Well maybe I should just go around butt naked!

[celestina]

I'm sitting here so upset I'm about to cry, and I need a hug! :mad: But a chance to vent is good too.

Why is it that when I find decent professional clothes, I have to get them altered and that alterations cost a small fortune in and of themselves?!! If I'd known that, then I would have left those nice suits in the store, bargain bedamned! I can't help it that I'm short and the petite section has crappy, overpriced shit hanging on the walls--out of my fucking reach, as if I'd want that crap anyways--while the sections for ladies who aren't petite have a better selection that is a little more within my physical reach and price range. [sigh] I don't want gaudy suits with sequins or other crap on them because that is not my style.

I want simple, elegant suits that look professional.

That I don't have to pay a king's ransom for.

Because I'm poor.

But I have to look professional.

So I can stay out of the poor house.

For what I'm going to have to pay to get those dangblasted suits altered so I don't look a little kid who's playing dress up with mommy's clothes, I could have bought me a new pair of shoes, or a winter coat, or a nice bottle of Scotch or two. Life just isn't fair!

Why is it that every goddamn shoe store/section I go in has shoes that have VERY high heels on them? What the fuck? If I wanted to torture my poor lil ol' feet, all I would be able to find would be the sensible shoes with reasonable heels that have eluded me for at least a year now. :mad: I spent hours that I could have used to work on other projects whose deadlines are fast approaching running around dealing with these crazy crowds of fucking Christmas shoppers--BY THE WAY, I'M FUCKING SICK OF CHRISTMAS! I wish businesses/advertisers had never heard of St. Nicolas/Santa/the 3 Magi or however the hell this whole gift-giving in late December got started and then got the bright idea of brainwashing shoppers that they need to start Christmas shopping before Halloween's even gotten here good. Bah, motherfucking humbug, I say. ?Entiendes?--Anyway, I had to wade through all the shoes that the poor harried salesfolk hadn't had time to put back into any kind of a semblance of a display, only to find TWO pairs of boots that had a decent heel. One pair was too expensive, poorly made for costing the outrageous sum they did, and they didn't fit! The other pair they had in every size but the one that would fit my poor foot.

For fuck's sake, whoever is in charge of buying shoes for stores, please note the following:

I don’t want or need high heels.

I don’t need stiletto heels.

I don't need clunky, chunky platform heels.

I don't need fancy buckles, buttons, decals, fringe, or other doodads on my damn shoes.

Just give me plain, simple, low-heeled, elegant shoes that don't cost that much.

That look professional.

That I don't have to pay a king's ransom for.

Because I'm poor.

But I have to look professional.

So I can stay out of the poor house.


Why is it that coats cost a motherfucking fortune?! Yeah, I had a good laugh looking at designer coats that cost $500+, but even when I got to the non-snooty designer ones, they cost anywhere in the $200-$400 range.

I know I shouldn't have put off shopping for this stuff until now, but I've been too busy to do it before now, and I really don't even have time to do it now, :( but it's getting down to the wire--my clothes ain't looking as professional as they used to, and I wasn't thinking about folks cluttering up the damn stores with their mad dash to do Christmas shopping now.

Why can't I just snap my fingers and my closet be filled with the items I need?

Why can't the folks who design clothes and buy clothes for department stores, be more considerate of us short, ultra busy ladies?

!Dios mio! Me duele la cabeza porque no lo entiendo a la predisposicion de moda ahora mismo. !Es loca!

[celestina going off to get herself a shot of Scotch]

[celestina]

Lo siento. "no lo entiendo a la predisposicion . . ." debe ser "no la entiendo a la predisposicion . . . "

[Bosstone]

Ahhh, well, I can't offer much to this thread except a hug. I'd say you've got until Thanksgiving before it gets really bad. So, er, good luck.

If you do decide to go with the title, make sure to send us some pics of your lovely new attire, eh? :D

[Bosstone]

Ahhh, well, I can't offer much to this thread except a hug. I'd say you've got until Thanksgiving before it gets really bad. So, er, good luck.

If you do decide to go with the title, make sure to send us some pics of your lovely new attire, eh? :D

[SpazCat]

I wholeheartedly agree with this rant and would like to add my two cents:

Just once I would like to own a pair of pants that don't hang down two inches past my heels. I am five feet three inches tall. I'm so dreadfully sorry I wasn't able to grow two more inches so I could fit into your overpriced merchandise, but I didn't. If this keeps on happening, I will take those two-inches-too-long pants and wrap them around your spindly little neck until you stop twitching.

Just once I would like to be able to find a pair of shoes in my size that are wide. I am so sorry that I hate shoes and do not wear them unless absolutely necessary, but this would not have happened if you made shoes that a)weren't ugly b)weren't uncomfortable and/or c)didn't fall apart after a year. I do not like having to go a half size up because you are too fucking lazy to make or stock more shoes in wide. If this keeps on happening, I will take your ugly, cheap, uncomfortable shoes and beat you about the head and shoulders with them until you stop twitching.

Don't get me started about not being able to fecking FIND petite clothes in most stores unless you happen to show up the day the trucks come in.

[Cheesesteak]

I just want to say that working while bare-ass naked is quite enjoyable. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my employer for giving me work from home options, conference calls have never been so much fun! :D

[Bryan Ekers]

I vote for naked, myself.

[Tripler]

Yeah, well let me give you this little point to ponder:

What if your job required you to wear the same damn outfit, day in, and day out?

Tripler
Green is sooo five minutes ago . . . :rolleyes:

[Kyla]

Good rant. If I can add a little...

I'm 5'5" and a size 8. Why the fuck can't I find any pants that fit me right?. Seriously. The torsos are always too high (the tops of the pants are practically up to my breasts), so I try petite, and then the legs are too short.

I can't be coherent on this issue anymore. ARGH!

[Giraffe]

You know, if you did walk around naked, I bet you'd get a lot of offers for hugs in no time flat.

[butter pie]

Have you tried resale shops? I have gotten some pretty nice stuff secondhand. Probably not shoes, but I know I've seen lots of nice suits while out shopping at resale, Salvation Army, places like that. You may have to still have them altered but you can get some really expensive clothes for prices that I'm sure would fit your budget.

As for the alterations, they're expensive because it's basically custom work. That sucks. I got a really nice holiday dress last year on eBay for $10.00, and paid $14.00 to have the straps shortened. It was worth it though.

You could try simple things like hemming up your pants yourself. You could see if a small new/used sewing machine would be cheaper than the cost of your alterations, if you think that would be an option. Maybe you know someone who can sew who could teach you. (I give minor alterations to my mom.)

It does suck about the shoes and not being able to find good petite clothes though. I'm 5'3" but I guess I'm lucky because most of the things I buy fit alright, and I like my pants to be a bit long.

Shoes I couldn't offer any advice. I have one pair of high heeled platform dress shoes, one pair of Dr. Martens, one pair of cowboy boots, and one pair of tennis shoes. I never have to wear a suit anywhere so I haven't had that issue arise. :)

[Super Gnat]

I dunno about alterations, but if there's a Value City near you they have really nice, really cheap stuff.

[Guinastasia]

Hell-forget alterations. If you got a sewing machine, you could make your own stuff, stupid petites be damned.

And I hear you. I'm 5/3 and I can never find jeans that don't fall five feet past my ankles.

[celestina]

Thank you, everyone who responded. Y'all just don't know how much better I felt as soon as I pressed Submit and saw this thread take to life. :D I'm glad folks have found this thread a place to vent about their clothing problems, and I hope others will use it to vent about their clothes if they need to.

BayleDomon, thank you for the hug, Sweetie. Getting your hug makes me feel even better. :) I will say that the crowds are pretty hellacious now. I shudder to think what they'll be like after Thanksgiving, but I won't even bother to go near a mall then.

SpazCat, girl, I feel ya. My jeans are always too long, and I just usually roll them up or something, but I can't do that with pants suits. My feet are difficult to fit, and I agree completely about having to mob the petite clothes delivery person before they can even get their trucks unloaded good. It's just ridiculous the shit we short folks have to go through to find decent clothes.

LOL!!! Cheesesteak, you're so naughty! :D Thank you for posting what you did. It just put me right in a fit of the giggles, and I needed that. I sure do wish I had the option of working more from home, but alas, I have to be out among folks, so I can't work in the nude like you do. [sigh] Still, when I get on a conference call, I'll always wonder from here on out if the person at the other line is wearing any clothes. ;)

[giggle] Well, Bryan Ekers, just so long as you vote tomorrow, I don't care what your attire or lack thereof is, hon. ;) You have to admit, it might spice things up if we had the Naked Party, rather than the boring ol' Democrat, Republican, Independent labels. Since some folks are so fickle about voting for parties, maybe we should consider renaming the parties for naughty things to help encourage apathetic folks to exercise their right to vote. Okay, I'll get off that soapbox.

Tripler so are you trying to tell us you have to wear a green outfit every single day, and you don't like it because the color's out of style? Well, if it's your job, you really don't get much say so in how you want to dress. If you don't like wearing green uniforms, then either find anotehr job, or really go all out, stressing your clothing style when you're off the clock, hon. I must say, it must be nice not having to worry about putting a wardrobe together, if you already have a uniform. Of course, if it were me having to don a uniform, then I'd probably have to get the damn thing altered, and the alterations would still cost me a fucking fortune. :mad:

Giraffe, hon. You don't have to worry. I won't go outside butt naked. I was using hyperbole to stress the sarcasm I was feeling at the song and dance I've been going through trying to get my wardrobe together. Believe me. As pissed as I am, I don't aspire to the kinds of hugs you're talking about.

Kyla, girl, don't get me started on pants. I have so many problems with them not fitting right it ain't even funny. [sigh]

jinwicked, thanks for the suggestions, Sweetie. I do know how to hem clothes, and I've taken a few sewing classes. It's just that with suits, I can't get the right perspective on where the hem should go, if I'm wearing the clothes. I don't have anyone to take the measurements for me. And trying to hem clothes with lining in them is a bitch. As far as shopping in thrift stores and whatnot, I don't have the time to do so. That requires a lot of time to pick through the piles and make sure that everything fits right. By the time I do all that, I might as well just go to the department stores. I'm glad you don't have trouble finding clothes that suit you, and I hope you don't have to put up with the hell of finding decent suits. :)

Super Gnat, thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to check to see if that store's around here. It doesn't sound familiar, though.

Guin, if only sewing didn't take so much time, and I wasn't so lazy and such a procrastinator. If it were left up to me to sew my own clothes, then I really would be walking around butt naked. But like I was telling others, it's difficult for me at least to make sure the measurements are right when I'm wearing the clothes. I don't have anyone else to do the pinning/measuring for me when it comes time to do alterations. [sigh]

[Ferret Herder]

I'm 5'9" and have long legs, and have trouble finding pants that don't look like "highwater" pants on me. I also have large (size 10) but very narrow feet, and so most shoes I get are too wide.

Kind of the opposite problem from most, but you can see that I can empathize.

[chula]

My whole life I've heard from short and/or plump women that clothes are made for women like me. I'm built tall and thin - not as skinny as a model. Like Denise, I can't find pants that reach my ankles or jackets that reach my wrists. I have to buy everything two sizes too big. I almost cried when I had to buy a suit. I spent $250 and still looked like a dork. Who are the clothes made for? At least if you're short, you can just get them hemmed, but you can only lengthen things a little. Isn't ridiculous that men's clothes come in different lengths when women's shapes are more varied and we're judged so much on how we look?

[Avalonian]

Is it me, or isn't that supposed to be "buck naked"? Since when did "butt naked" become the standard? Not that I mind, mind you... ;)

celestina, in all seriousness, I sympathize from the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm also fairly poor, and at 6'6" and 270 pounds, I'm pretty hard to fit. Even if you don't count the size 16 shoes, shopping for clothes for me is a joke, and almost invariably expensive. Value Village is an exercise in futility, most times. I can reach all of the clothes, but most of them are far too small. Even if the pants fit my waist, they usually show lots of ankle (woo-woo, I know).

I'm lucky, though, to work in a place where I don't have to look all that professional. My wife, on the other hand, does. She's a teacher, and she's expected to look professional. I find it funny, in a cruel twisted sort of way, that teachers are expected to dress professionally but aren't paid professional wages. Nice touch, that. I figure, if you expect your employees to dress like pros, you pay them like pros. But hey, that's just me I guess.

Not much I can offer other than sympathy and agreement, I suppose. But if you ever are in need of something on a high shelf and see me walking around (you can't miss me, really), don't hesitate to ask for help. I'm always happy when my freakish height can actually do some good, and I like helping people. Just ask, OK? *hug*

[chula]

Avalonian, I was thinking, "Wow, that really is a big girl!" But you're a guy, right? Even with the mention of the wife, I'm not assuming anything!

[Avalonian]

Originally posted by chula
Avalonian, I was thinking, "Wow, that really is a big girl!" But you're a guy, right? Even with the mention of the wife, I'm not assuming anything!

*laughing* Though I have known a couple girls as big as I am, and you're absolutely right about not making any assumptions... I am indeed a guy. I forgot to clear that up. *chortle*

Does that mean I can get started on how women get to wear all the fun clothes? I suppose it's a trade off... as a guy, I get the plainer clothing selection, but I also don't get bras or high-heels foisted upon me.

[yosemite]

Alas, sewing is really the best option. The durn-blasted retail designers are just not gonna cater to any of us who are not "standard".

In my case, I'm a Big Girl with some semblance of a waistline and a bustline. I'm also 5'4", so I'm not tall. I don't need to wear big tanky things that are for someone far taller than me. I need something that goes in at the waist a little, because I actually have a little bit of waistline there. I need something that allows for a bust, because I've sure got that. I'm sometimes OK when I buy tops and pants seperately, but dresses are usually hopeless. They are too tight (and too low cut) in the bust, and swim in the waist.

The only way to get a dress to fit is to make it myself. Dresses designed to fit are actually flattering. Ill-fitting dresses put pounds on me, and obviously that is not an attractive option for someone who has too many extra pounds already.

I used to sew a lot, and hope to get back into it. Over the years I sewed a lot of things. I used several simple patterns, altering and adjusting them until they fit me just right. I kept sewing them over and over again, with different fabrics, and no one guessed that I was using the same design! I have about (I kid you not) 30 "dressy" rayon shell tops that I made from a simple (Donna Karan, I think it was) Vogue pattern. Who cares that I used the same pattern? A shell top is a shell top! And I have reused the same relatively simple trouser pattern, many times, and the same fitted, lined skirt pattern, etc. etc. Who cares? Who knows? As long as the fabric is different, most people never notice.

I haven't sewn lined "businessy" jackets (and I doubt I ever will) but I have gotten the shell tops, skirts and pants down pat. When you are sewing the same pattern over and over again, you get very fast and very confident in your sewing. (I could do a shell top in about 2 hours from beginning to end.)

Being able to whip out a simple top, skirt or pant overnight (and I got it down to a science) can save a LOT of money. I am talking A LOT. I am guessing that these "dressy" tops, skirts and pants retail for $30, $40 or more? I make 'em for $8 or $10 or less. It's worth looking into, it really is. The feeling of empowerment is tremendous. Once you get past the point of "altering/experimenting" with the pattern, and have a pattern adjusted so that you KNOW it will fit right, you can bang those garments out in no time! It's a rush, I tell ya.

Well, my sympathies, all the way around, to everyone who can't find decent things to wear in the stores. I think we all need to revolt and start sewing more. Screw 'em!

[InternetLegend]

I've got the same problem as the OP in a different direction - maybe we could arrange for an exchange of that extra 3 - 5 inches of material and I could just add it to the bottom of all my pants? I'm lucky, though. Because the little actual work I do is done at home, I can just wear men's pajama pants most of the time and no one really gives a damn. As for dresses, I've given up on ever having another one. All dresses have empire waistlines on me, and I look really lousy in empire waistlines. I have to settle for skirts and blouses, and even then the blouses are all too short in the sleeves (and they constantly come untucked).
Originally posted by SpazCat
Just once I would like to be able to find a pair of shoes in my size that are wide. I am so sorry that I hate shoes and do not wear them unless absolutely necessary, but this would not have happened if you made shoes that a)weren't ugly b)weren't uncomfortable and/or c)didn't fall apart after a year. I do not like having to go a half size up because you are too fucking lazy to make or stock more shoes in wide.I figured this one out a long time ago. The shoe manufacturers just reasoned that if we didn't want to wear ugly, uncomfortable shoes, we wouldn't have grown our feet so wide. It's actually all our fault.

[amarinth]

Originally posted by DeniseV
I'm 5'9" and have long legs, and have trouble finding pants that don't look like "highwater" pants on me. I also have large (size 10) but very narrow feet, and so most shoes I get are too wide.

Kind of the opposite problem from most, but you can see that I can empathize.
You can always shorten pants. Making them longer is impossible. I have finally found jeans that don't look like they shrunk in the dryer. I have yet to find professional, grownup pants or suits that don't end up at midcalf, even after I've let out all the extra material. (Even worse, I'm short waisted, so it isn't like the tops are going to fit me anyway. Tailored - ha, the waist hits in the wrong place and looks horrid, or I go for petites and the body fits, but the sleeves are 4 inches too short. Dresses are flat out of the question.).

I'd try sewing, but the shortwaisted thing means that patterns wouldn't work. I need to learn how to draft my own, and i just haven't had the skill necessary to learn how.

Clothing shopping is a horror. I have ended up crying in a dressing room.

I need another baggy-oversized clothing era to come through.

Thank goodness, I don't have to wear professional stuff generally, but whenever I do, it's just an experiment in awfulness.

[yosemite]

amarinth: doesn't Land's End have trousers with up to a 35" inseam (I'm not sure how many inches they go up to) and they will custom hem it for you? Or leave it unhemmed and let you do it yourself? They used to offer this service, anyway. They have decent classic styles, I believe.

[Derleth]

I'm 6'0", so I don't have much trouble finding clothes that fit. I can buy stuff off the cheap rack for my body, but my feet are custom-built and require the custom-built. :mad:

10 wide. That's my shoe size, and I do mean wide. I'd guess my feet are half as wide as they are long (like the Canadian flag, actually), and this makes shopping for shoes an adventure in pain and the unattainable goal. It's like trying to fit a pod into a narrow box, most of the time. I've gone through whole zip codes worth of shoe stores trying to find some that fit. I spent a significant portion of my time in Las Vegas going through every fucking shoe store to no avail. It is a good thing I don't gamble, wench, or shoot up: I wouldn't have had time.

I am convinced I am part of a Final Shoesalesman Test. 'See that guy over there, six foot of loose clothing and bad hair? He has feet you wouldn't believe. Fucking nonstandard relics from the last Ice Age. Shod him and you've passed the final.'

I leave failed shoesalesmen in my wake, from J.C. Penny's to Macy's.

I'm currently wearing leather-and-rubber slip-on shoes that are like moccasins designed for medium-heavy hiking. I'm sick of how badly laces degrade. My shoes are decaying around my feet, and I dread replacing them.

[FairyChatMom]

Derleth, my husband wears 9 1/2 EEE, and he has a very high instep so loafers are out. There's an outlet mall not too far from us that occasionally has shoes that fit him at a reasonable price. When we find them, we buy several pairs. The real challenge comes when he has to buy steel-toed shoes for work - there's NO stretch room in them suckers!

I'm not even going to discuss my clothing issues. I buy baggy and I have a sewing machine. Lucky for me, I don't have to look like a professional. I work in jeans. But there has been many a day when I wished I could just go to work nekkid.

[singular1]

Poor little celestina, I feel for you, honey.
I. too, am on the other end of the spectrum, tall and wide, and I feel your pain, darlin. Thank Jeebus I am in a design position where I can just wear comfy clothes. My wardrobe has recently been sincerely limited by knee reconstruction (that big brace really cuts down your clothing options, and who feels like dressing up when you have a pronounced limp?). I do like the idea of men's pajama pants, tho-gotta check that one out for home clothes!
Have you tried catalog shopping? I hardly ever go into a store to shop for clothes anymore, especially now that the Xmas shoppers are out, and I'm very happy with the results. Try Googling for petite clothes, and I'm sure you'll find stuff that has been built for your frame and a lot better price. They're pretty good about exchanging stuff that doesn't work, and if the places you buy from aren't in your state, the money you save on taxes makes up for shipping charges. It sure works for me!
Good luck, sweetie.

[EchoKitty]

I am 5'1" and 100 lbs. I either have to wear stuff that is WAY too youthful for my 46 yr. old self, or it is boring and overpriced. Here's what I do. I do almost all my shopping via catalog. Chadwick's has petites, Victoria's Secret has three different lengths in jeans, and they carry 0s and 2s, which sends my heart aflutter! I have to wear semi-professional clothes to work -- suits, blazers, etc. I also do mix-n-match so I can get more miles out of the stuff I have. I am wearing a black skirt today that Ive had for 10 years, and I just wear it with different sweaters, jackets, belts, and shoes. Works for me! And I know how frustrated you are. It's downright depressing to go to the mall and see everything that's in style in sizes I'll never come close to.

Shoes-wise, I prefer a 3" heel, but everything I see today is FLAT or CHUNKY, which I friggin' hate. It is very difficult to find shoes I'm happy with.

[Ferret Herder]

I was looking through the Chadwick's catalog and found a couple pairs of reasonably-priced pants which don't require dry cleaning and that have a choice of inseam, so I might end up buying those soon. I have a sewing machine too but need to find some clothing patterns that I like. My last attempt at pants was pretty sad. ;)

My husband has a more even torso to leg ratio than I do, but it's still scary that his inseam is only about an inch longer than mine, when he's about 7" taller than I am. Why can't they make women's clothing in more variable sizes, like they do for guys? My husband couldn't figure out how women pick their pants out based on one number.

[ENugent]

celestina, if you know how to do alterations but can't mark the clothes when they're on your own body, what you need is a dress form. You can make aDuct Tape Double (http://www.leanna.com/DuctTapeDouble/) (with the help of a friend), and then use it for all your clothes. You can even take it to the tailor if you decide to get professional alterations or clothes made from scratch, and probably save a fitting or two.

Incidentally, you might want to call a few tailors and find out what it costs to have things made. If you're really paying outrageous prices for extensive alterations, it might be cheaper to just have the suits made for you in the first place.

Finally, I don't know what you do, but I find that a dress+jacket combo is sufficiently professional-looking in many circumstances, and is easier to fit.

[SpazCat]

Warning about Chadwicks: I ordered two dresses and some pants from them last year. I got the pants (too big -- their sizes are off). The dresses never came. I got my money back, but damnation in a toaster oven, I really needed those dresses for work and stuff. I hate Chadwicks and all they stand for.

YMMV though.

[Tripler]

Originally posted by celestina
Tripler so are you trying to tell us you have to wear a green outfit every single day, and you don't like it because the color's out of style? Well, if it's your job, you really don't get much say so in how you want to dress. If you don't like wearing green uniforms, then either find anotehr job, or really go all out, stressing your clothing style when you're off the clock, hon. I must say, it must be nice not having to worry about putting a wardrobe together, if you already have a uniform. Of course, if it were me having to don a uniform, then I'd probably have to get the damn thing altered, and the alterations would still cost me a fucking fortune. :mad[sigh]

Don't get me wrong. I love wearing my uniform, and I will happily wear it as long as I can.

I'm simply bummed out that I have absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever, because I haven't had the opportunity to figure out what I should wear - my fashion is dictated to me. And as far as "off-the-clock", I try. I really do. But it's kinda hard to accessorize when you can only shop at Tractor Supply Co. and Corral West Ranchwear and you grew up in North Jersey's suburbia. :smack: :(

Trust me, not being able to diversify one's wardrobe isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Tripler
Change my job? Never.

[Ferret Herder]

I've ordered from them and not had problems, but people definitely have differing experiences with companies. (For instance, I've had so many bad ordering experiences with Amazon that I won't buy from them again - I'd also declared that about 5 years ago, but recently thought I'd give them another chance, and they really jerked me around on two orders.)

I just wish I'd looked at the inseam length on the pants I bought, heh.

[Elenfair]

Sing it, sister.

I'm short. I'm about a size 7. For some reason, out here, if you're roughly that size, they also expect you to have the hips of a 10 year old, n' a rear the size of a paperback on end (I can't remember who here coined that term, but it involved temptation and B. Spears fans in a subway.)

For tops, I have long arms. Either things are HUGE but the arms are right, or fit right but the arms are too short. GAH!

As for pants and skirts and alterations - get yourself a sewing machine. It's easy to do yourself, and will save you a bundle.

And if you're really stuck, you pick up a phone and call mom. Moms can fix ANYTHING.

[burundi]

Oh, yeah, Elenfair, I hear ya. I have petite little (read: short 'n' stumpy) legs. I do not have a petite little ass. It should not be this hard to find pants with short legs and a normal, woman-sized butt.

celestina, you might try looking at consignment shops for a good winter coat. I picked up a knee-length, double-breasted grey wool coat this weekend for $35.

[Barbarian]

I hear you loud and clear. I can no longer find dress pants in my size, which I blame on boomer gut.

This is a sneaky, insidious thing to make fat baby boomers think they aren't gaining weight. What it means is that my waist size keeps shrinking (and I've actually put on 20 pounds of muscle in the past 4 years).

My waist size for pants used to be 30 or 31. Now I put on a 30, and about half the time they'll fall right off. It's virtually impossible to find a 29 inch waist in the adult section.

Not to mention inseam. I'm a 30 incher there as well-- but the only time I can find the right length, it's for a 34 inch waist. Go figure.

I bought pants two weeks ago, and had 'em hemmed with a cuff. They did a cuff all right-- but forgot to change the length the first time...

[Spit]

Originally posted by ENugent
celestina, if you know how to do alterations but can't mark the clothes when they're on your own body, what you need is a dress form. You can make aDuct Tape Double (http://www.leanna.com/DuctTapeDouble/) (with the help of a friend), and then use it for all your clothes.....


If you decide to go that route, I'll be more than happy to help you make the form. :D

[ghandi5569]

I wholeheartedly agree with this thread. Clothing manufacturers should have to read this thread before they go into business. I was going to rant about my problems with clothes, but there are a lot of them...so I'll spare everyone.

Here are my hints for dress clothes. I tend to buy multiples of stuff that I find that fits--button down shirts, khakis, anything that can be multifunctional--that can dress up or down and work with different pieces. With dressy clothes, I tend to go to consignment shops, discount stores, and salvation army. I don't see the point in spending tons of money on the same horribly sized stuff that I'll find at a department store, to have it altered to fit and then to grow out of it in about 6 months. If I find a jacket at salvation army that fits over the girls, then I'll get it altered. I'll take up sleeves and hems, and I found a neat trick for finding cheap alterations. If there is a retirement home or community for the elderly, check with the staff...sometimes you can advertise there that you are searching for someone to do alterations. I found a lady in the local retirement home who used to be a seamstress. She retired, still likes to sew, but doesn't want the volume of work that she used to do. So, she'll do the occassional alteration for me, very cheap. And she taught me how to hem stuff and take up sleeves so I can do those on my own. It's great because its usually cheaper than a professional tailor, you get to make a friend, and most times you'll learn how to do some things on your own.

[Tansu]

I'm going to find the woman that all the pants are supposed to fit, and I'm going to kick her up her unfeasibly small and high-off-the ground arse.

Me tall, long torso, short legs. Trousers (sod it, I can't be bothered to say "pants") generally too long, generally too narrow in the arse region, except the next size up is frigging enormous. Regular trousers 2 inches too long, petite trousers three inches too short.

And don't get me started on finding corsets and basques to fit a long torso.

I can't help it that I'm built like Wayne Rooney. Give me a break, you bastards. Or at least give me Rooney's goal-scoring ability.

[EchoKitty]

What's a basque?

[Ferret Herder]

Dictionary.com just says "A woman's close-fitting bodice". I'm not sure if that's an outer or undergarment, and how that differs from a corset (does the corset not include brassiere cups, perhaps?).

[ouisey]

Originally posted by DeniseV
I'm 5'9" and have long legs, and have trouble finding pants that don't look like "highwater" pants on me. I also have large (size 10) but very narrow feet, and so most shoes I get are too wide.

Kind of the opposite problem from most, but you can see that I can empathize.

Except that if you're short you can hem or get 'em hemmed. No amount of wishing is going to turn that 30 inch inseam into 34 inches.

I hear ya on the clunky shoes. At 5'10" I really don't need the extra height, but shoe designers everywhere seem to want me to tower at 6'2".

[ouisey]

And shopping for clothes is about the most mind-numbingly boring, spirit-sapping business I've ever been involved in. I used to get excited about new outfits. Now I'm like an old lady puttering about and bitching at the Abercrombie and Fitch displays. How can a girl stay warm during the winter with her legs and belly hanging out?

I do have a friend who seems to be the perfect size. She's 5'2" and has pretty long legs for her height, and she seems to constantly be showing up in the nicest outfits she just happened to see at such-and-such a place. It would take me years to build up her wardrobe for myself.

[Mtgman]

Man I feel like I'm pimping. Two mentions of this book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0888502478/qid=1036167092/102-4903630-8054526?v=glance) this week. This book has a section on tailoring. Step by step instructions on how to alter your own clothes. A breakdown of how the "sizes" work(for a lot of manufacturers at least) and how to alter them safely. A whole section on customizing existing clothing, based on the "average" size standards, to a specific set of measurements.

I either have altered, or alter, most of my nice clothes. I get compliments on them. It's not really that hard, and the book makes it even easier.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do about the problem.

Enjoy,
Steven

[Ogre]

From a guy's perspective:

I'm 6'1" and weight 225 pounds. It's mostly muscle (with a layer of fat, yes. I don't run like I'm supposed to.) and I'm built very broad. "Built like a stump," "built like a fireplug," etc. In fact, my waist size is the very largest available in most normal stores...42 inches.

Unfortunately, "most normal stores" seem to be dropping their 42 waist pants, and maxing out at 38 or 40 inches. Big & Tall, you say? Feh. They usually cut their B & T clothes like burlap bags, and it ends up looking like I'm wearing a tent.

I am not a tall, willowy, V-shaped-torso man. I used to be a linebacker. I'm THICK, people. I have muscles. I have huge, tree-trunk legs. I need shirts that aren't cut for a waif. I need pants that are made for the normal range of humanity, not just the skinny, chicken-legged Abercrombie and Fitch models.

[Medea's Child]

Ogre, you sound like you don't really need clothes at all...c'mere and I'll show you...

/hijack

I'm six feet of curvy female. The clothing manufacturers are invited to attempt to kiss my lily white ass so that I can kick them in the jaw. I can buy pants that are just barely long enough when I'm standing up, but they will not form around my butt. (I am the white J. Lo. I know it. Now I want pants that don't expect my butt to be flat, thanks) Next, shirts with sleeves that are long enough AND fit me. They either fit me nicely and are 3/4 length sleeves or I wear guys shirts that are essentially large sweater textured bags.

Sewing my own looks real good as soon as I have thirty seconds of spare time to learn what I'm doing.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally posted by Ogre
Unfortunately, "most normal stores" seem to be dropping their 42 waist pants, and maxing out at 38 or 40 inches. Big & Tall, you say? Feh. They usually cut their B & T clothes like burlap bags, and it ends up looking like I'm wearing a tent.

I am not a tall, willowy, V-shaped-torso man. I used to be a linebacker. I'm THICK, people. I have muscles. I have huge, tree-trunk legs. I need shirts that aren't cut for a waif. I need pants that are made for the normal range of humanity, not just the skinny, chicken-legged Abercrombie and Fitch models.

My husband's in the same boat. He's taller by a few inches and heavier by a couple dozen pounds maybe, but he's got the same waistline and build, and has run into the same problem with stores. I wish I had some advice, but he's struggling some too.

As for Big and Tall, he's not quite big enough and not quite tall enough - if he finds some style he likes, it has to be in the smallest size and is not always available.

[ouisey]

Medea's Child, let this post represent me emphatically nodding.

Its the same way for me too.

[amarinth]

Originally posted by Tansu
And don't get me started on finding corsets and basques to fit a long torso.
Are there any people who those fit?
On me, the ribs are too long, so they (a) buckle over, creating a weird looking lump where the top or bottom is doubled, (b) create a lump somewhere in the center adding a ring around some part of my anatomy that doesn't really need a ring around it, and dig into my skin at the top and bottom, or (c) refuse to bend at all, so they dig into my skin a lot at the bottom usually. When your torso is shorter than the ribbing, it isn't pretty. It ruins the corsetty look.
I also have the URL for corset patterns. I really will make one one day.

[Ogre]

Thanks, y'all (and thank YOU, MC! *wink wink*). I'm usually just forced to trust to luck. I'm usually able to find SOMEthing on any given day if I go to enough stores.

I've also noticed, DeniseV, that GAP online carries larger sizes. I generally like GAP trousers because they tend to be cut generously.

[artemis]

I sympathize - I really do. Because I have the misfortune to be both 5'2'' AND a size 22. Ever try to find professional clothes in petite sizes in the women's section (aka "The House of Polyester")? Yeech!

Maybe I SHOULD just give up and go naked in public - THAT sight might just convince the clothing designers to market clothes for a wider range of body types, lest they face such a horrifying vision again! :D