Comments on Anatomy: The Men's Fashion and Lifestyle Blog. Home of Anatomy Magazine: Swank Guides: Men's Denim for Dummies

Hey mark,As far as length is concerned, it shouldn...

2008-07-14T00:22:14.250-04:00

Hey mark,

As far as length is concerned, it shouldn't really be an issue. Typically skinny jeans should bunch pretty nicely around the calf and ankle. At least based on what I have seen. Also, given that the leg opening is fairly narrow, you can flap the tongues of your sneakers over your jeans (It is what I do with my straight leg denims). However with skinnies, they will just about always rest perfectly around the top of your shoes. So if your denim being too long is typically a factor with you, don't worry about it. The pants will bunch perfectly. I have a friend that lives in my dorm who is about 5'5,has like a 29 waist, wears skinny jeans and his pants bunch perfectly at the ankle. So if pants being too long is an issue typically, you most likely won't have to worry about it with skinnies. By clean look, I am assuming that you mean wearing jeans with nicely fitted blazer? If that is the case, you can still achieve this look with a nice bunch at the bottom.

HOWEVER, if you are trying to get a look without bunching, I am pretty sure that the APC jeans from size 28-31 waist are about 30-32 in length whereas sizes 32-36 waist range from about 34-36 in length. So depeding on your height, these pants may be just right for you. However, if they are not, most people get their pants hemmed if they are trying to achieve a certain look. When you do this, many people say that it is best to wash your jeans one time before they get hemmed so that there is some shrinking in the leg length and so that it doesn't look like you are heading to a flood when you put your newly hemmed pants on.With APCs, I would say wear them for about two weeks so that they stretch in the right places (because APCs stretch a lot), and then get them hemmed if you still want to. The way you will know that your APCs are stretched out at a good point is when the size you pick is true to your regular denim size.

****Also, since you are interested in APCs, I wasn't sure if you know that APC jeans are vanity sized. This means that you must pick one to three sizes down from your regular size in order to get a size that will fit right depending on tightness. most people pick two sizes down from their regular size. That is because APCs stretch like hell at the waist of all places. They will start off kinda tight (which might effect the fit of the jeans in the beginning) but they will stretch out in the right places after about two weeks of wearing.

I hope this helps.
-Cliff

Thanks for the advice! I think for my first pair, ...

2008-07-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the advice! I think for my first pair, I will physically go to a store and find a nice dark-blue wash as I’m wary of purchasing clothes online. However, I really like what A.P.C. has and they definitely offer bargain prices for premium jeans and I think I’ll buy a pair of jeans from them, especially since my birthday is around the corner! And as for brown jeans, I almost exclusively wear them with earthy colors, so I think I'll go try on a few pairs with other clothes that will match to see how it looks.

My waist is 30” and I don’t have a strenuous thigh workout routine, so tightness around the thighs shouldn’t be an issue. I tend to wear a lot of vintage (I shop at Buffalo Exchange a lot) and I definitely have the physique, so skinny jeans should definitely complement my style and body. I've been skeptical from what I've seen, but now I think that I'm convinced and ready to make the leap.

However, I have one last question: what about length? I often see people either tuck their jeans into the tongues of their shoes or simply fold them (assumingly because they're too long), so should I be too concerned about length? I prefer a clean look, which I doubt folded or tucked jeans would achieve. Given that, what do you recommend?

Hey mark,First off, thanks for reading. Okay, now ...

2008-07-12T20:33:49.588-04:00

Hey mark,

First off, thanks for reading. Okay, now onward to your questions.

#1 when it comes to jeans it seems as if you are making pretty decent picks in the color and wash department with your straight leg jeans. Ever since I bought my first pair of regular fit jeans, I have been a huge fan of the straight leg look and always pick in dark washes kind of like you because I find them to be the most fashionable and attractive in general. It was until I saw my good friend malcolm wear his levi skinny jeans that my horizons were broadened about the look in general. Beforehand, I had stumbled across a lot of generally unattractive looking fits for the skinny jean because I was unfortunate enough to come across a whole lot of poorly dressed kids wearing ultra tight denims in bright and grotesque colors. The reason why my friend Malcolm was able to sway me was because he had selvedge denim that was incredible in detailing and was such a dark hue of blue that it was almost black. So in a nutshell, YES, you can certainly wear your look with the colors you are taking into consideration. However, I would personally suggest that when you go out to shop that your first purchase should be a pair of blue dark wash jeans because they will be the most versatile pair in your closet (Depending on your budget, I suggest you check out the A.P.C. website because I think that they have some of the best denim available as well as some of the best prices available considering the quality). For other colors that you like to wear, such as gray and black certainly go for it. Plenty of people wear it out on the streets and I think it is an attractive look so long as the rest of your outfit is looking alright. As far as brown, it is a much less common color from what I have seen, but I suggest you experiment with it if you have some wiggle room in your budget. Hey, just because everybody else isn't doing it doesn't always mean you shouldn't be trying it.

#2 I have seen it as well. Most of these guys out here are either in the midst of a crisis, completely ignorant of how they look, possibly gay (not that there is anything wrong with it), or have tricked themselves into looking cool. Personally, I think it doesn't matter which category these fella's fall under, they look awful. In order to avoid this look at all costs, here is what I recommend: Make sure that your jeans are not unisex. And if they are, be sure to try them on. Brands such as Cheap Monday design their skinny jeans to accommodate men and women, naturally as you would suspect, men look like they have had highlighter painted on their skin, and well... women look pretty hot (if you like chicks with blindingly bright neon pink pants). However, the unisex rule isn't an end all be all. I suggest if you are shopping in a department store, check em out. Try em on behind closed doors. However, if you know your dimensions and are ordering online, stay away from these! Also, depending on how the jeans fit on the model can tell you how the denim is SUPPOSED to fit. this doesn't always mean that it will fit this way. If you are interested in wearing skinnies, I'm assuming that you have pretty small thighs like myself. If this is the case, then you can expect the jeans to fit very similar to how they seem in the picture. They may need a tad bit of stretching out, but don't fret. This is normal with all denim. If you're thighs are somewhat large, and you STILL wanna wear skinnies, they are gonna fit tight regardless.

Another option is to look for jeans that aren't 100% skinny but are a slim cut denim as well. They wont be super snug on your thighs, calves and other regions, but it will certainly be a much more tapered cut which I think you are looking for.

I would say though, when you shop for skinny jeans, be sure to do it in the store so you know what you like and avoid what you hate. Skinny denim can be a bit snug around the waist, but looser around the thighs and calves, it can also be snug around the calves and loose around the thighs and waist. Don't worry about there being a little bit of tightness in your jeans, its what you have signed up for. However, a telltale sign that you need to keep looking is if it is hugging your thighs, calves, inner thigh, waist, ass, and crotch like a chick's jeans. And also if you don't feel comfortable wearing the denim either. But remember what I said earlier, just because the denim is tighter in places where you don't feel all that great doesn't always mean the denim wont loosen up. It will. You can expect it to shift the most in your thighs, butt and waist region. It will loosen the least amount around your calves. So based on the dimensions you are looking for I would suggest that you look for denim that is looser in the calf area.

Hope this helps mark,
-Cliff

Well-organized and easily digestible guide. Well d...

2008-07-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

Well-organized and easily digestible guide. Well done. I have a few questions regarding skinny jeans though.

I'm debating whether to make the switch from regular fit (straight) to skinny, but I'm unsure of the how the wash would look with colors that I usually go with and the greater tightness of skinny jeans. I usually go with unusual (black, grey, brown), but always dark washes (I think light washes are unfashionable), but I'm not sure how well that will work with skinny jeans. Any suggestions?

Also, I've seen guys destroy the skinny jean look by wearing jeans that are much too tight, which creates a look too similar to women's styles. I think the tightness in the photo provided is perfect: a little loose around the hips/thighs, slimmer towards the knee, and with some leg room below the knee. Any tips?