Ask Our Stylist: Can You Roll Up Slacks By Hand?

As a stylist, I get asked if it's okay to hand-roll slacks, the way you hand-roll jeans. The answer is not as straight forward as a yes or a no. Technically, yes you can, although I wouldn't recommend hand-rolling your slacks. I support tastefully broken style rules as long as the wearer errs on the side of tact and intent.

Hand-rolling your slacks like your jeans is a pretty difficult look to pull off, and here's why:

Denim is a dense and rigid fabric type. This means that denim is more likely to hold its shape when folded. Most jeans have a ½” hem that disappears into the fold when rolled twice, leaving the bottom of your jeans looking crisp and uniform. Tact and intent.

Your slacks are usually made with a lightweight, buoyant wool, or blended fabric. Slacks are much lighter compared to your denim jeans. This means that when rolled up, your slacks are less likely to hold their shape. Darn you, gravity! Additionally, a good pair of slacks has an extra 1-2” seam allowance in the hem for lengthening the bottom of your pants. Once rolled up, you’d theoretically be rolling that extra 1-2” to get a clean and uniform look at the bottom of your trousers, similarly to your jeans. However, gravity will most likely stand in your way of achieving an intentional, crips, clean look. 

If you want to roll up your slacks, I recommend having them professionally hemmed to your desired length instead. Whether it is jeans or slacks, the goal with the look of the length of your bottoms is to present themselves as intentional - as in “I meant for my pants to look like this.”