The Rules of Raw Hem Denim

Thoughts about the cut under the cut.

Hi all! Here’s my first bonus post in a month, I’m super excited about it, as it addresses a few denim phenomena that have haunted me for summers past. As I wrote for The HALO Report a few months ago:

One of my favorite genres of stylist writing is when someone whose style I don’t relate to at all gives me advice that transcends aesthetics and feels shockingly objective. “Which socks and when?” by Abby Arad for Your Stylist Says is one of those pieces—Abby manages to nail down the specifics of why some looks are ruined by an expanse of sock but others benefit from it, even going so far as to explore the nuance between pairing socks with hemmed vs. cut-off shorts.

The article articulated perfectly why some looks instantly feel “off” with the wrong sock situation, helpfully codifying its addition. One of the most interesting codes to me was that a cut-off short was a “no sock” situation, whereas hemmed shorts were amenable.

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THANK YOU for being here, and I am always available @that.esque on Instagram for sartorial scandals/situations/summons. Here is a little (big, actually, this time) preview of what’s below the paywall:

A big reason I instantly trusted Abby’s styling instincts, besides my own two eyes seeing and agreeing with the above diagram, was that her denim, as seen above, all was graced by the all-important, long-enough fly. If you haven’t seen my Instagram screeds against the short fly, a la these Levi’s:

Essentially, a lot of “women’s” denim leaves a non-zippered gap between the “vanishing point” of the crotch where it loops around to the back and the bottom of the actual fly. From what I can gather, the reason for this is twofold: a) it’s cheaper and b) since most women don’t need quick dick access, it’s not seen as important. I also suspect there’s some weird anxiety about PROVING you don’t have a dick by sewing your crotch up like this, but to me, it completely ruins the look of jeans.