Every man should know his waist and inseam, in addition to several other important measurements. If you don’t, learn how to measure yourself, or better yet, get a tailor to do it. As a well dressed tall man, your tailor is going to be a very important person in your life.
Most tall men are going to begin their shopping at places that carry their waist size, and more importantly for the tall, their inseam length. Tall men will quickly learn who carries their waist/inseam and who doesn’t. Those who don’t know where to find pants are going to find out from following this blog. (I hope.)
Once you start shopping at a place that carries your waist/inseam, you’re going to find out that among the pants that come in your size, the fit of the pants will vary immensely, and a big reason the fit varies is due to a measurement called “the rise”.
How to measure the rise of a pair of pants
The rise of a pair of pants is simply the distance from the crotch seam of the pants up the front to the top of the waistband. Technically, this is called “front rise” since there is also a “rear rise” measurement that captures the rear profile of a pair of pants, both of which are explained here. However, when rise is specified in a pair of pants, it is almost always front rise.
Why would you want to know the rise of your pants?
Quite simply, the rise effects how pants fit. If you’re a tall man, the distance from your crotch to your waist is going to be a certain (above average in your case) measurement. On top of that, for more casual styles, like jeans, you may prefer a lower rise since you’ll wear your pants lower on your hips, but for dress pants, you may want a longer rise so that you can wear them at your natural waist. Hint: Most men these days probably wear their pants too low and would look much better if they wore their pants closer to their natural waist, particularly in less casual styles.
Learn what rise fits you best and is most comfortable for you. Stay away from outrageously long or short rise styles. Primer Magazine has a nice article about rise. They explain how Michael Phelps, who is 6’4″, but has very short legs, isn’t doing his proportions any favors by wearing lower rise pants.
Pants rise in practice
Not all retailers will list the rise measurement of their pants, but some do. Sometimes, you’ll have to search among several different retailers in order to find the rise you like in a particular style. Other times, the same retailer will offer the same style of pants in several different fits, usually with different rises and leg openings. Examples of this are:
- Eddie Bauer – Take for example, their “Performance Chino“, which comes in both regular/tall sizes and “classic” and “relaxed” fits, with the tall sizes reported to have an extra 1.5″ in rise. Warning: Read some of the customer reviews. Lots of positive reviews, but a common negative review is “rise too short”?
- Levi’s – The most famous jeans manufacturer of all time has inseams up to 40″ with multiple fit styles such as 501, 541, 550, and 559. See this overview of styles which describes the rise of each.
- Bill’s Kahkis, which we feature in this posting, mainly due to the great pictures they have on their website.
Bill’s Khakis is a well-known retailer of American made khakis. Bill’s has been known for making very high quality khakis, in addition to shirts, sweaters, accessories and others styles of pants. It remains to be seen if their reputation will remain intact after a 2015 private equity acquisition and another more recent sale. We may explore the new Bill’s Khakis in this blog in the near future. Regardless, while not inexpensive, they’re a great option for tall men because they come in different fits, with different rises, and many styles come in unfinished inseams up to 39″.
Bill’s Khakis has several fits of their traditional khakis:
- M1: Their fullest cut, with biggest rise and larger leg openings.
- M2: Their standard fit.
- M3: Their trimmest fit, with smallest rise.
Now see these drawings from Bill’s website and how the fits look on real people. Note the fit through the waist, hips, and crotch.
Rise, tall men!
So now you know what rise is, how it affects fit, and what it looks like on real bodies. Now use this knowledge as you shop for pants (and shorts). Be aware of the rise measurements of pants that fit you well and look for similar in your new pants. You’ll look great and feel great.
