How to avoid trousers sticking to leg

[Jazzthief]

Greetings,

I have a somewhat peculiar problem that greatly annoys me. For context information: I am a slim guy with slender legs.

I wear knee-high socks and my trousers are not that slim - a gradual taper to a leg opening of 20 cm. This could be considered a 'wide' opening for a 178 cm tall slender guy. However, whenever I sit, the trousers get stuck to my legs/socks and when I stand up I have to pull them down. This is an issue with both, lined and unlined, trousers - heavier cloths and lighter cloths, cuffs and plain bottoms.

I see most of the guys here - and for example, the guys at The Armoury - wearing high socks and trousers with 19 cm leg opening and having absolutely no trouble with trousers sticking to their legs/socks, wool socks and cotton socks. What gives? Would an even wider leg opening solve the problem? What am I missing here?

Oh, I am talking about suit trousers here, of course!

Best regards,

Jazzthief

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Greetings,

I have a somewhat peculiar problem that greatly annoys me. For context information: I am a slim guy with slender legs.

I wear knee-high socks and my trousers are not that slim - a gradual taper to a leg opening of 20 cm. This could be considered a 'wide' opening for a 178 cm tall slender guy. However, whenever I sit, the trousers get stuck to my legs/socks and when I stand up I have to pull them down. This is an issue with both, lined and unlined, trousers - heavier cloths and lighter cloths, cuffs and plain bottoms.

I see most of the guys here - and for example, the guys at The Armoury - wearing high socks and trousers with 19 cm leg opening and having absolutely no trouble with trousers sticking to their legs/socks, wool socks and cotton socks. What gives? Would an even wider leg opening solve the problem? What am I missing here?

Oh, I am talking about suit trousers here, of course!

Best regards,

Jazzthief

In no world is a 20 cm hem wide. A wider hem would definitely help. Fabric and fabric weight also make a difference. What's the circumference of you calves?

 

[R.O. Thornhill]

This is all about your calves and the taper of the trouser from knee down. A leg opening of 20cm may be totally fine when standing, but if your calves are pronounced the trouser is liable to catch when standing up.

I have relatively pronounced calves and have had to figure this one out over the years, with both English and Italian bespoke trouser makers. Generally Italian makers tend to taper the lower half of the leg too much for me; so I have learnt to always test this at the fitting stage. It can be addressed without a wide leg opening but takes some work

 

[krudsma]

Are you doing the "knee tug"? As you're sitting down, hike the legs of your trousers up slightly they're not stretching over your knees. This is something you might recognize from older movies, I seem to remember Cary Grant doing it a lot. Great way to keep the knees of your trousers from bagging, as well as keep them loose on your lower legs.

 

[Peter1]

Are you doing the "knee tug"? As you're sitting down, hike the legs of your trousers up slightly they're not stretching over your knees. This is something you might recognize from older movies, I seem to remember Cary Grant doing it a lot. Great way to keep the knees of your trousers from bagging, as well as keep them loose on your lower legs.

Yes, this is key. My father explained it to me in the exact same way. I do it habitually now, even with jeans. It also positions the seat in a more comfortable way.

 

[te0o]

Greetings,

I have a somewhat peculiar problem that greatly annoys me. For context information: I am a slim guy with slender legs.

I wear knee-high socks and my trousers are not that slim - a gradual taper to a leg opening of 20 cm. This could be considered a 'wide' opening for a 178 cm tall slender guy. However, whenever I sit, the trousers get stuck to my legs/socks and when I stand up I have to pull them down. This is an issue with both, lined and unlined, trousers - heavier cloths and lighter cloths, cuffs and plain bottoms.

I see most of the guys here - and for example, the guys at The Armoury - wearing high socks and trousers with 19 cm leg opening and having absolutely no trouble with trousers sticking to their legs/socks, wool socks and cotton socks. What gives? Would an even wider leg opening solve the problem? What am I missing here?

Oh, I am talking about suit trousers here, of course!

Best regards,

Jazzthief

I had the same issue but it gradually diminished. Finer cotton or silk socks do help to reduce abrasion but for me the biggest factor has been how wide my trousers are. You'd be surprised at how much of an impact an additional centimeter has, especially around and below the knee area.

In the end, you'll always get some degree of 'riding up'. I don't pay attention to it any more personally.

 

[Thin White Duke]

The only time this EVER happened to me is when I had some knee high socks.
Forget all the above advice - I bet you a dollar that if you wore mid calf socks this problem would magically disappear.
Of course mid calf socks are anathema to menswear enthusiasts cos someone wrote In a book somewhere some time ago that knee high socks are the only thing that gents should wear. Exposing lower leg flesh when you sit down is certainly not very flattering but the suggestion that you can ONLY remedy this by wearing socks up to your knees is ludicrous. You can thank me later!

 

[dieworkwear]

As others have already noted, this is about the size of your calves. I'm fairly slim and wear a 20cm leg opening, and generally don't have a problem with my trousers catching on my socks. However, I'm also not terribly athletic, so I assume people with a more athletic background may have larger calves.

If you get trousers made, one thing I've noticed is that you can change the silhouette if you widen the leg opening. So if you keep the same pattern but widen the leg opening, the trousers will look more like a straight leg. If you prefer a more tapered look, consider asking your tailor to widen the thigh as well. If you widen the thigh and then the leg opening, you will keep the previous tapered look.

Many high-end ready-to-wear trousers will have a bit of extra material in the leg, often 0.5" to 0.75" to let out. This inlay starts as the thigh and extends to the hem. So you can experiment with this on the trousers you already own.

 

[Jazzthief]

Thank you all for your replies!

@krudsma, yes, I always do the 'knee tug'! It is very instinctive to me, as well, but it really does nothing to solve my problem. That kind of is the issue: the trousers get stuck in that position when I stand up.

@Thin White Duke, I have suspected this to be a part of the issue, too. However, I really do not see many altearnitives as mid calf socks just do not stay up for me and sag down very quickly. How have you solved this problem?

To everyone else: thank you for your suggestions! What do you reckon is the role of the linging in this? Would lining be more of a hindrance or a benefit in helping to solve this problem? I am contemplating having a wider leg opening by a cm as the taper is not that important to me and I kind of like a wider leg silhouette - but nothing t o o extreme like in the late 1930s and 1940s!

 

[dieworkwear]

Thank you all for your replies!

@krudsma, yes, I always do the 'knee tug'! It is very instinctive to me, as well, but it really does nothing to solve my problem. That kind of is the issue: the trousers get stuck in that position when I stand up.

@Thin White Duke, I have suspected this to be a part of the issue, too. However, I really do not see many altearnitives as mid calf socks just do not stay up for me and sag down very quickly. How have you solved this problem?

To everyone else: thank you for your suggestions! What do you reckon is the role of the linging in this? Would lining be more of a hindrance or a benefit in helping to solve this problem? I am contemplating having a wider leg opening by a cm as the taper is not that important to me and I kind of like a wider leg silhouette - but nothing t o o extreme like in the late 1930s and 1940s!

Just wear Bemberg socks.

 

[R.O. Thornhill]

The whole point of tailored clothing is to have clothes made to fit your body. If your trouser leg catches on your calf they don’t fit. The problem isn’t your socks

 

[Jazzthief]

Just wear Bemberg socks.

That actually made me chuckle.

The whole point of tailored clothing is to have clothes made to fit your body. If your trouser leg catches on your calf they don’t fit. The problem isn’t your socks

Alright, a wider leg opening that will naturally leads to a wider leg as well - I will let the trouser makes know these details specifically. Thank you!

 

[Shen]

I do not necessarily agree with the idea that it is the trousers that do not fit. Being tall and slender with calves slightly unproportionally large, and I have encountered the same problem. One factor I found to be crucial is the fabric (both socks and trousers, especially in combination). Some more fuzzy/coarse textured fabrics creates more friction which will make the trousers stick to the calves (simply because the fabric of the trousers moves forward and upward when you bend the legs for sitting). OTC cotton socks are terrible in my opinion, whilst mid-calf ones are fantastic. I use mid-calf more these days, I simply fold the rib at the top of the sock down and then the sock stays up. However, I think you need to find what works for you, rather than sticking to some dogmatic belief that one way or the other is the only way. If your socks go 15 cm up your leg you will not “show any leg” when you sit down unless your trousers are too short or if you sit on the ground.

 

[Aloysius16]

I also think this isn’t entirely to do with the leg width and agree fabric is a big cause. Particularly because I typically prefer otc wool socks in winter when I am more likely to be wearing flannel or milled finish wool trousers. Whatever the leg width, there will be a continual tendency for there to be friction and for the trousers not to hand cleanly as a result.

 

[R.O. Thornhill]

I do not necessarily agree with the idea that it is the trousers that do not fit. Being tall and slender with calves slightly unproportionally large, and I have encountered the same problem. One factor I found to be crucial is the fabric (both socks and trousers, especially in combination). Some more fuzzy/coarse textured fabrics creates more friction which will make the trousers stick to the calves (simply because the fabric of the trousers moves forward and upward when you bend the legs for sitting). OTC cotton socks are terrible in my opinion, whilst mid-calf ones are fantastic. I use mid-calf more these days, I simply fold the rib at the top of the sock down and then the sock stays up. However, I think you need to find what works for you, rather than sticking to some dogmatic belief that one way or the other is the only way. If your socks go 15 cm up your leg you will not “show any leg” when you sit down unless your trousers are too short or if you sit on the ground.

Sure you can make the situation worse by combining sock and trouser fabrics that “catch”
But the OP indicated this is a constant issue for him, with all trousers. This suggests to me that the lower half of the trouser leg needs to be cut and shaped differently. Joe Morgan does wonders for me shaping the lower portion of the leg in a way which allows the cloth to move with me and never catch