No pair of pants will fit well unless their inseam measurement has been properly taken care of.
Pinpointing the inseam is valuable for all shapes and figures. However, it bears twice the importance for tall or petite people.
Our concise guide is here to help you avoid mismatched sizes and shopping-related frustrations.
Let’s clear some things up!
Steps to measure the inseam of pants
First, a quick methodology:
Start measuring where the inseams intersect at the bottom of the crotch. From there, navigate down the pants’ leg until you reach the hem at the bottom of the leg opening.
As with other important measurements, grab a soft measuring tape. The ones made of metal are inflexible and will jeopardize your efforts.
After that, do the following:
That’s it! For your peace of mind, we recommend you double-check the whole process. It’s not a must, though.
Measuring your inseam
Are you shopping around for a well-fitting pair of pants?
We’ve got you covered. Here’s how to make your search easier by measuring yourself properly.
After shedding light on the overall process, let’s continue with some tips you might want to keep in mind.
Valuable tips when searching for pants with the right inseam
Mind the shoes!
Our first tip is about shoes.
That’s right: the footwear you choose influences inseam length.
If you plan on wearing heels, you should always opt for pants with an inseam that’s slightly longer than the standard. In general cases, we recommend adding 0.5 to 3 inches (1.5-7.5 cm) to your pants’ inseam measurement.
The extra can vary depending on your style preferences, though. If you prefer modest heels – like 2’’, then a bonus 0.5 inches would work great. Higher heels – 4 inches or more, might call for an adjustment of 1.5-2 inches added to the inseam length.
With sneakers, you’d want a regular-length pair of pants. Otherwise, you risk them dragging on the floor and ruining them in no time.
To make things easier for you and avoid disappointment (or product returns), we recommend the following:
Bring the pair of shoes you want to wear your pants with. When measuring, try on pants with different inseam lengths to see which one fits the best.
Altering the inseam can be done, but it’s tricky
Applying changes to the pants’ inseam is doable – as long as you understand how inseam measurements function.
Being doable doesn’t mean you won’t encounter some challenges, however.
If you’re inexperienced, we strongly advise you to experiment with a pair of pants you’re not that fond of. Practice makes perfect, but a pair of pants might fall victim to your learning process.
Of course, if you can afford it (or don’t want to DIY), you can hire professional alteration services.
So, where do the challenges in hem alteration stem from?
There are a few reasons:
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There’s no standard pants inseam measurement:
How do I deal with this?
Unfortunately, measurements vary across brands. Even worse – the style of a pair of pants also contributes to dramatic changes between inseam dimensions.
It’s natural for online shoppers to feel lost and frustrated.
What alleviates this frustrating process are size recommendation tools.
SizeSense is a new-generation sizing tool that considers individual body measurements and preferences. Our tool adds pants’ rise, design, and fabric elasticity in its algorithms for a 94% accuracy when predicting fitment.
Whether you’re a fashion brand owner or an online shopper, we’ll make things easier for you.
SizeSense is available on the Shopify app store. Test it and see why many others think of the tool as a game-changer.
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