There are several ways to effectively blouse your boots, although the easiest and most reliable method is to use boot bands, also known as blousing bands. These simply hook around the top of your tied boots, and then you can tuck your pant leg under the band. Boot bands come in numerous designs, but any type will work, providing the safest way to keep your boots bloused.
If you don’t have boot bands at hand, you can use either rubber bands or electrical tape as a stop-gap measure.
Need to blouse your boots properly for a parade, or just want to show off your boots?
Being able to blouse your boots quickly and properly can be a massive help, especially if you need to do it regularly.
I’m all about making life easier, so let’s take a look at the two main ways to blouse your boots quickly and simply.
What You’ll Need to Blouse Your Boots
If you’ve bought yourself some boot bands, you’re already halfway there.
All you need to blouse your boots are:
- Blousing boot bands
- The boots you intend to wear
- The pants you’ll be wearing with your boots
These are the simple elastic garter bands I use to blouse my boots.
What You’ll Need If You Don’t Have Blousing Bands
If you need a quick fix, anything that’s flexible and will hold its shape for a while can be used to blouse your boots. All you need is:
- Rubber bands
- Or electrical tape
- Or scotch tape
- Or use the socks that you’re wearing
- The boots you intend to wear
- The pants you’ll be wearing when you need to blouse your boots.
There’s nothing wrong with getting creative, any of the above methods will work fine, and you can go without boot bands for some time if necessary. However, they are still the most accessible and reusable option, so if blousing your boots is a regular thing, boot bands are the way to go.
If you don’t have anything to hand and plan on tucking your pants into your boots, you only need the boots and pants you’re wearing.
While I don’t recommend the tucking approach, it’s OK in the case of an emergency. You can make it work for a while.
But if you’re in the military, this is unlikely to pass muster, so be prepared to explain yourself.
How to Blouse Boots the Right Way (Using Bands)
Step 1: Get Dressed
The first thing you’ll need to do is put on the pants you intend to wear, your socks, and your boots. Blousing boots using boot bands is the cleanest and most effective way to ensure a smart look that will remain stable all day long; it’s also achievable in seconds.
Step 2: Attach Your Boot Bands
With your boots tied, wrap your boot bands around your boots, right at the very top of the boot shaft.
Opinions vary on where to put your boot bands; some say at the top of your boot to keep circulation, and others say to hook them around your leg just above the boot.
I prefer the boot option as it restricts the band from riding up your leg, holding it in place better.
Step 3: Tuck Your Pants Under the Boot Band
Once your band is in place, grab the hem of your pant leg, and tuck it under the band. A few inches is fine for now, as the next step in the process will ensure a clean-looking boot blouse.
Step 4: Drop Those Pants, Mister!
That’s right, you heard me. This step is, admittedly, optional. But I recommend you at least try this once because you’ll get a much neater boot blouse that’s good for the whole day. If you’re outdoors and not alone, perhaps just make do—but otherwise, drop your pants.
As it stands, your boots are technically bloused, but they will look baggy around the top of your boots. To finish off with a flourish, drop your pants and pull up the hem of the pant leg that you tucked under the boot band.
You’ll have to practice a few times to find the right balance here. Pull too much of the hem up, and you’re wearing shorts, too little, and the pants remain baggy.
Once you find the right amount to pull up under the boot band, usually between 3-6 inches, pull up your pants.
Made in the USA from Merino wool, these work socks really are something else in terms of quality. They feature compression through the arch and calf which helps your feet recover after a long day. Plus, because they're Merino wool, they're breathable and help reduce foot sweat.
Step 5: Remove Any Creases
Your boots should now be on full display, bloused, and ready.
Neaten up the hem of your pants, removing any creases or lumps, and you’re now good to go. This method of boot blousing takes seconds, looks excellent, and lasts all day. Your pants are looking tidy, and your boots are there for the world to see; just make sure they’re polished.
How to Blouse Your Boots with Your Socks
Another perfectly acceptable way to blouse your boots is to use something that’s already on hand (or, in this case, foot), namely, your socks.
If you don’t own boot bands or can’t lay your hands on a rubber band or some tape, there’s a great hack that you can use to blouse your boots quickly using your sock. Let’s go through the easy steps you need to follow.
Step 1: Get Dressed
As with wearing boot bands, using your socks to blouse your boots requires you to be fully dressed. So put on the pants you’re going to blouse, pull up your socks, and then put on and lace up your boots.
One thing to mention is that your socks do need to be longer than your boot. Ideally, you can pull your boot sock up to around 4-6 inches above the top of your boot.
Made in the USA from Merino wool, these work socks really are something else in terms of quality. They feature compression through the arch and calf which helps your feet recover after a long day. Plus, because they're Merino wool, they're breathable and help reduce foot sweat.
Step 2: Pull Your Socks Down
To create something we can tuck your pants under, we need to use your sock as a band. So the next step is to pull your sock down over your boot shaft, as close to the top of your foot as possible.
You’ve now got something to tuck our pants under.
Step 3: Tuck Your Pants Under Your Sock
Slide a couple of fingers under your sock, pull it away from your boot shaft, and begin tucking your pant leg underneath it. Work your way all the way around your boot, and make sure all of your pants leg is under the rolled-over sock.
Since your sock goes all the way to the top of your boot, keep tucking your pant leg beneath the sock all the way to the top of your boot.
You’ll need to do this while kneeling. If you tuck your pants under your sock while your leg is straight, the moment you bend your leg, the blouse comes free, and you have to start over.
Step 4: Tidy Up Your Pant Leg
Once you’ve tucked your pants under your socks to the top of your boots, you can gently pull the pant leg in opposite directions to tidy it up a little. Make sure there are no bunched-up areas under the sock as it makes the blousing look neater and stops any uncomfortable bumps.
And that’s it! You’ve successfully bloused your boots using nothing but a bit of ingenuity.
While this method isn’t my favorite way to blouse boots, it’s certainly effective and much smarter than tucking your pants into your boots. An excellent hack for those times you’re caught out.
How to Blouse Your Boots Without Bands
So what do you do when you don’t have blousing bands, but your socks aren’t long enough?
It might be tempting to tuck your pants into your boots, but I don’t recommend this method as the pants tend to come out of the boots, particularly during strenuous activities.
Luckily, there are a couple of other make-shift methods you can try.
Using Rubber Bands
If you’ve got some rubber bands to hand, you could follow my boot band guide above, but instead of using boot bands, replace them with a few rubber bands instead. It’s as simple as pulling the rubber bands up your boot from the toe end and then following my boot band instructions.
This nifty little trick looks so much neater than tucking your pants into your boot and could last you all day, providing you’re not doing insane exercise. If it has one flaw, it’s that you’re relying on the rubber not to break, but I’ve found using two or three bands reduces the risk.
Using Scotch Tape or Electrical Tape
In the absence of blousing bands, you can resort to scotch tape or electrical tape to create a makeshift boot blouse. It is essentially the same method of blousing as with bands, but you’ll be using tape to secure the pant leg in place rather than the band.
Grab hold of the bottom of your pants, turn it up inside your pant leg, and then drop your pants. Grab the cuff (turned in on the inside) pull it up your leg, and tape around the bottom of the pants where the cuff meets your boots.
Once taped, pull your pants back up. The tape should be holding your pants secured right around the top of your boots.
Conclusion
I hope you had a blast with this handy guide on boot blousing! The go-to method is using blousing bands, but good socks can do the trick too, and tape or bands work as a last resort. A few of my military buddies wish they had these hacks back in boot camp!
These are the simple elastic garter bands I use to blouse my boots.
FAQs
Why do soldiers blouse their boots?
Soldiers blouse their boots for many reasons—from looking smart to keeping out debris or bugs. It’s also a great way to prevent pants from catching on things while climbing or jumping. Tripping over due to hooking a pant leg is something a soldier, especially one in training or combat, can’t afford.
How low can I blouse my boots?
The height to which you blouse your boots is usually a personal preference. For a military person, the standard specifications are that the boot should not be bloused below the third eyelet of the boot.
What is a boot blouser?
A boot blouser is another term for a boot band or blousing band. It’s a 2” woven elastic band with hooks on each end. The boot blouser goes around the top of your boot or around your calf, just above the top of the boot, and can be used to tuck pants under to blouse them.
