A high-waisted trouser does one thing: it moves your waistline up to where your waist actually is. Your legs look longer, your stomach looks flatter, and your shirt stops escaping.
Where they sit
At the navel. Not on the hips. If you pull a high-waisted trouser down to where your jeans sit, the crotch drops, the pleats splay, and you'll decide the style isn't for you. It is. You were just wearing it wrong.
Tuck everything in
The waistband is the point of the trouser, so show it. Knit polo, tee, linen shirt: all tucked. An untucked shirt over a high waist hides the one thing you paid for and makes you look shorter than you are.
Keep the top simple
The trouser has pleats, a crease and a turn-up. That's enough going on. Above it, wear something plain and reasonably fitted. A white tee works. A knitted polo works better.
Get the length right
The hem should just touch the top of your shoe, with the crease running straight down to it. A turn-up helps, because it weights the hem and keeps that line clean. If the cloth is pooling at your ankle, they're too long.
Shoes
Loafers are the obvious answer, and the right one. Clean white leather sneakers are the modern answer, and also right. Chunky running shoes are not an answer.
The three mistakes
- Wearing them low. See above. Navel.
- Adding a belt. A good high-waisted trouser has side adjusters and no belt loops. That's deliberate.
- Going too tight. Pleats need room to hang. If they're pulling open, go up a size and use the buckles. The size guide explains.
Four ways to wear one pair
Knit polo and loafers for lunch. White tee and sneakers for everything casual. White shirt after dark. An open linen shirt on holiday. We've laid them out on the Palazzo page, on a trouser built for exactly this.