Bare Ankles Are In
This morning I read a fun article in the New York Times by Eric Wilson titled, “The Art of the Pants Roll.” I found the whole thing enjoyable. The writing was amusing… I actually laughed out loud at the coffee shop. Wilson’s observations, such as “Legions of young men… are rolling up their pants legs to such high-water lengths that one is tempted to inquire where exactly the auditions for the Huckleberry Finn revival are being held” or “By the way, there are several don’ts… No bootleg pants, which should be burned anyway” caught me off guard. In a good way. Where IS the flood?
To be honest, I like the trend… maybe not on me so much. Like they say, getting the roll right is harder than it looks. I have noticed on the few occasions I’ve bared my ankles… or socks, that the roll does help keep me cooler. During these hot days, every bit helps. After returning from NY, I forgot men were rolling up their pants, except on the rare occasion they showed up on a fashion blog. Truth is, I just don’t see it happen much here in Denver. Like so many other trends… good or bad. [Side note: I've been perusing needle+thread and le 21ème lately, two seattle street style/fashion blogs. Check them out.] Speaking of… where’s Denver’s needle+thread or le 21ème? If you have any insight, let us boys know.
I also found it interesting that the NYTs had taken so long to report on this. During some recent visits to New York (the last in May), I was struck by the large number of men that were rolling up their pants and jeans. At one point it felt just as Wilson describes it, “the rolled cuff epidemic of 2010.” It was a little overwhelming. I had an in-depth conversation about it with my brother. One explanation he shared revolved around a friend who explained that their choice was recession related. In other words, one could not be bothered by a visit to their tailor and actually pay the $10 to have their jeans properly hemmed. I could live with that…
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