I was embarrassingly old before I understood the meaning of different fits in men’s jeans and pants, but after years...
The post Loose, Distressed, and Other Men’s Jean Styles You Might Not Understand appeared first on Lifehacker Australia.
I was embarrassingly old before I understood the meaning of different fits in men’s jeans and pants, but after years of trial and error, I’m here to share what I’ve learned.
Like a lot of guys, I always assumed pants were pretty straightforward. You needed precisely two pieces of data: Your waist and inseam measurements. In actuality, these are just starting points, because the fit of your pants will determine a great deal about how they hang on you, how they feel, and how they look. If you’re just embarking on this humiliating journey of discovery and you’re mystified by the difference between “skinny” and “slim,” read on to find out about all the denim types you might not understand.
While everyone is a unique snowflake and there are plenty of men who take their sartorial choices seriously, a lot of men still make a fundamental mistake: They think “loose” equals “comfortable.” Well, to be fair, it kind of does — but at the cost of any aspect of your physicality that people might find attractive. On the other hand, words like “skinny” and “slim” evoke images of discomfort. They make some men feel like they’re going to spend the day doing lunges in a vain attempt to adjust their, er, appendages.
The truth, as I have discovered far too late in my wasted existence, is that true comfort comes from clothes that actually fit, though not necessarily loosely. Sure, sweatpants might be the epitome of DGAF comfort, but the moment you actually put on a pair of jeans that fit properly is kind of like when Rick builds Morty the perfectly level platform: You will never go back.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the different kinds of fits you can choose from and what they mean. Different brands may get a little creative with the wording, but there are standard keywords that are typically reliable.
First, know that there are two categories of fit descriptors: The first describes the overall cut of the pants, and the second describes the leg openings. These are often combined in various ways, making things even more complicated.
The typical adjectives describing the overall cut of your pants are straight, skinny, slim, relaxed, and loose. Here’s what those mean:
Let’s move on to leg openings. A big contributor to how pants look on you is the cut of the leg. This is a matter of taste and preference, as well as the kinds of shoes you favour. Learn these terms:
It’s worth noting that brands sometimes try to find new and exciting ways to describe these fits, and there will be variations between the way different manufacturers interpret these terms, but the fundamentals will always hold true. The only way to figure out which fit and leg opening you prefer is to wear them, so an old-school trip to a physical store — or a binge of online ordering and returns — may be in order. Don’t assume, for instance, you’d never wear skinny jeans until you’ve actually felt what it’s like, because your clothes should make you feel good and make you look good. That’s all in the cut.
Even once you know the fit of your jeans, your work is not done. Because there are a lot of different ways that denim can be processed before you wear it, you have to consider washes and embellishments.
You can think of your denim’s “wash” as its colouring and feel, but washes are a little deeper than that. Your jeans can go through various treatments before you put them on to strut your stuff. Here’s what those are:
The other processing that affects the look and feel of your jeans is the distressing done to them:
The world of pants and jeans is a lot more complicated than you think, but putting more than two seconds of thought into what these terms mean for you will pay off big time when your pants actually fit for the first time in your life. You’re welcome.
The post Loose, Distressed, and Other Men’s Jean Styles You Might Not Understand appeared first on Lifehacker Australia.