We’ve all been there – you find a pair of jeans that hug your thighs and bottom perfectly, but the hem needs altering.
Finally, when you decide to wear those jeans, you realize you haven’t taken them to the tailor. So, you do the next best thing – you cuff them. You roll, unroll, fold, and unfold, spending precious time trying to get it just right. Yet, an hour later, the outfit still doesn’t look quite right. Luckily, we have a fantastic denim cuffing guide for you:
1. Mastering Proportional Play with Denim Cuffs
Apart from being a quick fix for bottoms that we didn’t have time to alter, the main reason to cuff pants is to create a break that gives the illusion of slimmer ankles. This means shortening the length of your jeans, allowing you more room to play around with proportions.
Up your stylish ante by finding a good balance between different jean widths and the rest of your outfit. You can do this by layering different lengths or breaking up your outfit into coherent chunks.
Effortlessly chic: How to cuff your jeans like a pro, inspired by Julianne Hough, Poppy Delevingne, and Lucy Mecklenburgh (Credit: WENN)
We love how Poppy Delevingne used a genius combination of lengths, colors, and textures to complement her cuffed jeans, creating a seamless outfit out of seemingly incoherent pieces.
We are also huge fans of how Julianne Hough broke her outfit into chunks and pulled it together with an earthy color combination.
2. Decoding the Variety of Cuff Styles
Cuffing your jeans and pants isn’t as simple as rolling the hem to your desired length. There are several different cuff types, and it’s important to know which ones to use where.
Cuff types generally differ in two areas: 1) the height and 2) the thickness of the cuff. Thin, pressed cuffs generally look best with skinny jeans, while thick, bulky ones often complement loose and ragged pants.
Rihanna, Ruth Wilson, and Gwen Stefani show us how to master the art of cuffing jeans for a stylish, casual look (Credit: WENN)
This is not the be-all-end-all rule in cuffing, as Gwen Stefani demonstrates. Despite her slightly dropped crotch and ragged denim, she chose a blunt-pressed cuff to create a sophisticated feel to her outfit.
3. Tailoring Cuffs for Every Occasion
The type of cuff you select can make or break the feel of your outfit. A nicely pressed cuff paired with pointed-toe heels easily creates an outfit that exudes sophistication, while a messily rolled-up cuff goes well with sneakers, a simple tee, and an oversized tote. Allow your cuffing to echo the vibe that you are going for.
We love how a similar pair of jeans donned by Poppy Delevingne, Ashley Tisdale, and Jessica Alba can have such different auras simply by choosing different cuffs.
Cuffed jeans are a staple for a relaxed yet polished outfit – see how Poppy Delevingne, Ashley Tisdale, and Jessica Alba style them (Credit: WENN)
Poppy opted for the pressed type for her sophisticated night out, while Ashley decided to tone it down a notch by folding up the hem. On the other hand, Jessica decided to go the extremely youthful route but donned a messy cuff to go with her sneakers and tee.
4. Complementing Cuffs with Eye-Catching Footwear
Why not go the distance when you’re out to show more skin below the cuffs? Venture out by wearing shoes that are fun to show off, such as those with gorgeous cuts, crazy colors, or a barrage of texture.
We recommend shoes that show off skin and gorgeous ankle straps. If you’re still not content with that, experiment with colored socks.
Gwen Stefani, Pixie Geldof, and Rihanna showcase how to pair cuffed jeans with stylish footwear for a chic look (Credit: WENN)
We love the simplicity of Pixie Geldof’s choice of classic but modern footwear, which perfectly complements her haircut, oversized tee, and the crazy cut of Gwen Stefani’s heels and Rihanna’s brightly colored pair.
5. Avoiding Ankle Coverage Mistakes
Often, we cuff to shorten ill-tailored jeans. This is not bad, but you will most likely be amiss when you let functionality take over without double-checking your style.
Cuffing adds bulk to the ankle area, and when you leave no room for that area to breathe, you create an unflattering shape for your body. Congratulations—you just missed the entire point of cuffing.
Alicia Keys pairs a lace corset top with one-fold cuffed jeans and heels, Rita Ora stands out in a bright pink coat, hat, and splattered jeans with warmers, and Natalie Imbruglia opts for a floral jacket over a white top with one-fold cuffed jeans and boots (Credit: WENN)
We don’t have much to say about Alicia Keys and Natalie Imbruglia, apart from how bottom-heavy their one-fold cuff has made them appear. Oh, and Rita Ora, please lose the warmers. And everything else, for that matter.
6. Cuffing Wisely: Avoiding Wide-Ankle Errors
As much as creating breaks in cuffing seems easy to grasp, these breaks must be seamless. Cuffing jeans that are consistent in width throughout will create a tree trunk-like silhouette with harsh breaks, as opposed to nicely proportioned ones.
Ali Larter pairs her cuffed jeans with a red blazer, white top, red sneakers, and a gray handbag; Christina Aguilera opts for cuffed jeans, a pink top, and a light blue cardigan with white heels; Fergie rocks denim overalls with a striped top and white heels, accessorized with a red clutch (Credit: WENN)
The same advice goes for flared jeans – do not attempt to cuff them if you wish to avoid having bells as ankles.
Fergie, Christina Aguilera, and Lori Loughlin all missed the opportunity to create a svelte denim look for themselves by falling for this cuffing mistake. Remember, cuff to create nice proportions.
7. Skinny Jeans: To Cuff or Not to Cuff
Besides skinny jeans making your legs look like they’re suffocating, cuffing them will emphasize that look of your skin wanting to burst out.
If your pants are too long and folding is inevitable, try folding the hems inward once. However, we still recommend not wearing skinny jeans that are too small for you.
Michelle Heaton styles her cuffed jeans with a black tank top and black pointed heels, while Hilary Duff pairs her cuffed jeans with a printed blouse, nude heels, a red handbag, and her adorable child in tow (Credit: WENN)
Hilary Duff and Michelle Heaton make us want to scramble for a pair of scissors to help their legs breathe. The tight-looking cuffs at the end aren’t helping at all.
8. The Art of Subtle Cuffing
When we have the freedom to decide what kind and how much cuffing to perform, we tend to overdo the folding and the rolling. Start a little at a time, try different varieties, and progress from there.
Overthinking or being lazy will get you in the trap of “too” – too big, too high, too low, etc. There is always a nicer way to cuff your pants.
Estelle pairs her cuffed jeans with a strapless blue top and gold heels, Sarah Jessica Parker keeps warm in a puffer coat with cuffed jeans and winter boots, while Kimberly Caldwell rocks a red cardigan, striped top, cuffed jeans, and red heels on stage (Credit: WENN)
Sarah Jessica Parker and Duffy seemed to have perfected the cuffing-in-a-rush technique, while Estelle seemed to have spent quite some time in front of the mirror deciding how much to cuff. Don’t fall into the trap of overdoing cuffs.