This Is Why Your Pants Don’t Fit Quite Right, According to an Expert Tailor

Shopping for a suit can feel like learning an entirely new language. You go in looking for a simple two-piece, and you wind up trying to decipher what “half-canvassed” means and wondering whether your jacket should have one vent or two. To help you navigate the ins and outs of the tailoring world, we’ll be exploring each individual aspect of a suit—from the fit to fabric to the pockets—with a little help from the most stylish experts in the sartorial space. Welcome to GQ’s Tailoring 101.

When was the last time you felt truly jazzed about putting on a pair of pants? For most people, the answer is likely never. Most everyone understands the power of a tweed blazer or a perfectly tailored suit jacket to elevate your look, but—aside from being the requisite bottom half of your suit—trousers tend to be treated like a minor character in the story of you getting dressed. There’s an easy explanation for this. Unless you have the proportions of a fit model (and if so, kudos) most pants—particularly pants of the non-stretchy variety—are not going to fit quite right. A great pair of tailored wool trousers, however, can do two important things: Make your legs look really good and get you excited about putting on your pants in the morning.

“It might be the width of the trousers, it could be the way they fall, the style in terms of pleats and side adjusters, different types of waistbands, all of that stuff makes them different from what you’ll buy off-the-rack,” explains Jake Mueser, the founder of J. Mueser Bespoke in NYC. “It’s not like a pair of jeans, where they feel uncomfortable for the first few days until you break them in and shape them to your body. When it comes to tailored trousers you have to get them right.”

Getting them right starts with the right fit, particularly in the thigh-to-waist zone. Most ready-to-wear pants carry measurements for the waist and the inseam (the distance from just below the crotch to the hem) but there are half a dozen additional measurements that determine how a pair of pants will fit. “Things get more complicated where the seat and thigh sit in conjunction with the way the rise is cut,” Mueser says. “A pair of trousers might have the right waist and the right seat and even the right thigh but if the rise is cut too low, then the fork of the pants is going to pull up and that can be quite uncomfortable.” Likewise, if the rise is too high, you might end up with bunching around the crotch and pockets, which won’t look right, either.

“A lot of guys don’t need bespoke trousers, but where you see major issues is someone who has a very athletic form, bigger thighs, a fuller seat, and a narrow waist,” Mueser adds. “This is the kind of guy who’s going to have a lot of trouble finding something off the rack and is really going to benefit from a tailored trouser.”