Leg Cut

Leg cut describes the line a trouser or jean draws below the seat. That means how closely it fits the thigh, where it releases, and how wide the hem lands over the shoe. Rise sets where the pants begin; leg cut sets everything after. So the two together decide the whole lower silhouette and which shoes survive under it.

The trade judges a cut by its hem opening, the width of the leg at the bottom, read against the knee. A hem narrower than the knee tapers, a hem equal to it runs straight, and a hem wider than it flares. You can grade any pair the same way at home: lay it flat, measure across the hem and across the knee, and compare the two numbers.

Read the six options as a scale of hem width with one outlier. Skinny, straight, bootcut, flare and wide leg run narrow to full at the hem. Boyfriend changes the seat and thigh rather than the hem. Balance rules the pairings: keep one point of volume per outfit, so slim legs sit under roomy tops and wide legs under fitted ones.