Wide-leg trousers: the one measurement that decides it

Wide-leg trousers are the hardest shorter purchase there is, and the most rewarding when they're right. The shape depends entirely on the hem landing in one precise place — on the top of the shoe, with the leg falling in one straight line. Two centimetres too long and the fabric pools; two too short and the proportion collapses.

The inside leg is the number

Regular UK trousers are cut with an inside leg of roughly 79 cm (31"). Petite ranges on the high street (cut for 5'3" and under) use about 76 cm (30"). For a 5'0"–5'2" woman in a flat shoe the right inside leg is often 71–74 cm; at 5'3" with a small heel, 75–76 cm works.

Why taking them up rarely works

A wide leg is cut to flare from the knee. Shorten it at the hem and the widest point of the leg sits too low on the calf, which is exactly the look the style is meant to avoid. A high waist helps — it moves the visual start of the leg up — but only the inside leg decides whether the trouser was made for your height.

How we list trousers

We publish the inside leg per size and the heights it's made for. If a pair only works for 5'2"–5'3" with a flat shoe, the page says so. When a supplier's inside leg runs regular, the trouser doesn't go on the site — however good it looks.