I’m 5’1, and extremely short-legged and short-waisted.
You know those jeans in Old Navy that claim to be ‘short’?
They’re still too fucking long for me. They drag on the ground! Not what I want when I’m in the middle of a snowy Ohio winter!
I’ll admit, when I was a size 4-6 a couple of years ago, finding clothes was a hell of a lot easier. I’ve gained a lot of weight over the past few years, and now that I’m anywhere between a 10-16, I hate clothes shopping. See that? 10-16. That’s a HUGE divide. Surely these damn stores can find some sort of neutrality?
My goal is to get back to my 4-6 sizes so I can wear all of the cute clothes I still have.
I’ve found that Gap longs are ok - they have a 34" inseam, which is just about right for me (I’m also 5’8"). Of course, make sure you don’t put them in the dryer, or you’re screwed, blued and tatooed, so to speak.
I’ve gotten frustrated enough to take a very different approach to shopping.
The next time I go shopping for clothing, here’s what I’m going to do:
Before I leave the house, take my own measurements–at the very least, my hip, waist, and inseam measurements (getting pants that fit is much harder for me than getting tops that work well on me.)
Write those numbers down and take a tape measure with me.
Measure the clothes on the racks. If the hip, waist, and inseam don’t match me, then I’m not putting the frickin’ piece of clothing on. If they do match me, I’ll check out the pants. (Yeah, I realize that stuff made in stretch fabrics won’t have the same measurements on the rack that it does on me–or on my rack, so to speak. I’ve got a few pairs of stretch jeans that fit, so I can use their dimensions as a basis for comparison.)
That’s it. Yeah, it might mean a lot of fiddling with a tape measure, and I’ll probably get some funny looks from salespeople and other customers, but I don’t care. I’m NOT going through the horrible and demoralizing try-it-on, take-it-off, reapeat-ad-nauseum process EVER AGAIN.
I’ve never been happy with Gap longs. Those were the ones I was talking about- they are merely “not too short” unless I dig through every pair in the store to compare lengths.
If I’m going to pay $50 for a pair of jeans, they better give me the figure of a goddess.
I think GAP is making an extra long jean now, try the website (sorry, I’d look for you and link, but I’ve gotta go to the gym so I can get my smaller ass into smaller clothes again)
[www.gap.com/asp/Product.asp?wdid=201095&wpid=246661]Indeed](http://secure.[url) they are. It says that for sizes 4 and up, long has a 36" inseam and xlong has a 38" inseam. Sizes 1 & 2 long have an inseam of 35" and 1 & 2 xlong have an inseam of 37". Size 0 long has an inseam of 34" and 0 xlong has an inseam of 36".
I am six feet tall. Of the many issues my body has when trying to fit clothes on it, the one that will remain even if I do loose a bunch of weight will be that I’m six feet tall and * its all legs*. When sewing a skirt and top I use the mid size length for the top, and have to add six inches to a foot (!) to the longest option for the skirt.
Again, if I don’t have to be neat and professional, I like men’s pants. Its the only way I can get my inseam off the shelf.
One of my girl friends is 6’4". We just went shopping at tall girl and it was totally depressing. The quality was aweful, the styles were old ladyish, and the shoes were cheaply made.
I’ve suggested that she find a really good taylor, but thats a PITB for jeans.
Regarding sewing your own clothes: I have given this schtick before, but it’s time to do it again . . .
I’ve gotten so I can make a simple shell top and simple skirt (elastic waist) in about 2-3 hours (for each garment). I have shell tops down to an art. I used to work at a fabric store, and being the geek I was (hey, so were a lot of other ladies that worked there), I’d often pick up some remnant of fabric at work, sew it up that night, and wear it to work the next day. Simple, pullover tops are easy to make and a great “wardrobe extender.” No, they are not fancy, but have you seen what rayon (for instance) shell tops sell for today? I have something like (I am embarrassed to admit this) 30 shell tops. All made for dirt cheap. Same with simple skirts and pants. Sometimes that’s what you need to complete a fantastic outfit.
This fall I sewed up some similar simple outfits. Several shell tops, and pull-on pants. No, pull-on pants are not that fancy and not what everyone wants to wear all the time, but for puttering around the house, or taking a quick trip to the grocery store, they’re great. I made several pairs (I think 8), and I completed each in an evening. I love those damned pants. They are warm, comfy, and inexpensive. And they fit. (Or fit well enough.)
I was never one to make really tailored outfits, but I’ve made my share of fly-front pants or fitted tops, for instance. I don’t think I’ve ever completed such a garment in an evening, (laying out the pattern always takes me a long time for some reason), but others can. Several evenings (Usually in 2-4 hour blocks each night) typically is all that is needed to complete it. I am pretty lazy so I choose simple patterns that have a little “flair” to them. Vogue Patterns is pretty good for offering fun patterns. But others have their own favorite pattern company.
Like I was telling Abbie on another thread, part of the reason I’ve gotten so fast at cranking out shell tops and pull-on skirts and pants is because I keep using the same pattern again and again, so I don’t need to try it on, adjust it, etc. Nobody ever notices. Why should they notice that the plum print top you wore yesterday is the same style as the white top you wore today?
An example of a shell top. Except that I always make them with short or cap sleeves. The peach colored top on the top right is just the sort of pattern I frequently use. The other two look to be pretty easy as well. (Picture comes from this Vogue pattern.)
Calm kiwi, a shell top is a very simple sleeveless top in a thin material such as silk, rayon, or cotton that can be worn alone or under a sweater or blazer. It is usually a crew neck, though they come in other varieties.
Thank goodness this came up. I was set to rant my behind off about this. I reently lost all of my pregnancy weight and found myself thinner than I’ve ever been before (getting up 20 million times a night will do that to you). I NEED new clothes–the old stuff is starting to slip off of me.
But, being back in the lovely city o’ Dallas makes me wonder what the hell is going on. It seems the stores here cater to the petite breastless size 0-4 women. That is an accurate reflectionof many of the women here. I am now somewhere between a 4 and 6 and have largish C-cups, plus the joy of being 5’10". I went to Nordstoms, Macy’s etc…ready to shell out some serious dough for clothes and there was nothing that came close. I get almost all of my professional stuff tailored, but the tailoring involved would have been ridiculous.
Alice and Kyla I feel your pain. The formfitting tops make my boobs look ridiculously large, but I would rather do that than look like I’m flabby and wearing ill fitting clothing.
