# Men's inseam measurements **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191 "2011-05-08T21:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/1 "2011-05-08T21:22:34Z")
Today I was randomly thinking of the scene in the second season of **Carnivale** in which Justin dreams of Iris taking his inseam measurement and then stabbing him in the crotch. Yikes. Anyway, Justin is played by Clancy Brown, who is a tall man – 6’3" or 6’4" at his prime, maybe a little shorter now that he’s older, say 6’2". In the show, his character’s inseam measurement came out to 31 1/2", and I’m going to assume that this is not far from reality, since you see the measuring tape, plus if that was an unlikely measurement for a man that tall, someone would have changed the script. Now, the thing is, _my_ inseam is 31". And I’m a 5’4" woman, with short legs. How could we possibly have the same inseam measurement? I called up my brother and asked him what his inseam is, and his is 30" and he’s 5’10". Now I’m really puzzled. He wears his pants at his hips, and I wear my pants a little higher, so how can his inseam be shorter than mine? I can wear flat shoes and not step on my hems, too. So, men, please tell me how tall you are and what your inseam measurement is. And if you have any ideas as to how short-legged me and a man nearly a foot taller could wear the same length of trousers, please feel free to opine. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/2 "2011-05-08T21:28:55Z")
Different ratios of torso to leg length. I’m 5’8" and I wear a 32" inseam. (Well, 31", but non-tailored pants don’t come in odd lengths.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/3 "2011-05-08T22:24:06Z")
It also depends how you wear your pants. It is said that men never buy a larger belt after a certain age. We simply wear our belts beneath our bellies, rather than on them . . . thus needing a shorter inseam. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/4 "2011-05-08T22:26:25Z")
I’m 5’11 3/4", and I wear my pants fairly low (being one of those young thuggish men that are everywhere these days with their underwear showing and what not). 32-33" inseam. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/5 "2011-05-08T23:03:26Z")
just shy of 6 ft. 30" inseam. I have a long torso. Makes it difficult keeping shirts tucked in. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/6 "2011-05-08T23:10:43Z")
Just under 6’, with a 30" inseam. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/7 "2011-05-08T23:12:02Z")
Based on the responses so far, I’m thinking of starting an organization called the American Association of Men Who Are Just Shy Of 6 Feet. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/8 "2011-05-08T23:18:31Z")
6’ 2" wear a 32" ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/9 "2011-05-08T23:19:59Z")
5’11 3/4", 33 inch inseam. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/10 "2011-05-09T00:43:08Z")
This is bizarre. I think there may be some significant difference between the cut of women and men’s pants, or maybe there’s some kind of…reverse vanity sizing going on. I just can’t believe my (short!) legs and the legs of a man Just Shy of 6 Feet could be the same length. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/11 "2011-05-09T00:46:09Z")
Husband is 6’6" with a 36" inseam. I’m 5’8" with a 32" true inseam, but I buy 33-34" usually so I can wear high heels to work. People have vastly different leg-to-torso-length ratios, and it really has an effect on inseam length, where the height of the person doesn’t come into play as much. What you’re really looking at is how high each person’s hips/waist are off the ground, and that tends to be a lot more stable (once gender is taken into account) than actual total height. It’s why most pants are for sale with 30" to 34" inseams. A sizable percentage of the population falls into that limited range of measurements. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/12 "2011-05-09T00:52:33Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > This is bizarre. I think there may be some significant difference between the cut of women and men’s pants, or maybe there’s some kind of…reverse vanity sizing going on. I just can’t believe my (short!) legs and the legs of a man Just Shy of 6 Feet could be the same length. If you look at men and women when they stand together, you notice that often their waists are the same distance from the ground. I don’t know why, but it seems some men have a proportionally longer torso than women. My inseam and my husband’s are the same. I’m 5’4" and he is 6’0. Now my 6’4" brother has a 34 inseam, which is 4" longer than mine. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/13 "2011-05-09T01:38:48Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > This is bizarre. I think there may be some significant difference between the cut of women and men’s pants, or maybe there’s some kind of…reverse vanity sizing going on. I just can’t believe my (short!) legs and the legs of a man Just Shy of 6 Feet could be the same length. Do you wear your pants with high heels? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/14 "2011-05-09T01:44:15Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > This is bizarre. I think there may be some significant difference between the cut of women and men’s pants, or maybe there’s some kind of…reverse vanity sizing going on. I just can’t believe my (short!) legs and the legs of a man Just Shy of 6 Feet could be the same length. I JUST got 3 pairs of pants back from the tailor and I just went upstairs and measured the inseam with an honest to goodness gender neutral measuring tape. 31.5" on the nose, just like I expected. Maybe you should measure your own now and see if they’re true to 31"? I’m 5’10". ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/15 "2011-05-09T02:07:59Z")
5’9" - 32" inseam. When I was in college, I used to give rides to my roommate and a friend who was maybe 5’3". She complained about always being stuck in the back seat. I replied that she got the back seat because she was shorter than both my roommate and I. After a short argument we discovered her inseam was 33" - longest legs of the three of us. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/16 "2011-05-09T02:49:29Z")
Female, 5’9", 33" inseam. My husband is 6’3" and wears a 34" inseam. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/17 "2011-05-09T02:59:22Z")
**gallows** , if you’re 5’4" and have a 31" inseam, you don’t have short legs. Standard inseams in ‘petites’ pants are 28" or 29" and I know plenty of women as tall as 5’6" and 5’7" who have to buy petite pants if they don’t want to hem them; _they_ have short legs. The crotches of men’s pants are looser and lower, so the inseam measurement is a bit shorter than women’s pants, that usually go all the way up. But it’s also true that many men (most, even) have shorter legs/longer torsos proportionately. You can see it clearly looking at most pictures of men and women standing next to each other - legs will be close to the same length, hips on a level, even when men are a head (or two, or three) taller. I am a woman and barely 5’5", a 32" inseam is perfect (I never wear shoes with any heel with my pants), and my legs are longer than many men I know, the majority of which are 3 or more inches taller than me. My BF is 5’8" and has a 30" inseam. One of my sisters is 5’10" and takes a 36" inseam ideally (not that she can ever find it, because she’s slim as well as tall - she sticks to skirts and leggings), her legs are comically long compared to most men she knows. Her crotch comes up to their waists sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/18 "2011-05-09T03:19:03Z")
Well, I’m married to a tall guy whose inseam is 34" and hasn’t changed since we were married. But long ago, I dated a guy who was 6’2" and whose inseam was, like, 28. His jeans were the same length as mine! Oddly enough, this guy was the most compatible guy I ever danced with. But when we sat in a car he towered over me, and I couldn’t drive his car and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/19 "2011-05-09T03:35:21Z")
I’m 6’4" and have a 33" inseam. My torso is very long, and like **notfrommensa** , it’s very difficult for me to keep a shirt tucked in. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191/20 "2011-05-09T04:04:39Z")
I’m 5’10", male, with a 31" inseam. I inherited my build from both of my grandmothers – comparatively long torso, and shorter arms and legs (as one of my aunts says, “we’re built like Yoda”). Most guys I know who are around my height have an inseam which is a couple inches longer (no, it’s not a topic which comes up often…but, if you wear Levi’s, you advertise your pants measurements on your bum 😉 ). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-inseam-measurements/581191.md?page=2)