplicity of the brown, black, and white color palette.
My Critique
Pants are a little too big in the thigh and crotch area. It seems as though they’ve probably been worn-in, hence the bagginess due to stretching. In addition, a super knitpicky thing that always bothers me is floppy, long shoelaces.
How Chinos Should Fit
They should fit normally around your waist with no need for a belt to hold it up.
The seat, which is the butt area, should lightly hug your butt and not be saggy or very tight.
They should be worn at normal length or possibly shorter, but never, ever longer.
How To Fix
Shoelaces – tuck them into your shoes or if you prefer to have them out buy a shorter pair of shoelaces. Shoelaces should be between 40-45” long for most low top sneakers. As for the chinos, my solution is:
Throw them in the washer or wet the area if you don’t want to wash them, and then put in the dryer. This should shrink them just enough.
If these are new, and not stretched out, then you probably should look for slimmer pants or get the thighs taken in by your tailor.
They’re tough to keep clean, but white chinos are a great warm-weather outfit and easy to pair with items in your closet. Wear with a tank or t-shirt, chambray button-up shirt, or with a sport coat.
Also, this is one of the few times I’m going to get behind sandals. I love these white chinos with dark brown leather sandals, particularly the ones by AllSaints (see below). If there’s such a thing as “non casual” sandals, these are it.
