Someone made that comment on a photo of me in a linen suit—the SuitSupply Roma suit I’d tried and posted photos of recently.
The pants included with that suit were a big departure from what made SuitSupply famous. They’re very high-rise, with a big pleat, and a very loose fit. Their bread-and-butter pants have traditionally been more fitted and with a low rise. So I understand the guy’s comment.
We all decide what we think looks good based on how we train our eyes. I couldn’t wear pleats for a long time because my eyes had been trained by the worst, most unflattering baggy pants in history—the Dockers of the 90s and early 2000s of my youth. As the #menswear movement flourished starting around 2008, which just happened to be when I began to take more interest in clothes, I trained my eyes on guys wearing high-end tailoring, both ready-to-wear and bespoke.
At that time, there was a big reaction to those baggy pants and other loose and flowing silhouettes in favor of fitted suits. That time is when I trained my eyes.
But it’s good to have an open mind and to let your thinking evolve. I wear pleats now. My favorite dressy tailored trousers at the moment are pleated, actually (the Model 3 from Cavour).
And so we come back to the “baggy” linen Roma pants from SuitSupply.
What that guy said is simply a reflection of how he’s trained his eyes. If he were to start looking more at men wearing elegantly tailored clothes with a much looser silhouette, he’d change his tune.
In a second upcoming post, I’ll look at this topic from a more practical perspective with a quote from a tailor friend of mine that’s highly relevant.
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I wouldn’t consider those trousers to be baggy. Baggy would be that they actually bag up by your feet, are too long, or way too wide, and just look too large. Those trousers are just a looser fit but they still fit you nonetheless.
There’s nothing baggy about those trousers as they are the classic fit. This article as controversial as the previous one “how to avoid looking like an old man”
I would say that the looser fit is flattering on the upper half. However, I think what makes someone think ‘baggy’ when they see those particular trousers is their length and their lack of the visual termination provided by a cuff. I think you’d do better with this style to wear the trousers without a break and with a 1.75 to 2 inch cuff. This would make the silhouette read better and would prevent it from looking like a ‘baggy’ leg that goes all the way down and swallows your feet.
Number one – not every man has a 32 inch waist.
Number two – I’d burn the clothing male models are wearing these days, to keep from catching whatever it is that’s causing them to be that thin.
Number three – your trousers are not baggy. They are well fitting with your suit.
Number four – I wear Dockers. With pleats. 1.5 inch cuffs. And a half break.