Ask Angie: Can regular bootcut or flare jeans be cuffed?

Helena

Hi Angie and all - Not sure if this is a stupid question, but I am wondering about cuffing non-skinny jeans. Can it be done or does it look silly? I am in the market from cropped non-skinnies, but am wondering if I can cuff what I have in the meantime. I am so used to cuffing my skinnies but not sure if it works with a wider leg. I imagine getting the cuff to sit flat might be a challenge, but perhaps double-sided tape would do the trick.

Thanks!

9 years ago

Dressing

12 replies

Latest reply was from April

Tanya

Veteran

Not Angie, but I don't think I would do it. I can not imagine any leg opening wider than straight legged jeans would look good cuffed and I will admit that I have never seen bootcut or flare jeans worn cuffed. It probably wouldn't even stay put unless you pinned/taped a lot. So, cuffing straight jeans would be OK and I have seen it look nice, but nothing wider than that.

9 years ago

Helena

Veteran

*sigh* that's what I suspected Tanya ... I was hoping I'd missed something

9 years ago

Mirjana

Veteran

I agree with Tanya, straight jeans are OK, I do that with some of my jeans and like it.

9 years ago

Joyce B

Veteran

The only way to keep a cuff on flared jeans would be to sew it. It works at full length, maybe it can work with crops? I think that may depend on how they are styled and on how cropped they are? I think a neatly finished cuff on crops can look good with boots.

9 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I think it will bunch because the width of a bootcut changes too much even over the length of the cuff.

9 years ago

LaPed

Veteran

I have a couple pairs of bootlegs (very old) that I sometimes wear with a wide double cuff so they hit above the ankle. It gives a silhouette similar to a kick flare, maybe slightly less exaggerated and more, I dunno, tomboyish? I'll see if I can dig them out and get you some pics this evening.

9 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Tanya said, unless they are narrow bootcuts. That way the flare is less dramatic and stays put when cuffed. Straight leg jeans cuff quite well though.

9 years ago

L'Abeille

Veteran

What what? As I recall, at the end of last winter, deep cuffs were still a thing and the cropped flare silhouette was just beginning to emerge. I remember Lisap showing an outfit she did with deep cuffs shortening her hems over mid shaft booties. I can't remember whether her pants had any flare at all, but she inspired me to try with a pair of baby bootcuts I've had forever. To my eye it worked just fine. I cuffed as deeply as I could without the flare effect being at all noticeable, which was 4 or 5 inches. The silhouette looked just like the new season's crop flares, and the proportion of cuff depth, pants length, and leg length pleased my eye. I'll add a picture if I can find one. (And this is the only way I'll be doing crop flares, because they're too impractical for the bulk of my season.)

9 years ago

lady

Active Member

As others have mentioned I don't think so BUT I recently read in the reviews of a pair of flare jeans I was considering, a reviewer stating that she bought the longer length bc she "likes cuffing them with flats". I remember it bc I thought that was odd and exactly *how* she got that to work was beyond me. I think the flares were 21/22".
This was within the past 2-3 weeks so there's at least one woman out here doing this.

9 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

I think it's case by case--if the proportions work, then dmgo for it, and some might require tacking down to stay put. If the flare is too dramatic, then the width change may preclude a nice cuff.

9 years ago

tulle

Veteran

There is a way to do this--not ideal, but it can work if you're easygoing about needing to re-do the roll if it comes down. It resembles the "military tuck" for shirts: You draw the excess fabric of the flare out from the leg on both sides, then wrap these two flaps to the back of the leg and turn up into a cuff, then turn again, until you get the length you want. It's not a perfect, neat cuff, because of the extra fabric, but if you can live with that, you can at least have the cropped effect. Experiment at home! The same process, without the turn up, works for tucking wider-leg pants into tall boots.

9 years ago

April

Veteran

This is where old-school real-deal boyfriend jeans fell apart for me. The width at the hem had to be pegged before it was rolled up, and then there was so much bulk in the cuff that the weight of it was both uncomfortable and caused it to keep unrolling all day.

So there's my two cents. And once you've pegged them, you've visually reduced them to straight legs anyway, making the point of cuffing a flare or a bootleg sort of... pointless.

9 years ago

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