Length

Picking an inseam and letting the trouser break

Waist is the number men know. Inseam is the number that decides whether the trouser looks like it was bought for you.

Measure a trouser you own, laid flat, seam to hem.
Half a break suits dress trousers. Little or none suits chinos.
Between two inseams, go shorter for casual and longer for dress.

Measuring the number you actually need

Take a pair you already like, lay them flat with the legs together and measure the inner seam from where the four seams meet down to the hem. That figure is your inseam, and it is the figure printed on our labels.

Measuring your own leg while standing gives a number that is close but not the same, because it does not account for how the trouser sits on your waist. If your waistband sits lower than the tape did, the trouser will read long.

Break, in plain terms

Break is the fold that forms where the hem meets the shoe. No break means the hem stops clean at the top of the shoe. A half break puts one soft fold in. A full break rests the hem on the shoe and pushes a proper crease into the front of the leg.

Dress trousers usually carry a half break, which is forgiving and looks intentional whether you are standing or seated. Chinos and casual trousers read better with little or none, because a stiff cotton fold sits awkwardly.

When the numbers are between sizes

Inseams come in two inch steps, so half the time your measurement lands between them. Take the shorter one for chinos and casual trousers and the longer one for dress trousers you will wear with proper shoes.

Shorts are the exception, because they are sold by waist alone and cut to a fixed length above the knee. There the only number that matters is the waist.