It’s not often that an article of clothing incurs my wrath. I want guys to feel encouraged to test drive different trends and styles, not scared away from trying them.
That said, a few items – square-toed shoes, muscle tees, acid-washed jeans – have all earned a permanent place on my “c’mon, really?” list. And now, time to add another to the Style Girlfriend-banned list:
Boot-cut pants.
This style of pants – inexplicably popular in both chinos and jeans – deserves style extinction.
I’ve heard the arguments. “A boot cut is more comfortable!“ “It balances out my larger upper leg (and backside).” Well it’s time to debunk those myths.
First off, comfort.
A boot-cut pant is no more comfortable than what I recommend you wear – a straight-cut leg. So long as it’s in your size, this style will feel just as comfortable as your outdated boot cuts, and look 10 times better. And no, a straight-leg pant style is not the same as a skinny one. I promise, donning straight-leg pants will not make you look like your 13-year-old emo neighbor who always seems angry and wears concert tees for bands whose names you don’t recognize and pants that look painted-on. If you buy in your size, you should feel just as comfortable in a straight leg as you do in your current boot cuts.
Beyond that, straight-leg pants are so much more versatile. You can’t dress up a boot-cut pair of pants with a suit jacket (or if you do, you shouldn’t). Straight-leg pants pair with everything from a T-shirt and sneakers to a sports coat and loafers.
Next, the question of body “balance.”
I mean, I get the concern over a thicker upper leg/back end situation. I’ve got my own to worry about. But I’m not sure when it was decided that boot-cut pants balance anything at all. The clothes that look best on your body are the ones that follow your silhouette most closely. Since your ankles don’t flare out, neither should your pants. Plenty of guys have already hopped on the straight-leg train, leaving behind the boot-cut pant they favored in their college days. If they can do it, so can you.
Because – to put it bluntly – the only thing boot-cut pants cover up on a guy are the tops of his shoes. You’re not doing your body, or your personal style, any favors with a boot cut.
To us ladies, a guy wearing boot-cut pants conjures up – at best – Matthew McConaughey in “Dazed and Confused,” and – at worst – the frat guy uniform of faded, frayed boot-cut jeans, school hoodie and a Milwaukee’s Best in one hand. That means, in the absolute best scenario, you remind us of a guy preying on high school girls while sporting a creepy handlebar mustache … in 1976. At best.
As with most things, of course, there is an exception for my boot-cut ban. A very specific one. And that is – if you wear boots. I’m talking about the real thing – made for cowboys. Preferably with spurs attached. That’s the shoe this wider leg was created for in the first place. If this applies to you, feel free to mosey on into the sunset with your boots under your boot-cut pants with my blessing.
If that’s not you, then sorry, but you’re not going to find any love for the boot-cut look from me.
