The length of your suit’s pants might make you look longer, shorter, trendier, old-fashioned.

The length of the pants of your suit depends on your personal preference. That is rule number one; follow your personal style rather than what a salesman is telling you. However, there is certain etiquette you might want to know about. In most cultures, the pants of the suit should be 1 centimeter above the sole of your shoe when standing up straight (measured from the back of the pants). I wear my pants 4 centimeters above the sole of my shoes which means you can see my socks when I walk, which is fine. You can play around with colored socks that match your outfit. When you sit, people shouldn’t have to see your bare calves or hairy legs (like mine). Especially during formal events, make sure your socks are long enough. David Beckham has the perfect length pants.

The major advantage of tailoring your pants to 4 centimeters above the sole of the shoe is that there are no extreme folds at the bottom. For me, a single subtle folding works. Long and skinny people often look better if they wear their pants of the suit a little longer (2 centimeters above the sole) because high-flood pants will optically create the illusion that the person’s legs are even longer. Short men should avoid wearing their pants only 1 or 2 centimeter above the sole of the shoe because many folds at the bottom creates the optical illusion that the person is even shorter.

Certain fashion designers like Thom Brown, have made high-flood pants a mantra for success of their fashion companies. Still, not all men can go to work like Thom Brown does. If you are working for a, let’s say, ‘traditional’ boss or your customers are very traditional, they usually dislike shorter lengths of the pants because they are used to ‘oversized’ clothing that was trendy many years ago.

From left to right: Hill Harper, John Legend and Terrence Howard. In my humble opinion, Harper’s pants are way too long, look at the folds at the bottom! Legend’s the man! He dared to try something creative which I think looks great. Howard’s pants are of the right length.

What’s your preferred length and why?