I was told to get my trousers hemmed so that they broke on my shoe. What exactly does that mean, and how do I get it done?
Community Answers
282
4-17-12
Geoffrey says:
The “break” is the way that the trousers rest on the shoe. A good default break is to have the front of the trouser cuff rest very lightly on the shoe’s uppers, just enough so that the trouser isn’t dangling loose at the bottom but not so much that there’s any piling-up of spare fabric.
Fashion will change this somewhat, and you’ll see more or less dramatic breaks, but I’d usually advise men to at least have the hem of the trousers touching the top of the shoe. Anything further up the ankle than that is getting dangerously close to highwater territory.
A good tailor can get a little fancy and cut the trousers so that the back of the hem falls a little lower than the front — that way the front can have a nice clean break while the back is giving you enough cloth to keep the sock hidden even when you move around.
The “break” is the way that the trousers rest on the shoe. A good default break is to have the front of the trouser cuff rest very lightly on the shoe’s uppers, just enough so that the trouser isn’t dangling loose at the bottom but not so much that there’s any piling-up of spare fabric.
Fashion will change this somewhat, and you’ll see more or less dramatic breaks, but I’d usually advise men to at least have the hem of the trousers touching the top of the shoe. Anything further up the ankle than that is getting dangerously close to highwater territory.
A good tailor can get a little fancy and cut the trousers so that the back of the hem falls a little lower than the front — that way the front can have a nice clean break while the back is giving you enough cloth to keep the sock hidden even when you move around.
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