How Pants Should Fit: Waist Width
Whether you are buying casual pants or a formal one for your everyday office use, one thing which determines the overall comfort and wearability is its fitting from the waist. Get too loose pants and your entire day will be spent on lifting it to your waistline. Likewise, tight pants will bite into your skin, preventing you from doing your daily chores with maximum efficiency.
Thus, you need to make sure that you are investing in a pair of pants which sit comfortably around your natural waistline - without being too clenching or sloppy. The telltale indication of well-fitting pants is that
- It doesn't require any belt to stay in place.
- You can easily slip two to three fingers in the waistband while wearing it - one finger if you're wearing custom trousers
- Your shirt doesn't fall out of it and stays tucked in.
- It drapes cleanly against your body without pulling the fabric from the seat, rise, or crotch area. If there are tension lines, it means the waist width is inappropriate.
One thing that's pertinent to mention here is that casual pants, like jeans, are designed to sit low, with a sagging effect. On the other hand, formal pants sit high on the lower body while being slightly more body-hugging. That's the reason why men who don't wear formal pants too often feel a bit uncomfortable.
How to measure your waist width?
To measure your waist width, you need to follow a few simple steps as mentioned below;
- Stand straight in your natural posture with your feet slightly apart. Do not flex your muscles or hold your belly in. Also, it's best to stand with the thinnest or no clothes to avoid unnecessary bulk.
- Place the measuring tape around your natural waistline or the point where you wear your pants. It's generally the spot right above your belly button or the narrowest part of your torso.
- Make sure the measuring tape is not too tight or loose around the waist but sits snugly. Also, the tape should be parallel to the ground without twisting over at any point.
FAQs
In pants, the waist width is half of the total waistband circumference. In other words, when a pants is lying flat with a fastened zip, it's the measurement between either side of the waistband.
Yes, but since some brands don't offer true-to-size pants, it's always a better idea to try a pair of pants before purchasing them.
Yes, on pant sizing tags, the first digit is always the waist size and the second digit is the inseam length.
