Most men buy a suit and then wear the trousers alone twice as often. Trousers are the piece that does the quiet work, and the piece most wardrobes get wrong. SALVE makes them to your measurements in Gurugram.
Photographed and priced
- The Cadogan, ₹4,500: a high-rise double-pleated trouser in fluid Terry Rayon, with an extended waistband, side adjusters and a deep turn-up. In navy, black or khaki.
The rest of the trouser book
Cut and available to commission. Price is confirmed with the cloth at the appointment.
- The Connaught: a high-rise single-pleat trouser for work and everyday soft tailoring.
- The Bowery: the flat-front one, for a narrower line.
- The Via: wide and straight, for a different everyday silhouette.
- The Club: the formal dress trouser, for dinner jackets and Indian formalwear.
- The Weekender: relaxed, for lunches and travel.
See the full trousers collection.
Pleated or flat front?
A pleat adds room through the hip and thigh and then releases into a straight leg. Worn on the natural waist it lengthens the line. Worn on the hip it does the opposite, which is why almost everyone who says they dislike pleats has only ever seen them worn low. A flat front is cleaner and narrower and reads more modern in a business setting. If you sit at a desk all day or drive a lot, the pleat will be more comfortable.
The rise is the decision
Rise is the distance from the crotch to the top of the waistband, and it does more for how a trouser looks than the width of the leg. A higher rise sits at the natural waist, lengthens the leg and keeps the shirt in place when you move. A low rise puts the waistband on the hip, where a belt is doing work the trouser should be doing itself. We cut ours high, with side adjusters and no belt loops, so the line across the front stays clean.
What we check at the fitting
How the waistband sits when you are seated, not only when you stand. Whether the thigh has room without the leg looking full. Where the break falls at the shoe, which is one soft break and no more. And whether the trouser stays put through a working day, which is the whole point of an extended waistband.
Appointments at home or office in Gurugram by arrangement. Talk to SALVE about trousers, or read how an appointment works.