I’m not going to lie, there are some fashion secrets that you have probably overlooked most of your life. And the french tuck, is one of them. So here’s how to do a French tuck, and achieve that effortless, sophisticated look.
Certainly people have been casually half-tucking their shirts for a while now, but Tan France from Queer Eye decided to give this sophisticated style hack a name- The French Tuck.
Coined by Queer Eyes Tan France, the “french tuck” is a styling technique that involves tucking the front of an oversized, billowy, or looser top into a higher rise bottom and letting the back of the top be untucked.
When done properly, this provides an easy french style sensibility and a casual air to your outfit. It also helps elongate your proportions and emphasizes your waist.
What do I need to do a french tuck?
For your top you will want something that is long and loose. Oversized sweatshirts, men’s shirts, loose tees, and billowy tops all work for the french tuck. For your bottom you will want something mid to high rise so that it creates the most flattering proportions and your top has something to tuck into. This creates a waterfall look from the front (tucked portion) to the back (untucked proportion).
How to do a french tuck (for every top style)
So there are many techniques to properly accomplish a french tuck. Here’s a video to show you some of them in action.
Full French Tuck
Button your shirt to right above the top of your pants (or skirt). Take the end of one blouse and tuck into the opposite side of the shirt, crossing over your belly button. Repeat with the other side, overlapping the first tuck. Next, gently tuck the overlap until you reach the side seam of your pants. From there, adjust the “poof” of the shirt, either pulling a little more shirt out or tucking more shirt in along the front to create a flat tuck.
T-shirt French Tuck
For a t-shirt french tuck make sure your t-shirt has enough length. Then, tuck in the front section of your t-shirt at your belly button. Gradually tuck in less as you reach the side seams of your pants, and let the back of t-shirt hang out (or waterfall).
Oversized Sweatshirt Corner French Tuck (good for bulkier items)
For a bulkier item like an oversized sweatshirt or sweater, try doing a corner french tuck. Simply tuck your top in on one side only near the side seam of your bottoms, and let the shirt hem gradually waterfall across your front and back.
Shorter Top Mini French Tuck
You can also do a mini french tuck with items that are shorter. Just tuck in a small amount of your top into the front or side of of your pants. This creates a more casual look than a full tuck. And, this helps your proportions.
Make sure the weight of your shirt isn’t too heavy. Shackets, and thick sweaters can be done using the side french tuck (where only one side of the front of the top is tucked in). However blazers, structured pieces, or super heavy items should not generally be half-tucked. Too much structure will not cause the “waterfall” we are going for.
Avoid low rise pants. Low rise pants will be much harder to french tuck. They will highlight the widest part of your hips and in order to balance out these proportions you will need to have a very long shirt. Ideally, you should go with a mid to high rise bottom to achieve the best french tuck.
There are varying degrees of the french-tuck. You can do it with shorter sweaters (as seen in the video), but that produces a less emphasized french tuck. Or you can do it with long-billowy tops that will create a much more dramatic “waterfall”.
Adding a belt to your bottoms is a great way to further emphasize your waist and elongate your legs.
While this looks “effortless” and it is fairly easy to master, it will always take a little bit of tweaking. Be sure to look where your button placket ends up (as you want it to be the in the center of your body). Then adjust the slight “poof” in the front tuck and flatten things out where needed.
How do I hide my stomach using the french tuck?
So the french tuck isn’t designed to specifically “hide” your stomach. However, it can elongate your legs and emphasize your waist which will give you a thinner appearance, overall. If you want to make your stomach…less prominent… make sure the pants (or skirt) you choose don’t tug across your stomach. The top part of your bottoms will be shown with the french tuck styling technique, so if your jeans are pulling across your stomach or bunching, it will draw more attention to this area. Shoot for something that fits loosely along your hips and snuggly around your waist. If you go for a skinnier silhouette (like skinny jeans) opt for a darker color on your bottom half to diminish the prominence of your stomach area. You can also play with how much “poof” you pull out. A lot of people think if they pull out more poof they will get more stomach coverage, but this can backfire. Instead try creating a flat silhouette with the front of your french tuck to avoid excess fabric. Adding a belt can also help emphasize your waist and distract from any belly bulges. This styling technique uses the best proportions, so while you may not “hide” your stomach, you will look more stylish and taller (by not cutting your body up in half).
Examples of the French Tuck
Oversized Shirt Buttoned
I like to use a shirt that hits past the widest part of my hips. Ideally, a shirt that hits at the bottom of my butt. In the image above she is wearing a very airy, light-weight shirt, but you can also do a heavier-weight shirt.
While the french tuck is usually easiest with a lighter shirt, you can do it with a shacket or heavier shirt. I recommend doing this after you’ve master the lighter-weight half tuck. For a heavier weight shirt, or shacket you might want to opt for the corner french tuck (as explained in the video).
You can also do a french tuck with an unbuttoned shirt. This works well for really oversized pieces, like men’s shirts, and can bring a bit of femininity to your look.
related: how to wear menswear as a woman
3. Oversized T-shirt Half-tucked
I love wearing oversized tees with a french tuck because it automatically adds some femininity to my outfit and defines my silhouette. Instead of being swallowed up by the oversized tee, I’m highlighting my waist and elongating my legs, but also keeping the effortless vibes of the classic french tuck.
related: how to wear a white tee 14 different ways
4. Shorter Sweater French Tucked
Sweaters also work extremely well for the french tuck. It helps keep your look casual, yet polished. This is great for holiday outfits, business casual, and even thicker sweaters. Because sweaters are pliable, they offer a great “poof”; so if you’re unfamiliar with this styling technique try it with a sweater first to get better acquainted.
5. French Tuck with Skinny Jeans
Adding a french tuck to a t-shirt can elevate it and even make it business casual. This is a great way to expand your work wardrobe and keep your closet streamlined.
6. French Tuck with a Skirt
The half tuck works well for blouses as well! Even non-traditional fabrics like the one above. And, it helps with proportions with skirts. In this outfit her pencil skirt is high waisted and fitted, which balances out the boxier silhouette of the french-tucked blouse.
French fashion is known for its superb style. So it’s no wonder why Tan France decided to dub this chic half-tuck as the “French Tuck”.
Having good style is about learning your body type, dressing with your proportions, and mastering styling hacks like this one.
Go up your fashion game with this easy and chic style cheat code!
Pin the image below because this style hack is timeless and something you’ll want bookmarked!
If you want. Tucking pants into boots is fashionable for 2023. But you might swap pants for skinny jeans. The chic French aesthetic will never go out of style.
This question has been making endless rounds online, and the answer is an unsurprising no. Tan France did not invent the French Tuck, and he certainly did not name it after himself. People in France have been implementing this style for years.
It only takes a couple of seconds, and it can have quite an effect on your overall look! As Tan says, “It's going to balance your proportions, and help you look taller and leaner.” This tuck also can also make an outfit feel a little more sophisticated and smart, even when applied to a casual outfit.
For a t-shirt french tuck make sure your t-shirt has enough length. Then, tuck in the front section of your t-shirt at your belly button. Gradually tuck in less as you reach the side seams of your pants, and let the back of t-shirt hang out (or waterfall).
Among men, however, flapping shirttails were relatively rare. Even rock 'n' roll iconoclasts like the Rolling Stones of the 1960s and CBGB-era Blondie of the 1970s tended to politely tuck in their button-downs. That all began to change, however, in the casual-everything, dot-com era of the late '90s.
3. With a belt: The French tuck is a great way to show off a statement belt if you're wearing something bulky on top, like an oversize sweater. For belted looks, try the French tuck centered, framing the belt buckle.
When you get down to it, the French tuck involves simply tucking in the front of your shirt and leaving the back untucked. That's not where the lesson ends, though. The whole look will only come together with the right shirt, pants, and belt.
The most popular jean style you will see in Paris is straight-leg denim. Parisians love to wear this style of denim because it's the most classic. Other styles you will see are flare and wide-leg denim. Skinny jeans are not common and Paisian women tend to go for a high waist which helps to lengthen the legs.
The tuck works, France says, because it balances your proportions, making your legs look longer and leaner. He recommends doing the tuck with looser-fitting clothes to “keep [the upper body] to the imagination.”
Jeans are definitely one of the staples of the French wardrobe. It's that kind of basic that flatters most body types, can be worn all year long, pared down or dressed up, and can be worn for every occasion while offering maximum comfort.
If you like the idea of belly camouflage but want to show some shape too, let opposites attract. Pair any full-cut top, blouse, jacket or tunic with a slim base of trim pants, leggings or straight or skinny jeans (here's where the latter come in handy even if you no longer love them).
Tucking is most essential on women with shorter legs, because wearing a longer shirt untucked can further shorten your legs and lengthen what might already be a longer torso. For women with shorter torsos, an untucked look can often work, provided it looks current, but a tucked look will still look more flattering.
To create a sharper and taller look, invest in tailored cuts and tuck in your shirts, t-shirts and tops as much as possible. It creates a seamless line from top to bottom thus, creating an illusion of a few extra inches of height.
The French tuck is simply the art of tucking in a shirt at the very front while leaving the back loose and untucked at the sides. It's all about the drape here! According to France this simple tucking technique instantly adds polish to any look and helps add balance to a silhouette.
In the latest TikTok trend, men are showing their style transformations after ridding their wardrobes of the dreaded jeans. Content creator Marco Corradi revealed how his fashion sense improved after ditching skinny jeans, opting for wider leg trousers, cargo pants and relaxed denim.
There are many jeans styles to choose from today, but skinny jeans are a modern staple that fits and flatters so well it's not going anywhere. Discover more about how this denim style gained popularity and why it's an enduring favorite, plus get expert tips on how to get the chicest looks with your skinny jeans.
By tucking in just a bit of your shirt, it allows your waist line to be seen, keeps loose-fitting tops from hanging on your figure and gives a nonchalant, casual feel. One of my favorite fashion bloggers, Merrick from Merrick's Art did a great photo tutorial showing how to do the half-tuck.
Do Wear A Belt: When Your Shirt Is Tucked In. Whether your shirt is fully tucked in or just partially tucked in (aka the French Tuck), you always want to wear a belt, regardless of whether you're wearing jeans, chinos, or dress trousers.
Unless you have a hard-and-fast rule to keep your jersey tucked, then how you wear it is personal. FIFA-sanctioned leagues and most amateur leagues don't enforce this rule. But whether you tuck the shirt in or not, take time and care to choose the right soccer jersey. A good fit prevents distraction and keeps you cool.
Keep one hand on the genitals to keep everything snug, and tuck your genitals back between your legs and buttocks. Finish the tucking process by pulling on a pair of tightly fitting underwear or a gaffe.
As a general rule, if a shirt has a straight hem, for example, a polo shirt, it is designed to be left untucked. However, if a shirt has a curved hem, for example, a business shirt, it is designed to be tucked in.
It doesn't technically have a name, so let's just call it “the half tuck”. Sounds weird, but it works, especially with jeans or chinos. This way of styling a shirt has a little more conviction than the French tuck, we would argue, but it still gives off a measure of considered ease.
With high waisted, do a full tuck with long or flowy tops, and a half tuck with shorter tops. You want to show that waist! If your top hits nicely at the waist then you can leave the top untucked.
Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, tight pants, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants, gas pipes, skinnies, and tight jeans.
The “French girl look” is a popular style trend that is often characterized by effortless, natural beauty. French girls are known for their classic style and simple elegance. They tend to dress in neutral colors and seem to always look put-together, even when they're not trying too hard.
13% of French women under 25 go braless, according to a poll* in June 2022, a stunningly higher figure than Spain (3%), Italy (2%), the United Kingdom and Germany (1%.).
The French tuck is simply the art of tucking in a shirt at the very front while leaving the back loose and untucked at the sides. It's all about the drape here! According to France this simple tucking technique instantly adds polish to any look and helps add balance to a silhouette.
But when you pair the right top with the right bottoms and get that French tuck just right, you'll achieve a cool, relaxed look any Parisian will envy. When you get down to it, the French tuck involves simply tucking in the front of your shirt and leaving the back untucked.
This is nothing more than an optical illusion but gee, it works. Tuck one part of the front of your t-shirt/shirt into jeans, casually, as though it's an afterthought. Something to do with just the centre of your jeans showing creates a flattering depth perception that makes you look slimmer. Job done.
In general, more formal occasion – tucked, more casual – untucked. Older you are – tucked, younger – untucked. Classic jeans – tucked, low-rise jeans – untucked. On the other hand, since anything hardly can be generalised, wearing tucked or untucked shirt is more a matter of achieving a certain “look”.
Casual: If you're are wearing a short-sleeved shirt, polo or t-shirt to a casual occasion, always leave it untucked. Smart Casual: If you are wearing a casual shirt by itself leave it untucked, however, if you are wearing a shirt paired with a casual jacket or coat, tuck it in for smart casual occasions.
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