# Should you dress to one side of your trousers?



## welsh boy (Jan 15, 2008)

I am hoping you can help resolve an on-going dicussion I am having with a female friend. I have been explaining to her that when being fitted for a properly tailored suit the tailor should ask 'on which side do you dress' when measuring for the trousers, and I told her that personally I dress on the left. However, she thinks that this is un-sightly and looks bad, drawing attention to that area of the body, and thinks that it is more normal to somehow position yourself directly to the centre, so that there is no visible signs on either the left or right side. I have told her that this is incredibly uncomfortable (at least it is for me). I would be interested to know your opinions. Thanks.


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## Taxler (Oct 22, 2006)

Nice choice of topics for your first post. I leave which side to chance, and I've never had a tailor ask.


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## Anthony Jordan (Apr 29, 2005)

I think that until she has to deal with the question herself, then she should refrain from addressing it! Possibly what she suggests is physically possible for briefs wearers, although I haven't worn these for fifteen years to know, but certainly it wouldn't work for those of us who prefer shorts. And if you favour trousers which are fairly generously cut, it shouldn't be a problem anyway. Welcome from another Cardiff-located member, by the way.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

To paraphrase a certain Panamanian tailor: “It’s like a damn windsock, it’s all over the place. I never know where the damn thing is.”


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## Daywalker (Aug 21, 2005)

welsh boy said:


> I am hoping you can help resolve an on-going dicussion I am having with a female friend. I have been explaining to her that when being fitted for a properly tailored suit the tailor should ask 'on which side do you dress' when measuring for the trousers, and I told her that personally I dress on the left. However, she thinks that this is un-sightly and looks bad, drawing attention to that area of the body, and thinks that it is more normal to somehow position yourself directly to the centre, so that there is no visible signs on either the left or right side. I have told her that this is incredibly uncomfortable (at least it is for me). I would be interested to know your opinions. Thanks.


Seems like an odd topic for an "ongoing discussion". Why do you need to explain that particular detail?

Some men place wallets, keys, cell phones, etc., in their pockets when being fitted so the tailor can account for the bulk and profile. My opinion is that your tailor should fit your trousers so that your preference for right or left is not obvious (unless you want it so). I agree with your "friend" that making your anatomy obvious is unsightly, and it is in poor taste.

My real opinion is that you get your kicks discussing this with your "female friend". Must be some kind of seduction technique.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Paraphrasing the character, Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, "Auntie Em, Auntie Em...have we spotted a Troll in Kansas? Oh my!"


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## Concordia (Sep 30, 2004)

Daywalker said:


> My real opinion is that you get your kicks discussing this with your "female friend".


Based on the evidence, I'd say not just her.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I give this absolutely no thought and have never been asked the question.


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## nicksull (Sep 1, 2005)

*A LITTLE IGNORANCE GOES A LONG WAY*

Your friend with the best will in the world cannot possibly understand or know...or guess about such things.

But there are shops where ladies can get hold of facsimiles of the extremity in question which attaches to the person by means of leather straps and buckles. I cant imagine why these shops exist but there you go....
Perhaps she should try this out at Poole's or Huntsman. Although my maiden aunt in Eastbourne says that the modern ones tend to point straight forwards which may add to the cost of cloth somewhat.

While were at it the point of a tailor asking which side a customer dresses (i wonder if this is not actually an urbane (sic) myth) is in order to mitigate, not enhance, the bulge.....


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## The Other Andy (Jan 9, 2008)

mpcsb said:


> To paraphrase a certain Panamanian tailor: "It's like a damn windsock, it's all over the place. I never know where the damn thing is."


Prince Albert had a way to take care of that, though I wouldn't personally recommend it


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## Good Old Sledge (Jun 13, 2006)

Thanks, Nicks. I was afraid this thread was going to get silly.


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

Speaking only for myself, it's no big thing either way.


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## Mark from Plano (Jan 29, 2007)

Do you also give her tips on bra fittings?


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## trims (Apr 12, 2007)

Brooksfan said:


> Speaking only for myself, it's no big thing either way.


:biggrin2: This may fall under the category of 'too much information'!


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

I just order my trousers a bit baggy around both knees.


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## Concordia (Sep 30, 2004)

https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showpost.php?p=464834&postcount=103


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

PJC in NoVa said:


> I just order my trousers a bit baggy around both knees.


Yes...and I just buy my crew socks with a bit of give in the elastic at the top of the sock! (winks) Sorry...I've been bitting my tongue all day!


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

eagle2250 said:


> Yes...and I just buy my crew socks with a bit of give in the elastic at the top of the sock!


I knew I could count on Eagle for good sense. I'm gonna hafta try that stuffing it in the sock....man I hate it when I step on it.


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## jar2574 (Aug 30, 2007)

Brooksfan said:


> Speaking only for myself, it's no big thing either way.


LOL ....


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## red96 (Jun 26, 2007)

Ok, I may be demonstrating extreme naivete here, but can someone explain what this thread is about? I've never heard my tailor (or anyone else) for that matter ask about dressing to the left or right or whatever. Is this a joke, or is there an actual clothing question here that I am not understanding...please do enlighten me!


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## cdavant (Aug 28, 2005)

I'm a doctor so I have to look.
First, "Which way do you dress" refers to testicles, the left often being lower, but for most men nature hasn't endowed us with enough to make a visible clothed difference, particularly if we wear briefs.
Second, there are a few of us where it could make a difference, and these seem to be mostly old bulls who are hung like one--and they are usually at least 50 pounds past being useful as a stud.
Third, if you aren't a doctor getting paid for it, why are you looking? (Not that there is anything wrong with that).


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## Lookingforaclue (Nov 10, 2005)

Cardiff Giant redux?

SRW


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## DB9 (Oct 17, 2007)

this has got to be the funniest thing I have read today. Oil's going nuts (oops), economy is dicking around (sorry), housing has gone soft (apologies), credit crunch will soon shaft (oh crap) most of us, election nominations are in a pickle (gotta stop...now)..and what do we devote our time to? None other than the old trouser trombone ic12337: topic


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## red96 (Jun 26, 2007)

now that I understand this reference, :idea: I have to concur that this is a pretty funny post...

This dressing to one side thing made me think of these trousers from BB. I'm guessing they were designed for men who dress to the left!

https://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=229rmultienlargedcs2.jpg


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I'd tell her "I have my tailor leave an extra few inches of leg width down to about the knees of both legs so I have the option". :icon_smile_wink:


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

red96 said:


> now that I understand this reference, :idea: I have to concur that this is a pretty funny post...
> 
> This dressing to one side thing made me think of these trousers from BB. I'm guessing they were designed for men who dress to the left!
> 
> https://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=229rmultienlargedcs2.jpg


Or a Scotsman with serious identity conflicts and a decisiveness problem.


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## a tailor (May 16, 2005)

*dress?*

the trouser pattern is always a center dress. the two fronts are cut together. then the side opposite the dress is cut off. the amount removed is only enough to remove the baggy appearance on that side. its never a large amount. 
take a look at your rtw trousers.


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## Concordia (Sep 30, 2004)

a tailor said:


> then the side opposite the dress is cut off.


Measure twice, cut once-- I should hope.


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## RipRoar (Jan 8, 2008)

*I wish*

Unfortunately, I cannot knowledgeably address the question. I do hope, though, to someday have the (ahem) bulging pockets to either afford a tailor so thorough or require my dress accounted for.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Concordia said:


> Measure twice, cut once-- I should hope.


"Circumcisions half off"
sign painted on Rabi's wagon in Mel Brooks 'Robin Hood Men in Tights'


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## MrsC (Dec 26, 2007)

I realize this is a men's forum, but I can't resist weighing in ... :icon_smile_wink:

Assuming you are not a troll: If this is an "on-going discussion" that you and your female friend keep having and _she _keeps bringing it up, it might be because you are providing clear evidence that you "dress on the left." Women do not address such topics as obvious hardware as bluntly as men, and this may be her way of trying to get you to notice that your trousers are revealing more than they should.

If this is not the case, and you are bringing up the subject as frequently as she, then perhaps you could consider refinement in conversational topics to be at least as important as refinement in dress.


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## RSS (Dec 30, 2003)

red96 said:


> Ok, I may be demonstrating extreme naivete here, but can someone explain what this thread is about? I've never heard my tailor (or anyone else) for that matter ask about dressing to the left or right or whatever. Is this a joke, or is there an actual clothing question here that I am not understanding...please do enlighten me!


Well, if it's a joke ... Anderson & Sheppard used to play it. On my first vist, Mr. Harvey did ask "the question" once I had committed and was being measured. Fortunately, I was prepared with an answer ... thanks to the coaching of the person who introduced me to the firm.

I don't recall other tailors asking that question ... but perhaps after one is asked the first time ... it's no longer as memorable an "event."


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

I was wondering how an architect might address this structural issue!


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## A.J. Di Liberti (Jan 1, 2008)

It seems a standard tailoring question to me. At least it's been asked the first time I’ve seen a tailor to be measured for pants or a suit.

Perhaps your pants need to be cut a little more generous?


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## Bog (May 13, 2007)

Sitters: (left to right)
Unidentified.
Don Carlos, 8th Duke of Sotomayor, Special Spanish Ambassador for Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and diplomatic suite.
Don José Caro, secretary of the Special Spanish Embassy and actual secretary of the Spanish legation in Lisbon in 1897.
Don Carlos, 8th Duke of Sotomayor, Special Spanish Ambassador for Queen Victoria's Jubilee
Captain Hon. Alwyn Henry Fulke Greville, later Colonel Greville.
[Other sitters: Señor Alfonso Merry del Val; Señor Benitez al Villar.]


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## EAP (Jan 19, 2007)

If Eric Glennie is reading this, I sense a solution is forthcoming.


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## jml90 (Dec 7, 2005)

What does a man with two penises say to his tailor when he asks if he dressed to the right or the left?



















Yes


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## thinman (Jan 21, 2005)

I would think that dressing to both sides would be rather painful...


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## The Doctor (Oct 17, 2005)

I leave mine baggy at the knees.


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## young guy (Jan 6, 2005)

Who really cares which side of your pants your dick hangs? I can understand a tailor asking the question as he wouldn't want to bump into it, but other than that? Anyone wearing boxer shorts will likely show more to one side than the other and this is probably only an interest to some women and gay guys. (Oh and I don't mean theres anything wrong about them looking).


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## Frog in Suit (Mar 27, 2007)

A short factual response:
The fly on a bespoke pair of trousers is not symmetrical. It goes off to one side at its lower extremity, in order to accomodate the configuration of the wearer, which is why bespoke tailors prefer that you wear boxer shorts rather than briefs when being measured the first time. Cf. pages 174 and 175 of The Savile Row Stiory, by Richard Walker, Prion 1988, for a more elaborate discussion.
Best regards,
Frog in Suit


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## smlaz (May 13, 2005)

I hope you're finding the "ongoing covnersation" more than just conversation with your friend. She has already attempted to redress the errors of your dressing ways, but to what end? Have you not attempted to explain the drastic measures by which we men must contain our latitudes within our sartorial bounds? Perhaps this is a discussion better suited, so to speak, for your friendly neighborhood urologist and/or mohel. They'd know best.


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