Fat Buddha Store Glasgow - Guide to Pinrolling Your Denim

Photo curtsey of our own Phil Berry

What's the point of wearing your best sneakers when they're half covered up by your denim or chinos? One massive trend we have seen coming from sneaker culture, and it doesn't involve buying pre-cuffed trousers either, is pinrolling.

You'll probably recognise this look from Instagram amongst the sneaker community, it involves rolling up and tightening the cuff of your denims or chinos as a means of showing off your sneakers. It may look easy but there is an art to getting it right and it can look terrible when not executed properly. With this in mind we have created a handy guide for how to pin roll your denims or chinos along with tips and mistakes to avoid:

How to Pinroll:
In this blog we will look at the do's and don't of pinrolling your denims or chinos but first let us explain how you do it in this first place. First up make sure your trousers are uncuffed. Using your middle and index finger pull the inner inseam of your trousers, grasping it, and pulling it out. You then need to fold it, and grab the bottom of the trousers where the fabric now overlaps. Cuff your trousers up once, while still holding close to that overlap. Smooth out the cuff and your done. If your having trouble following it without visuals you can check out this Youtube tutorial:

Do & Don't:
Do:  Make sure you're wearing the right sneakers. Pinrolling looks good when paired with runners or low profile silhouette, higher profile silhouettes such as basketball and hightop sneakers are not going to look good with this look.

Do: Make sure the cuff is clean. Pinrolls only look good when you've managed to get a good clean roll. Once you've mastered your roll make sure that both sides are even and that the cuff doesn't have any wrinkles or creases. 

Do: Make sure you up your sock game. Pinrolling will not only show of your sneakers it will also show of your sock. So if you are going to go for the pinroll a shabby old yellowing sock will not do. Make sure your sock and sneaker don't clash or for the warmer months go without or with an ankle sock that minimally peaks out.

Do: Pinroll Selvedge: Selvedge denim is always a great choice and pinrolling is a great way to show off your denim credentials. The selvedge thread stripe looks super cool when denims are cuffed. While you don't need Selvedge to pull off this look it certainly adds style points.
Don't: Pinroll overly skinny trousers. The point of pinrolling is to pull in and slim the bottom of your pants and therefore make your sneakers more visible. If your pants are too slim it will not only be difficult to roll it also just won't look right.

Don't: Pinnroll overly baggy trouser. While pinrolling is meant to slim and taper the bottom of your trousers there is a point where trousers are just to baggy to pinroll. Not only will it look bizarre the pinroll simply won't stay up for long.

Don't: Pinroll short trousers. The good thing about pinrolling is that it shows off your sneakers without showing to much of your leg. If you roll up trousers that are already short it's just going to look odd.

Don't: Pinroll long trousers. For obvious reasons if you pinroll long denim it will cause the excess material to bunch up above the roll which doesn't exactly make for a flattering look.