Are you wondering how to wear boot blousers? Are you required to wear army boots or work boots and have trouble keeping dirt, bugs, or cold air out of your pants? Bloused boots are a great way to keep yourself clean, dry, and at a comfortable temperature. Whether you’re new to the game, looking to increase your skills, or just plain curious, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite techniques to ensure your legs are warm and clean, and keep you looking sharp!
After years of trial, tribulation, and discovery, we can definitively say that we’ve tried every possible way to blouse our boots to protect your skin. From the simple elastic band to commercially available straps, securing your pants (or BDU’s) with boot blousers can be straightforward, even easy!
Top tip: wear tall socks and make sure you are comfortable in your favorite boots (whether they are army boots, work boots, or hiking boots). It’s imperative to wear thick socks! Steps can become painful otherwise.
Why use Boot Blousers?
Whether you’re in the military, working outside, or just appreciate the fashion, there are many reasons why you might need to use boot blousers.
The usual reason is – you are required to use them. But some people just like the look as well.
When working anywhere with wind, dirt, or debris, it’s important to keep your skin protected and free from dust or chilly air. Additionally, if you’re in the military, securing your pants like this can help ensure a neat appearance for all troops and keep everyone looking sharp and uniform.
Nobody wants debris in their army boots or cold air up their legs! Blousing your boots properly is quick and easy, and ensures your pants are secure from the elements. Being able to prevent dirt or wind from getting to your ankle area is a useful skill to have. Learning to blouse your boots is a beneficial skill for your next hunting trip, day of outdoor chores, or camping excursion.
There are several different ways to talk about blousing your boots. Some refer to this process as ballooning, blousing, or strapping, and some refer to the pants while others refer to the boots! To reduce any confusion, we will refer to these interchangeably in this article when we talk about blousing boots.
We’ve picked our four most effective methods to get that perfect balloon look, whether using elastic bands or blousing straps. Regardless of the method that works best for you, there are a few things you will need before we get started:
Pants: military pants, hunting pants, cargo pants, or battle dress uniform pants (BDU pants)
A thick pair of tall socks: thick socks are essential to hold the extra fabric of the pants legs in place but should be thin enough to still feel comfortable
Tall boots: your favorite pair of boots, or try army surplus stores if you’re in the market for a new pair of tactical boots. These can be hiking boots, great lightweight tactical boots, hunting boots, or any of your favorite tall boots
Boot blousing straps: these might be called garters, elastic bands, ties, or blousing bands, and can be purchased at military surplus stores
Four of our favorite methods of boot blousing are: tucking in your pants, elastic blousing bands, blousing bands or blousing ties, and using battle dress uniform pants. Make sure to try a few different methods to make sure you find the one that is a perfect fit for you. We’ll go over all of these in step-by-step detail, so let’s hitch up our pants and get started!
Ways to Secure Pant Legs
There are many options to use when you’re picking the best ways to properly blouse boots. First, it’s very important to wear good quality footwear. Good socks ensure that you can tuck the outer layer of loose fabric to hold your bloused pants securely and that they do not feel uncomfortable. Whether you choose to blouse your boots because of a new fashion trend or because you are military personnel who needs to match other military uniforms, this particular method is an essential skill for many who hate their pants slipping.
One effective method to keep your pants tucked is to blouse your boots with blousing garters, also known as boot bands, elastic ties, or cords. You can also use fashionable paracord bracelets, in a pinch You can use a variety of objects, both every day and specialty, to keep your pants inside of your boots. Blousing boots are perfect for outdoor activities, and it is a great way to supplement your protective gear.
Tucking Pants In
If you’re in a lurch without blousers and can’t run to the store before blousing your boots, you can always tuck them in. This method is not recommended for use if you need your boots bloused for function: dirt, dust, and other debris can still get in if you choose this method. To quickly blouse boots with no boot bands, the outer layer of the pants can be tucked into your thick socks.
Tucking your pants into your boots is the easiest and cheapest method to blouse your boots for fashion (or uniformity, if you’re military).
How to tuck in your pants to blouse your boots:
Make sure you are wearing thick, tall socks.
Put on your favorite pants for blousing (wide-leg cut).
Pull up the pant leg so that the hem is about midway up your ankle.
Tuck your pant leg into your sock – some like to tuck evenly around the leg and others prefer to fold the fabric in the back for a flatter finish.
Put your boot on and tuck your pants inside.
Gently pull your pants up over your boot to achieve the blousing effect.
Repeat on the second leg.
Elastic Strap/Rubber Band Boot Blousing
Using a rubber band or elastic strap is the most cost-effective way to blouse your boots aside from simply tucking your pants into your boots. The key here is to make sure your rubber band fits well- if they’re too tight they can affect your circulation or cause a friction burn.
Be sure to measure your calf before buying your rubber bands! You don’t want to be left with a bag of rubber bands that will go to waste. Blousing your boots properly depends on a good fit.
Perhaps the most appealing perk of using elastic blousing bands is its cost-effectiveness. A bag of rubber bands is cheap, it’s not a big deal if you lose one, and it’s easy to replace at any craft store, pharmacy, or department store, instead of having to head to a specialty or military surplus store.
How to use the rubber band boot blousing method:
Put on thick, tall socks.
Put on your choice of pants (the leg should be wide enough to achieve the ballooning effect).
Pull up your pant leg.
Slide rubber band over your foot and up to your ankle.
Tuck your pants into the rubber bands.
Grasp the material from below the rubber band and fold it up over the band to hide it.
Put your boots on, making sure they hide the rubber band area.
Pull pant fabric up gently to achieve a perfectly bloused boot.
Repeat on the second leg.
Blousing Strap or Blousing Ties
Blouse straps (or blouse bands, or blouse ties) are commercially available options to help you blouse boots. Most versions are adjustable blousing straps, which guarantee a snug enough fit without interfering with circulation. While straightforward, learning the proper technique is the most difficult of the other options. We will use blousing straps and blousing ties interchangeably in this article – the biggest difference is the fastening mechanism.
Blousing bands or blousing ties are a more effective and predictable choice over rubber bands, producing a perfect boot blouse every time. Breakage is rare and blousing bands or ties are readily available at most outdoor sports stores, army surplus stores, hunting stores, or even department stores with sports or fishing sections. They are affordable and comfortable, and it’s very unlikely that they will come undone if fastened with the proper steps.
Using blouse bands produces a predictable and consistent blouse effect, which stays firmly in place all day. Blouse bands are a perfect way to blouse your boots to make sure you stay clean, warm, and comfortable while working, fishing, hunting, or camping.
How to use Blouse Bands/Blousing Straps/Blouse Ties
Put on your favorite socks – make sure they are tall and thick!
Once your pants are on, lower them from the waist.
Reach down into your pants’ legs and pull the hems upwards, making sure the fabric is straight. Your pants will be around your feet, and the bottom hem will be pulled up inside-out on your ankle.
Take the strap and tie/clip (depending on the type of strap, it may have a different fastening mechanism) around the material you pulled up.
Pull up your pants and adjust if needed. The balloon look should be present.
Battle Dress Uniform Pants Boot Blousing
Whether you are military personnel or a civilian looking to blouse your boots to keep dirt, wind, and dust out of your pants, BDUs are a great option. If you need a pair of BDU pants, a military surplus store will be able to help you out.
The biggest benefit of BDU pants is that they are made specifically for blousing. They have longer than usual pant legs to allow you to blouse comfortably, and two layers of lower pants that allow you to effectively secure your blouser. The inside layer of the bottom of your pants adds extra loose fabric for your blousing band to secure and keep the cold air and dirt from going up the bottom of your pants. They’re very durable and able to handle any outdoor activity (hiking, fishing, hunting trips, farm work) you could throw at them.
Once you’ve got your BDU pants and your preferred method of blousing (strap, tie, or band) handy, you’re ready to blouse your pants!
How to use BDU pants:
Put on your favorite pair of tall, thick socks.
Step into your BDU army pants.
Pull and separate the layers of the BDU pants.
Secure the blousing strap inside the second layer and cover the bottom of your pants.
Put on and secure your favorite boots (military boots, hiking boots, work boots are all suitable options).
Pull to adjust as needed to blouse your boots
Enjoying Your New Pant Legs
Now that you know how to use a blousing band to make sure your pants stay where they belong, you’ll be able to participate in outdoor activities or work without worrying about wind, dirt, insects, or debris ending up where they shouldn’t be. By taking care to make sure each leg matches the other leg, your bloused boots will look smart, fashionable, and uniform. Blousing your boots will become second nature after a little practice!
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