Have you ever seen military personnel wearing boots and pants in a way that their pants form a balloon-like area right above their boots? This is something you must have even seen a lot of people do when they are out on a hiking adventure or a hunting trip. Lately, people have started doing this just because it has become a new fashion trend. This is called blousing your boots.
Whatever your reasons for blousing your boots are, learning how to blouse them can be a beneficial skill. The best thing about learning how to blouse your boots is that it takes very little time to master the skill.
If you want to learn how to blouse your boots, we have a straightforward guide that will help you master all the techniques within minutes. Before we get to the different methods of blousing boots, let us try to understand why it is such a valuable life skill.
Blousing is a Life Skill
Getting that ideal balloon-like blousing seems to like standard practice for most (if not all) military personnel. It is an actual requirement for service members to learn how to blouse their boots properly. If you think of blousing as a practical skill, it can be equally handy for people who enjoy outdoor activities like hiking or hunting.
Blousing is vital to making sure that dirt or debris does not find its way inside your boots. This also makes it impossible for any pesky insects from coming into your boots. This is mandatory for service members since they are always on the move.
Blousing boots has other uses as well. During the winter season, blousing your boots can help you keep the cold air from creeping up your pants. By blousing your boots, the air gets trapped within your pants and helps you retain most of the heat within it. The fact that you get a neater and cleaner overall look with bloused boots is also an advantage.
Are you wondering how to blouse your boots?
How to Blouse Boots
We are going to take a look at a few different methods to help you learn this useful skill. Rest assured, we will tell you everything you need to know to get your pants forming a perfectly ballooned area right around the top of your boots. As simple as all the methods are, the main challenge is to ensure that your pants stay in one place. There is always the risk of messing up your circulation when you blouse your boots, so be mindful of all the instructions of the different techniques.
1. Method #1: Blousing Boots Using Blousing Bands
One of the quickest and easiest ways for blousing your boots is to use an elastic blousing band. This technique helps you blouse your boots in a way that makes sure the cold air will stay out of your pant legs, and you will not find anything creeping into the boots. Elastic blousing bands are comfortable to use since these accessories are designed for this application.
Things You Will Need:
- Work boots, hiking boots, or combat boots
- Thick socks
- Pants with a relatively loose fit like hunting pants or army pants
- Elastic blousing bands
You can easily get elastic blousing bands online. You can even make your own by sewing on Velcro patches to an elastic band.
Steps to Blouse Your Boots:
Once you have all of these things, blousing your boots is simply a matter of following these steps:
- Pull on a thick pair of socks.
- Slide the bands on to your feet. If you have a model with Velcro straps, you can tie them around the ankle area.
- Pull on your pants.
- Tuck the bottom-most part of your pants inside the elastic blousing bands.
- Fold the rest of the pant fabric over the blousing band. This will create a balloon-like look.
- Pull the fabric down just enough to hide your socks.
- Wear your boots.
This is the most commonly used technique among military personnel for boot blousing. As you can see, this is a simple and safe method, but it comes with a catch. Blousing bands will secure your pants in the position very well, but the elastic bands may cause discomfort to the wearer after some time.
Even if you do not want to buy elastic blousing bands, you can make one by yourself using an elastic strap and Velcro straps. You can relax knowing that your pants will not slip from their place with this particular method.
Elastic bands around your ankle area can start to become a little uncomfortable the longer you wear them, possibly interfering with your blood circulation. Keeping the elastic band a little loose should make sure that blood circulation doesn’t stop, but you will feel uncomfortable after a certain point.
2. Method #2: Don Battle Dress Uniform Pants
Another method to blouse your boots is to buy the kind of pants designed with blousing in mind. Battle dress uniform pants are durable, which is why they are used by servicemen and servicewomen. You can easily find a pair of these if you visit army surplus stores. You can even buy them online.
These great pants are designed to take a beating. For someone who needs to blouse their boots for practical applications like hunting, hiking or other outdoor activities, investing in a pair of battle dress uniform pants can be worth it. The bottom part of these pants consists of two layers of fabric. There is a layer inside that has blousing ties, while the outer layer falls over the bloused boots.
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Things You Will Need:
- A pair of battle dress uniform pants
- Work boots, army boots or hiking boots
- A couple of thick socks
Steps to Blouse Your Boots:
When you have all three things, blousing your boots is a matter of following these steps:
- Wear your socks and battle dress uniform pants.
- Tie on the blousing straps from the inside layer around your ankles.
- Wear your pair of boots.
- Rearrange the outer layer of the bottom of your pants over the collar of your boots.
You can even tuck the battle dress uniform pants’ outer layer into the collar of your boots. This way, you will not just be protected from the cold coming up from the pant legs, but also keep debris, dirt or insects outside your shoes.
Using battle dress uniform pants is a swift blousing method. These pants are comfortable for the wearer, and they can hold up pretty well even with rough use, making them ideal for both military use and other outdoor applications. There is the added comfort of knowing you won’t have to worry about any additional accessories.
If there is one issue with this method (other than having to buy a pair of battle dress uniform pants), it is that there is always the chance that the blousing straps can become loose if you do not tie them well enough.
3. Method #3: Wearing Blousing Strap Inside the Pants
If you do not want to buy a pair of battle dress uniform pants, fret not. Another way of blousing your boots is by wearing a blousing strap inside your regular pants. This method is more comfortable than wrapping elastic blousing bands on your ankles, and your pants will not slip off.
You will need a few things to use this boot blousing technique:
Things You Will Need:
- Army boots, work boots, or hiking boots
- A pair of loose-fitting pants
- Elastic blousing straps or garters
- A couple of regular socks
You can get the blousing straps or garters online. You can even get fashionable paracord bracelets that you can tie around your ankles instead of using straps.
Steps to Blouse Your Boots:
Once you have all the things you need, follow these steps to blouse your boots:
- Pull your socks and pants on.
- Tuck the bottom of your pants as far as you can up your legs.
- Pull the pants down to straighten the cloth rolled up against your legs.
- Tie the straps around the part of the legs that you turned inside out while rolling them up.
- Pull your pants up again.
- Adjust the bottom of your pants.
You should know that you cannot get the typical balloon-like shape when you blouse your boots like this. That is a small drawback for the fact that you will not need to worry about your pants slipping out of the blousing strap.
An issue with this method is that you will start to feel uncomfortable after a while due to the blousing straps. There is also a chance that debris and insects can get inside your boots because of the exposure of the collar.
4. Method #4: Just tuck in Your Pants
When you first saw someone with bloused boots, the first thought you might have had is that they just tucked in their pants into their boots. While servicemen and servicewomen never blouse boots by simply tucking their pants inside the collar of their boots, you can get the same results.
If you want to blouse your boots without using straps, elastic bands, or buying battle dress uniform pants, this is the alternative solution. This is perhaps the easiest way to blouse your pants. If you want to blouse your pants to pull off that look, or to keep dirt and debris out of your boots, this can come in handy.
Of course, this is not the most effective method to blouse your boots, and that is why we kept it for last.
Things You Will Need:
- A pair of pants
- Hiking boots, army boots, or work boots
You do not need to get any unique pants or other accessories to use this technique.
Steps to Blouse Your Boots:
Once you have all of these things, blousing your boots is as easy as following these steps:
- Put your pants on.
- Fold the extra fabric in the back as you flatten the cloth of your pants around your ankles.
- Wear your boots.
- Slide the bottom of your pants inside the collar of the boots.
An issue with this method is that your pants will tend to keep on slipping out of your boots. That can get annoying after a while as you are on the move. A way to resolve this problem is by tucking the pants on the inside of your socks to blouse your boots instead.
While this technique might not keep the insects from getting into your boots, it will keep you warm and prevent dirt from getting into your footwear. Practically, this method is also advantageous if you need to blouse your pants to keep the cold out. You can use this method any time if you have a pair of pants and boots on since you do not need any accessories for it.
Another plus side of using this technique is that your pants tucked inside the boots will not cause any problems for your blood circulation, ensuring your comfort.
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Final Thoughts
No matter what you need to use it for, learning how to blouse your boots is an essential skill that can come in handy. Learning the different techniques is useful in case you are in a situation where you have to blouse your boots, but you have limitations.
We hope that you found this guide helpful and we are confident that you will be able to keep the debris and dirt out of your boots using these techniques.