Salt Water New England: The Thing Before Preppy<\/a>, where she publishes everything from clam chowder reviews to LL Bean tote styling tips. She says turn-ups, for all of their Ivy League, American east-coast associations, \u201chave British origins. Reportedly King Edward VII rolled up his trousers at Ascot, thus ensuring their immortality.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cAs with everything preppy, cuffs are returned to because they are perfect,\u201d says Aldrich. \u201c\u00c0 la Delft tiles, old Land Rovers, or a Latin quote, they just work,\u201d she says. \u201cThe right cuffs always look right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like the French tuck or the popped collar, the trouser turn-up might be a small detail, but it\u2019s mighty. Their power, according to Aldrich, lies in the fact that they \u201callow a garment to be both crisp and ready for horsing around. They are functional, with the weight of the cuffs helping trousers look straight and presentable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClassic preps,\u201d she says, love them so much that \u201cthey wear them even when it makes no sense, like on boats, despite [them] getting caught on cleats. Or in the field, despite [them] getting filled up with pine needles.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there can be effort behind their apparent ease. According to the Guardian\u2019s styling editor, Melanie Wilkinson, \u201cin theory they seem like a very simple update\u201d. But, \u201cin practice, success hinges on lots of factors\u201d. Take, for example, if your jeans are too wide: \u201cthe turn-up will flap about and fall down\u201d. The \u201cideal shape is a close-fitting straight leg, or a slightly tapered leg\u201d. A single turn-up \u201ccan look unfinished, but on the other hand a double turn-up can look bulky \u2026 so they need to be long enough to handle the double roll-over.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re turning up a jean, the quality of denim also makes a difference. \u201cStiff selvedge is ideal as it\u2019s denser,\u201d says Melanie \u2013 \u201cit really holds the shape. High-street styles which have elastane mixed in and aren\u2019t woven so tightly make the turn-up harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
On a roll \u2026 Harry Styles performs at this year\u2019s Brit awards. Photograph: Karwai Tang\/WireImage<\/p>\n
Somsack Sikhounmuong, creative director of Alex Mill, who turns up his painter pants, jeans, and chinos, suggests \u201cabout a one-inch\u201d cuff, which is usually the height of a turn-back hem on most pants. Aldrich believes that \u201cwhile many say that a cuff should be between 1.5 and 1.75 inches \u2026 1.5 is closer to perfect\u201d.<\/p>\n
So why is this particular styling trick tickling our ankles? According to Sikhounmuong: \u201cEverything in fashion is connected \u2013 over-the-knee boots trend when skirts shorten, loud colours reemerge after seasons of \u2018quiet luxury\u2019, and cuffed hems are no different. After seasons of noteworthy footwear (beading, fun colours), it makes sense to roll up your pants and show off those shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Aldrich, the question is why do they ever go out of style? \u201cFor clothing companies, they represent extra cloth,\u201d she says, \u201cso they are removed to cut costs.\u201d But also, when \u201csome clothing companies turn them into fashion they make them flashy,\u201d something that is, she says, \u201can antithetical concept to the prep ethos\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cDesigners make cuffs too big, and as with shoulders on jackets or fins on cars, by making them trendy, they assure their obsolescence one or two seasons hence.\u201d But, she says, \u201cthe right size turn-up cuff represents an insulation from trendiness. Since getting cuffs done the right size represents a bit of an effort these days, they give a distinctive look. And better yet, they do it without most people being able to pinpoint why.\u201d<\/p>\n
To read the complete version of this newsletter \u2013 complete with this week\u2019s trending topics in The Measure and your wardrobe dilemmas solved \u2013 subscribe to receive Fashion Statement<\/a> in your inbox every Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trousers \u2013 they\u2019re not rocket science. But there are plenty of ways to mess them up, or to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-339347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}