How Low Can You Go? The Rules of Low-Rise Jeans

A fit favored for its comfort, low-rise jeans sit well below your waist, leaving you with plenty of breathing room. A relatively recent style within the timeline of menswear, this cut rose to popularity briefly in the 70s in the form of bell-bottoms before disappearing from the scene for a few years. Back in the 90s and still today, men seem to have a love-hate relationship with these daringly low-hanging jeans.

From finding the right fit to styling them with the appropriate shirt, we’ve got all the rules for mastering this rise.

• Often considered the ideal option for short men and best avoided on taller men, it is actually more complicated than that. The key to knowing if this rise will work for you is paying attention to your body proportions. If your legs are miles long and your torso is short, then a low rise waist will balance you out. If your legs, on the other hand, are on the shorter end, a low rise jean will accentuate that.

• While jeans tend to be a guy’s wear-with-all, from t-shirts or sweaters to sports jackets, a low-rise denim has its limitations. These low-riding pants require a long shirt. Prevent your treasure-trail from being featured in your outfit when you choose a shirt that won’t bare your midriff as you move around.

• Low-rise jeans, in any wash, will always come off as casual. Unable to stand up to a button-up or blazer, reserve these denims for off-duty hours. A vintage wash t-shirt or a cozy sweater will speak to the nature of this comfortable cut. Particularly athletic? Then skip the shirt and slip into pants that are washboard abs approved.

• While letting the waistband of your briefs peek over your jeans is a subtly sexy way to show some label love à la the 90s, you don’t want the whole pair hanging out. Skip the baggy boxers that bunch up above your waist line and try a pair of low-rise trunks instead.

• Men’s waists are naturally narrow, making a belt a necessity to keep pants up. But it can’t be stressed enough that skipping the strap when you are wearing these jeans is a mistake you don’t want to make. With nothing to hold onto you’ll need to secure this style in place.

• Low-rise only describes the cut through the crotch, but it’s available in a wide array of styles from boot-cut to skinny jeans. But unless you’re built like a twig and you play in a punk rock band, than you may want to skip the latter. Although the look kills on stage, on the streets it might look like you are wearing your girlfriend’s jeans. Stick to a looser leg like regular-fit or straight leg.

Don’t shy away from the low-rise. Zip into a pair of low-rise jeans for style that is easy pickings.

Master the rules of the low-rise.