Looking good shouldn’t be a task. Knowing how to blouse your boots is a skill that would naturally make you stand out among your peers, whether you are a military officer or civilian.
In addition to making you look smarter, blousing your boots makes movement more convenient and prevents dirt, sand, and insects from getting into your boots. It also keeps the pants from flapping in the wind, especially when military officers exit an aircraft. You are ready for action without unnecessary encumbrances.
Retaining and maintaining mobility is highly essential, especially for anyone who spends a great deal of time in the great outdoors. Your pant legs can make movement quite inconvenient if they are not well-packed.
Thankfully, blousing your boots can solve this issue, and you can adjust them to fit your style perfectly.
If you want to know how to do boot blousing, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is quite easy. Generally, it involves tucking your pant leg into your boot after putting them on and securing them by tying the boots using your preferred blousing strap. It’s not hard to blouse boots, but this is a rather simplistic explanation.
There are several methods of going about it – some straightforward and others a bit tricky but offering greater advantages.
Let’s look at some of the different techniques, starting from the simplest.
Method 1: Tuck It In
This method for blousing boots is, by far, the easiest. And what’s more, it can work for any type of pants or boots, including jump boots, cowboy boots, military boots, riding boots, and more. For this method, the pants must be a bit longer; preferably longer than regular-sized pants. The extra length is necessary because it allows the pant legs to tuck securely into the boots.
Here’s how to do it:
- Put on your pants and tuck the legs into your boots.
- If you are wearing a pair of socks, tuck the pant legs into the socks. Ensure the socks are the firm type, and they are level with your boots.
- Tie your boot laces nice and tight to secure the pants legs firmly in place.
Since the idea is to make your leg pants firm, tucking them into your boots is straightforward. The pants will look smart, and mobility is greatly enhanced.
However, this boot blouse method is not ideal if you plan to look sharp and keep dirt out from your hiking boots or work boots for most of the day. That’s because the easy-to-do technique can easily be displaced, and that happens rather too quickly, especially if you do a lot of rapid movements.
To ensure you’ve done a good job and prevent the blouse from coming off too quickly, consider running a few meters, jumping around in place, or doing a quick activity to confirm how firmly it holds.
You may need to adjust your boot laces or try a different method if the pant legs are not as packed as you want. Also, it is best to try another technique if this one makes you uncomfortable for any reason.
Method 2: Boot Strapping
Boot bands go by a few different names, including blousing straps. These are elastic cords used for blousing tactical pants, making them ideal for military officers.
Learning how to blouse boots using this method involves several steps. That means you’ll have to pay more attention. It may seem complicated at first, but it is as efficient as it is straightforward.
You will need a good strap to get the job done.
Here’s how to do it:
- Wear your pants and be sure they fit nicely. It is best if you have longer pant legs to make sure this method works well.
- Put on your boots and tie the laces firmly.
- Pull your pants down to your boots. You will only need to work on the portion of your pant legs just above your ankles, so make sure it is straight.
- Pull up your trousers carefully so that the pants hem is just about 4 inches above your boots.
- You’ll need to place two blousing straps or boot bands around the fabric on your boots just above your ankles. They should be around the second and third laces of the boots. While you can use any strap that you like, be sure to use something comfortable. It should not be too tight, or you may find the price of looking smart too high to pay!
- When you are sure the fabric is held tightly in place, pull up your pants again and wear them normally until it just balloons above your boot.
- Adjust the edges of the trouser leg to be sure the folded parts are not hanging awkwardly. If you want a more balloon shape, you can bend down and adjust it. If you prefer a straighter, tighter look, you can also work it out. You may need to around a few paces to ensure it is neither too tight nor too loose. It should fit nicely and look sharp if you have done a good job.
Here is another way to use a blouse strap:
- First, wear your pants and make sure you pull them just above the boots.
- Next, tie your boot bands and make sure they wrap around the trouser legs and connect just around the hooks of the boot.
- Let the pants flip inside the bands while pulling up your pants for adjustment.
- Some creases would have formed around the pant legs. Pull it up until they clear off and the ends are smooth.
Method 3: Elastic Straps
This method is quite similar to the bootstrap method. It also involves first wearing the pants and then pulling them down.
Once the pants are down, pull them up from the edges until they are at the tops of the boots. You will need to hold the material firmly in place with one hand while using the other hand to secure it with an elastic strap.
Repeat the procedure for the other boot, and when the elastic strap has firmly held the edges of the flipped pants in place, pull up the pants.
You can then proceed to the finishing stages as done in the previous methods. Although the procedure may look complicated at the beginning, it is straightforward.
Elastic straps are larger and firmer than bootstraps. For this reason, they are more likely to have adverse effects on blood circulation in the legs if used at a stretch for prolonged periods.
While it helps to secure the pants for a more put-together appearance, it is not advisable to keep them on for too long, especially if they are too tight. The best way to use them is for short periods at a time.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for how-to blouse boots, now you know three different techniques for doing so. While these methods are mainly used with tactical pants and boots and tend to be for military personnel, anyone embarking on a hike or any outdoor activity can use them.
Learning the different techniques comes in handy if you find yourself needing to blouse your boots, but a specific method is not quite suitable for your current situation. Hopefully, you are now more confident about keeping dirt and debris out of your boots and looking smarter in the process.
