Should I crop these wide-leg pants?

Jenava

Hello ladies! So, I have these chino trousers, very wide-leg. I had them hemmed for flats but they came out just a bit shorter than expected. I also am not sure I even like them full length. Should I hem them to a cropped length? The fabric is stiff.

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J.Crew

Tailored chino pant

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6 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Jenava

skylurker

Veteran

Ah, yes, too short.
I'd try to turn them into 70's culottes - shorten them so they just cover your knees - Personal bias : I don't like wide cropped pants.
With wide stiff fabric though, it's always a gamble to shorten and hard to predict the final result.

6 years ago

Anonymous

I feel confused about pant lengths because ones that often look fine to me are seen as too short on the forum. I also see pants this length styled on websites, including Anthro, which confuses me further.
I don't view these as too short but think cropped would be cute. I cut a similar pair I had to cropped length.

6 years ago

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Try pinning the length up to see if you might like them.
It would be lovely for summer.

6 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

Can you pin or tape them up or at least one side? With all that width, I think shortening would lighten up the feeling plus I feel like I want to see your ankles.

6 years ago

Julie

Active Member

Try it! I second the pinning idea. Also go gradually and try on them after each cut- I just cut mine off, but wish I had gone step-wise because I think I cut off about a half inch too much.
Good luck!

6 years ago

Joy

Veteran

Be sure to wash them a few times first if keeping them, to see if they will shrink in length and to soften them. I had some similar fitting pants earlier this spring and Angie suggested I donate them. These look too wide at the top.

6 years ago

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

I'm no pants-length-expert, but I want to note that your haircut looks fantastic--so chic and gamine! Joy's advice to wash the pants a few times is spot on--you'll want to get every last bit of shrinkage out before making a decision about hemming. My preference would be to hem them a couple of inches above the ankle.

6 years ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

They look amazing as is to me, you look so great in pic 1, awesome shoes. If you want to cut them, I second doing it gradually. I cut some sleeves too much once and was annoyed by them ever after that until finally they got donated ( not only for that reason but that was part of it).

6 years ago

Aquamarine

Veteran

I like them as is, and count me as another one confused about pant length these days....I think you look fab, and your haircut is extremely flattering on you.

6 years ago

minimalist

Veteran

What Joy said. I find that cotton shrinks cumulatively for a while.

They remind me of my (came cropped) wide white denim Madewells.
https://www.madewell.com/madew...../F1463.jsp
Fabric is pretty stiff, which I like. There's enough structure that they feel ok optically with my flat normcore Mephisto Helen's. (I love them with knee-high high-heel boots, too, which is more classically flattering, but can't generally be bothered.)
Also, hem is wide, which might give you some leeway as you figure out your PCPL.

And I love your hair!

(ETA my Madewells were under 20 incl tax from NR; I wasn't going to get on the cropped bandwagon, neither by jumping nor being dragged, but, white denim! As it turned out, they work in a number of ways without undue effort; see Viv's wise words to her daughters about trends and love. So I'm very optimistic about your chino crop project!)

6 years ago

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

A hard question! I think they would be nice cropped. But it's hard to say how they'll work at the target length, because the leg width can work out well, or it can feel a little odd, say, if the legs are wide enough to feel as if they are interfering with each other. I tried on a pair of wide-legged cropped jeans the other day, and the legs just seemed to hit each other too much. Then I tried turning them up , and they worked better. (I still didn't get them, for other reasons, but it was a lesson in wide-cropped-leg behavior!)

6 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm concerned with the fit of those on the crotch point. Do you need to pull them up and have the waist altered?

To my eye, they absolutely need a good hack!

6 years ago

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Angie, quite right, they are high waisted and need to be pulled up, possibly altered. The pockets need to be closed as well...

6 years ago

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