If you have knock knees, you’ve probably suffered trouser fit issues at the knees.

It’s a common problem in this age where most makers are cutting their pants either quite slim, or at least tapered to a somewhat narrow leg opening.
This is a look that many people like, and it’s been prevalent for so long because it does look flattering on many people.
If you play sports, work out, or are just slim in general, a tapered leg helps to give an athletic appearance.

However, something you’ll notice about models in clothing advertisements is that anyone wearing slim pants is usually in possession of a rather straight pair of legs.
They aren’t bow legged, and they haven’t got knock knees.

Unfortunately, this is a prerequisite for most of the off the peg tapered and slim trousers you see, to look great.
If you have knock knees or bow legs, you’ll need your pants cut differently to be flattering on your legs.
There are a few options for ways to go about this.
And, if you really like a tapered trouser, don’t despair.
You can still achieve a taper with a slightly different cut.

I’ll cover ways to achieve a flattering trouser fit from both off the rack (with alterations) and custom made clothing.

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Firstly, anything you buy off the rack is going to need alterations.
You’ll want to start with a straight cut trouser, which has enough room at the thighs and knees to let the trouser hang cleanly.
Bear in mind that this will immediately disqualify most ready to wear options in department stores and the like, so you’ll want to search for a brand that is more sartorially inclined.
If the pant does any bunching or catching on your knee, leave it on the rack.
If it hangs cleanly, like the image below, you’re in luck.

If the pant fit is looking like this, you can take it to your alterations tailor and have it tapered to your liking.
Budget up to $60AUD in addition to the price of buying the trouser, in order to have this done.

You can have them narrow the leg opening to your preference, but don’t let them narrow the knee.
It must be tapered from the knee down, as slimming the pant from higher up will likely cause that pesky bunching at the knee and you’ll be back to square one.
Given this, consider the amount of taper that will look proportionally right on you.
Don’t overdo it.

Alternatively, you can embrace a wider leg trouser silhouette.
Personally, the wide leg is something I’ve come to enjoy immensely.
A relatively straight leg is now the kind of cut that I now wear on a daily basis.

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If you are having something custom made, the same principle of fit applies.
Make sure there is plenty of room in the thigh and the knee, so that the trouser can hang cleanly, masking the knock knee or bow leg.
You can then specify the leg opening to the width – or lack thereof – that you require.

For example, you can look at the trousers on the suit cut for me by Beg Your Pardon nearly a year ago, when I was first introduced.
Michael, the owner, prefers quite a tapered leg and convinced me he could make a narrower leg opening look good on me.
The result was a sharply cut pant with a narrow leg opening that doesn’t bunch at the knee whatsoever.
I’ve also since acquired a vintage Feraud suit with a high waisted pant that has quite a narrow leg, and that hangs quite well also.

If you’re a proponent of a tapered leg and you have knock knees or bow legs, let that give you a great amount of relief.

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