It’s hard to pick my favorite place for french fries in San Francisco. So many great tasty choices! Since they are usually a side order after all, -does it matter what I’m having them with with? Regardless of your preference, can you tell me what French Cuffs (for your pants) have in common with French fries for your tummy? That’s right! They’re both bad for you!

It’s classic when a gentleman comes in for a suit alteration requesting French cuffs for the bottoms. Now we are not talking French cuff shirts, but the type of hem tailored for your pant bottoms. I know we all love wine and croissants and all the lovely things France has brought us, however French cuff bottoms is not one of them. In their defense the term wasn’t coined in France. This is an old tailor’s trick when there’s only 2-3 inches of fabric at the bottom of the trousers, they can fold and stitch it to appear like a regular cuff.  It doesn’t carry the same weight (affecting the drape) or look as regular cuff should when tailoring the bottoms of a trouser. Now we are not talking when you roll or turn up to make a cuff by hand on your pants or jeans, we are talking when actually getting trousers or suit bottoms tailored.

And when it comes to denim, make sure you see a proper tailor even if you aren’t going custom. It’s very rare to get the best length directly off the rack. Rather than hem the bottoms to get the right lengths, the right tailor can re-attach the original manufacturer hem, to maintain the style of the look when shortening.

France brings us many great things, including Dormeuil  fabrics (where we offer a lovely selection in our own Downtown SF studio). But be weary of fabrics and of other random services being labeled with “French”. It’s often a substitute for Faux or fake and often more a part of a marketing strategy.

Just come see The Clothing Coach in Union Square and we’ll get you tailored the right way from bespoke to simple alterations. Customized to your goals.