Le French Cuff

Where are our 1980s girlies at?! Do you remember French cuffing, also called peg rolling? Even thought it's fallen out of fashion, from time to time there is something special about the DIY tailoring trick.

Historically, there are a few reason for cuffed pants. It started as men rolling trousers to avoid getting mud splashed on them when roads were still unpaved. The practice developed into a way to add weight at the bottom of the leg, facilitating a nicer drape of the trousers. Pragmatically, cuffing pants was employed to extend the life of children’s clothes— pants were bought too long and unrolled as the child grows.

But French Cuffing? We think it had been around at least since the August 1985 issue of Seventeen Magazine. But if memory serves this trick also sometimes included multiple safety pins, used for flair? Anyone?

Now. How to enjoy some free, non-committal tailoring that shows off your shoes, socks and/or style:

  1. Start with normal, unrolled jeans (or pants!).
  2. Pinch up the inner hem of one leg, lengthwise. Use one hand at the bottom hem of your pants, and the other 3-4″ up the leg
  3. Fold this pinched fabric flat over toward the heel of foot.
  4. Hold the fold-over in place as you roll the bottom hem of your pants up once, approx 1″
  5. Roll that bottom fold one more time so the hem is no longer visible
  6. Repeat on other leg

OR! We have two done-for-you pairs of elevated french cuff styled pants, not jeans, both by Rachel Comey.


The New Encino Pant
Robbia Pant