I am 5’ tall and of fairly normal proportions. My trouble is that it’s practically impossible for me to find pants with less than a 30" inseam. J Crew and Gap can be okay, but somewhat pricey at times, and if I do a search for petites on ebay, I come up with mostly size 0, which I am not. Are there any little dopers out there who can help me out? I’m tired of capris, and rolling the hems.
Try Lands’ End. They can hem your pants for free.
Levis have altering lengths, it’s part of the size you choose. My inseams are 28", so I know they go that short at least. Look at the the rectangular tag on the outside at the back.
I’m in Australia, so I don’t know if this will hold true where you are, but the Target stores here have pants in categories of Short, Regular and Long. The Short ones fit me fine.
I feel your pain. My current M.O. is to buy Gap pants, which fit me great in every other way, and then have a local tailor hem them up. Custom fit and it only adds about ten bucks to the cost of the pants. I figure that’s worth it, since I actually wear the things when they fit right, rather than wistfully passing looking at them in the store. Plus, if you get machine washables instead of dry clean only, the hemming is only the cost of a single cleaning.
Good luck.
Express used to make pants in “Short” (actually, I’m wearing a pair right now). There’s also Talbot’s Petites (it’s an entire store for smurfs like us).
I am 4’10" so I know what you mean. I recently bought a few pairs of pants a Kmart, they were Lee Riders Casuals and the petites turned out to be just the right length. If I wanted a better look (they bunch up a little at the ankles) I would take them up about an inch but I can get away with not hemming or rolling up the hem and not end up walking on the cuffs. I also noticed a lot of jeans that were in various sizes and styles including a short length. I didn’t like the way any of them fit me but at least they wouldn’t have needed hemming either.
Have you tried the kids’ section? No joke.
I’m about 5’4", and sometimes the only pants which will fit my stubby little legs are those sold in the Junior or even Kids’ section. They fit fine around the waist and thighs since they’re selling girls’ pants in larger sizes these days.
a35362 beat me to it. Lands End all the way. They have jeans in petite sizes, regular sizes, and tall sizes, and they inseam to any length you like. They even have custom-made jeans.
I think it depends on one’s body type I used to buy girls sizes but I always had to put in darts because the waists were not fitted. Nowadays girls sizes do not allow for a butt so they just don’t work for me unless I am buying something like sweat pants.
My daughter is 5’ 0" and has been wearing a 28 inch inseam. She was pretty much limited to the Gap or Petite Sophisticate.
Now she buys capri pants. They may be just a tad short, but she says they’re close enough.
Dockers has recently started making pants in a size called Petite Short (different from their regular Petites) that are just perfect. I’m 5’2" or 3" but have a longer torso/short legs, and these are the first pants I’ve found that are the right length.
Most department stores have actual petite sections, from what I have seen. In addition to the stores listed below, Limited also sells some (not all, darn it), of their pants in different lengths. Express short tends to run long, strangely enough - I’m 5’2", and some of their pants I have to wear with some kind of platform. Ann Taylor also does petite, and Banana Republic is also adding petite sections in some of their stores.
Have you also checked Target? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen pants of different lengths there.
Susan
I think most women’s dress pants run a bit longer because they’re designed to be worn with heels. Casual pants are shorter because they’re designed to be worn with flats or sneakers.
I’ve never seen ANY petite or long pants at a Target. There are three in my area and I’m probably there once a week or so, so I would’ve noticed. I have seen a good range of lengths/sizes at KMart though, specificly in the Jacquline Smith line. (I think that’s who it is.)
I don’t have any trouble finding petite length pants, but I have a HECK of a time finding wide leg pants that don’t taper or flare. According to “What not to wear” everyone on earth should be wearing these pants, so where the hell do they sell them?