Spring Trends: Go To Hell Bottoms

In whichever way it may come, color is mandatory when the sun begins to shine. This time around, it seems the infamous Go To Hell (to put it simple, unexpected eye-popping colored items) are back in full strength. From formal slacks to relaxed jeans or chinos, everyone’s dishing their own favourite versions to brighten up the urban landscape.

Bright yellow, green, red or coral are all part of the game, as are embroidered motifs. It appears nothing has been left out the equation for this season’s bottoms, especially if you add the assortment of washes, patched alternatives or even paint splattered versions. With so many offerings, the trick is deciding which ones are worth investing in: like a kid in a candy store, chances are you’ll want to grab one of each to keep your options open and cover the whole chromatic spectrum.

However, instead of ending up with a rainbow like wardrobe, go through your collection and narrow the choice to missing or complementing shades. Go ahead and do some styling of your own, set aside some pieces and try to picture what would look good with them. After all, there’s no use in buying items you’ll hardly sport as they don’t match your other garments. Also, bear in mind that bottoms deliver much more of a visual impact than say, for instance, a sweater or tee. When in doubt, go for safer options but don’t be afraid to experiment with the whole color palette prior to deciding.

Top to bottom: 1 - Acne; 2 - Zara; 3 - Park & Bond; 4 - Rugby Ralph Lauren; 5 - Paul Smith.

Hemming conundrums

One of the most important decisions when purchasing any type of bottoms concerns hems. Following the main event, so to say, which consists in finding a pair that suits your liking regarding cut, fabric, color or wash, comes the stage of minor (or not) necessary alterations. Unless you’re buying made to measure trousers, you’ll most likely need to have them tailored: at the very least, lengthwise. We all try to find that “perfect pair”, but these kind of tweaks are usually required and “predicted” by manufacturers (slacks are usually offered without hems and jeans have extra fabric at the bottom). 

Besides the initial cuffed/uncuffed dillema, one must decide on the suitable length and amount of break - regarding slacks, I prefer them cuffed, with little to no break - but when it comes to more casual alternatives such as chinos or jeans, I find this to be one of the toughest calls one has to make. Especially since your choice feels much more final and irreversible than with slacks, where usually hems safeguard about 3cm of fabric on the inside or you can simply uncuff them for the extra length; if you choose to crop your jeans and have the original hem sewed in, there’s no extra fabric there, which means no margin for error.

I hadn’t purchased jeans in a while, but recently I got a couple of bold colored ones and found myself struggling with this issue. As with every choice you make, you should weigh the pros and cons prior to your decision; here are a few things to consider:

1 - Roll or no roll

Deciding on whether or not you’ll want to roll them up, is a great way to help you get going. No matter the way you like to roll them, doing so will require extra fabric; the amount will depend on how high you want the roll to sit. If you’re going to sport this look play it safe and leave them a bit longer;

2 - Have them taken in

If you’re considering highly cropped jeans, at the ankle for instance, take into account that that is the slimmest part of your leg. So, if you take a pair of straight leg jeans and crop them at the ankle line, you’ll end up with bell bottoms. That being said, consider taking them in 1cm or so from the shin down;

Photo by Tommy Ton for GQ

3 - Original vs regular hem

Some jeans will feature factory made hems which tailors/seamstresses cannot reproduce; they can, instead, reattach them at your desired height. This allows you to preserve the original aesthetic and integrity of your jeans, but will be pricier than a regular hem and you won’t have any extra fabric left;

Original hem (left) vs regular hem (right)

4 - The right shoes

If you’re going for a more traditional look, with the jeans covering a part of your shoe, make sure you’re wearing a bulkier model (such as a brogue) when you have them marked. This is most important for slacks but also applies to denim;

Photo from Leffot blog

5 - Research

Being sure about the end result is a lot different than having a brainstorm of ideas which you won’t be able to accurately express to your tailor/seamstress. Do some research, check out streetstyle blogs or websites and know for sure; you might even show them a pic of what you’re after;