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Thecorrectlengthofa pairofpants,likea well-made
martini,is a questionofproportion.Andlikemartinis,there
are strongfeelingsabouttherightwaytoblendtaste,trend,
andtradition.
Historically,a widertrouserhasbeenwornlongenoughto
restonthetopoftheshoe,whichcreatesa breakinthefab-
ric infrontoftheshin.Foryearstherewasanuneasydétente
betweenthosewhowantedthiskindof“goodbreak”andthose
whopreferred“nobreak,”a cutthat
favorsnarrowertrousersandrunspar-
alleltothegroundinsteadoffallingover
the topofyourshoe.(Let’snotevenget
intothekindofbreakthatgathersintoan
unrulypooloffabricaroundtheankles,
evidenceofa manstrugglingtokeeppace
withtheworld.)
I heardthephrase“agoodbreak”
beforeI knewwhatit meant.Myfather
tookmetothePolostoreinMinneapolis
whenI wasa boyandwouldtellPaul,
our longtimesartorialconsiglierethere,
thatmytrousersshouldhavea good
break.Hesaidthiswithsuchconfidence
thatI neverquestionedthevalidityof
thatdeclaration—andinanycase,my
preferencewasn’tasked.
Eventually,I grewtopreferclothes
thatfitina moreconciseway.I started
gravitatingtotrimmertrouserswithlit-
tle breakand,finally,tooneswithno
breakatall—thehemwasrightatthe
top oftheshoe.
Thatdidn’tseemtoocontroversialuntillastyear,whenI
wasstandingina renownedLondontailortobemeasuredby
thepantmaker,himselfa specialistintheartoftrouseringfor
overthreedecades.Hemadeit clear,inanunderstatedway,
thathewasdisinclinedtoproducea pairwithouta break.
Whenpressedtodoso,herefused.AndsinceI havea policy
of notarguingwithtailors,fishingguides,oranybodywho
has thekeystomycarorapartment,thepantswerereturned
to mewitha compromise:a “slight”break,whichis theequiv-
alentofaskingfora mediumraresteakasopposedtoone
rareorwelldone. ILLUSTRATIONBYJAYDANIELWRIGHTCRITIC BloombergPursuits August 26, 2019Someno-breakadvocatesbelievethestraightlinedown
thelegmakesa manlooktaller.AccordingtoSidMashburn,
whoseAtlanta-basedmen’sstoresdoa briskbusinessinsuits,
eliminatingbreaksinthelineofthepants“visuallylengthens
one’slegs,makinga cleanerlinefromtoetohead.”
Evendappermenwhoonceworea breakarereconsider-
ingtheirpositions.CelebratedNewYorktailorAlanFlusser
hasalwayswornhisdresstrouserswitha slightbreak.“Ithink
it fostersa smootherandslightlyelongatingtransitionfrom
thetrouseropeningtotheshoe,”hesays.Buthe’sevolving
towarda break-freestance:“Thesedays,witha slightlytrim-
mertrouserthanbefore,I tendtowearthemalmoststraight,
withouta noticeablebreak.”
MichaelHill,creativedirectorandanownerofDrake’s,
believesit’sa generationalthing.“Typically,youngermen
errontheshorterside,asthat’sa slightlymorefashionable,
trend-drivenlook,”hesays.“Oldergentlementendtooptfor
a fullerlength.”Headdsthata shortercutfeelsa littlesport-
ier,“alittlemorecasual.It alsoaffordstheopportunityto
introducea popofcolorwiththechoiceofa sock.”
Thenthere’stheissueofseasonality.
Wedealwithsummerbygivingankles
roomtobreathewithlighterloafers.
LucaRubinacci,creativedirectorofhis
family’srenownedNaplestailor,wears
pantswitha breakduringwinter,and
insummer,hesays,“Ihavethema little
shorterwithnobreak.”
Butonceyouheadnorthoftheshoe
and,moretreacherously,northofthe
ankle,youhavereacheddangerousalti-
tude.Blameis oftenlaidatthebrogue-
cladfeetofThomBrowne,thedesigner
whoshortenedallofhissuits.
Massimo Alba, the Milan-based
designer,hashisownlineofclothes
withanenlightened,relaxedsensibil-
ity,andhe’swornhispantsthesame
wayfordecades:“Loosethroughout
thewholelengthofthelegandslightly—
andwhenI sayslightly,I meanreally
slightly—short,”hesays.“Theynever
restedonmyshoes,perhapstwofin-
gersabovethem.”
He’sopposedtotheupwardcreepoftighttrousers,
however,sincetheyrestrictmovementandareessentially
impractical.“Ifindit extremelyvulgar,”hesays,“toseehow
workingmenarewearingsomekindofhotpantsthatcling
totheircalves,thighs,hipsandarecutofftoshowtheir
anklesasif theywereleggings.”
So,howhighistoohigh?PatrickGrant,directorof
SavileRowtailorNorton& Sons,sayshisruleisthat“the
anklebone should never be fully exposed, in any circum-
stance, ever. If you don’t like long trousers,” he declares,
“then wear shorts.” <BW>A tailored guide to the most
contested two inches in
menswear. By David CogginsBreak’s Over