The rise is the distance between the crotch point and the waistband of pants, jeans and shorts. The back rise is a little longer than the front rise. The length of the front and back rise dictates how high or low bottoms sit on the body, therefore influencing the position of the waistline and overall fit. 

Rise length can be low, mid or high. Low rises measure around 8.5 inches or less in front. Mid rises measure between 9 and 10.5 inches. High rises measure 11 inches or more. Fashion trends dictate the lengths of rises. Sometimes they’re low for many years, and sometimes higher.

Rise lengths are a great topic of discussion with my clientele. In short, there is no one rise length to rule them all. Some like them higher and some lower, because body types and sartorial preferences differ greatly from person to person. What is high rise on one body type is low rise on another, and vice versa. Even a mid rise can be too high or too low on a particular body type.

If your rise preferences are not on trend, you’re generally out of luck until silhouettes change. Therein lies the dilemma. When I started my wardrobe consulting business nineteen years ago, rises were low, and mid rises were lower than usual. Most of my clients lamented this, because only a few of them enjoyed wearing low rises. As the years went by, low rises disappeared and a good length mid rise became the norm. My clients were generally much happier with that. Over the past seven years, popular rises have become high and very high, which has been a big change. Notably, mid and high rises have made many of my clients happy. Front rises between 10 and 12 inches seems to be the sweet spot. Higher than that, and fewer clients are happy. That said, I do have some clients who thoroughly enjoy front rises beyond 13 inches.

The only way to satisfy everyone’s rise preferences is to have an assortment of lengths across a range of silhouettes every season. Unfortunately, that’s not how trends have worked in the past. However, I’m hopeful that we’re getting closer to an ideal reality. Despite the ubiquitous high rise, mid and low rises are coming back. For the first time in my lifetime, I’m seeing all rise lengths on runway shows and at regular stores. High rises may reign supreme, but that is changing.

Furthermore, thanks to a bustling secondhand market it’s easier to find bottoms with the rise length of your choosing. For example, at a consignment store last week, I saw jeans and pants with low rises that were at last fifteen years old. I was also recently gifted with an unworn pair of 18 year old jeans with a lowish rise.

Whatever your rise preference, I hope you find it one way or another.