# Pants... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572 "2005-09-26T23:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/41 "2005-09-27T15:54:32Z")
I have freakishly short legs, with thick calves and no ankles. Capris are my enemy. Except when they’re “long capris,” as some styles advertise–'cause when I put those on, they stop at exactly the place I would have hemmed any “normal” pants I bought. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/42 "2005-09-27T16:14:36Z")
I’ve seen the odd woman wearing something like a gaucho pant (a capri pant with a flared bottom hem) with high boots - it made me laugh, because it looked so much like the uniforms from **Star Trek: The Original Series**. I suspect that the women wearing these outfits don’t realize what they look like. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/43 "2005-09-27T17:14:18Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > See, I think that most women don’t wear the right clothes in general, not just shorts. However, a big part of this is because the clothes in stores usually don’t flatter and/or fit quite right to make them look nice. Indeed. I started thinking about how many dimensions women differ on - inseam, waist, hip, waist/hip ratio, crotch/bellybutton distance, size/shape of bum, thickness of calves, etc - and I soon gave up. How manufacturers expect to reflect this with a single-dimension scale is beyond me. How can ten sizes fit every woman? Sheesh. (And don’t even get me STARTED on shoes. I think I’ve started at least two pit threads devoted to shoe shopping - and participated in many more.) At the very, very least, I would like them to sell un-hemmed pants like they do for men. That’s one less measurement they have to get right. (How many pants have I had to leave on the shelf because they only come down to my calf? Too many!) I still can’t stay mad at capris, though. Maybe it’s because I’m tall (a “long-leggedy beasty” as my mother used to say) and I cycle a lot. I’ve only got two pairs, but I’ve worn through the ass of one pair already and it’s only been a few months. I can’t even stay mad at gauchos although they took some getting used to. It may be related to my irrational fondness for flares. (Although gauchos would be worse than useless on a bike.) I would never wear them but they do look good on some women. Some. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/44 "2005-09-27T20:22:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Much like “peasant skirts” became “broomsticks” and “hip-huggers” became “low-rise”. Broomsticks? Is that the old phrase? 'Cuz we all call them peasant skirts. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/45 "2005-09-27T20:55:10Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Broomsticks? Is that the old phrase? 'Cuz we all call them peasant skirts. I think it went 60’s - peasant skirts, 70’s - hippie skirts, 80’s - tiered skirts, 90’s - broomstick skirts, 00’s - any of the above, but swinging back to peasant skirts. All used to refer to a full skirt of wrinkled and/or patchwork material gathered at the waistband with elastic or a drawstring. The orientation of the panels and the material have drifted a teeny bit with time, but they’re the same essential garment. Again, I have no problem with the garment’s longevity - this one actually makes up most of my wardrobe. It’s the constant rebranding that I find tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![partlycloudy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/partlycloudy/32/3114_2.png) [@partlycloudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partlycloudy)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/46 "2005-09-27T23:52:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No, I believe that was a [skort](http://www.yourdictionary.com/images/ahd/jpg/A4skort.jpg), although it looked like shorts from the back and a skirt in the front. Ahhh!! I’m blind!! Crikey, those things were _awful_. Even worse is this: [Bad gaucho](http://www.queenconnection.com/Products/Used/Used_Dresses/SJ002.htm)! (okay, that entire outfit is bad) On the other hand, [this](http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=7429&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=7429) is a cute look. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/47 "2005-09-27T23:55:26Z")
> [@LoganDear](#): > > On the other hand, [this](http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=7429&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=7429) is a cute look. No it isn’t. I saw a girl wearing a light blue version of those. And orange fringey moccasin boot things. And a tee-shirt that was too small. And big, stupid aviator sunglasses inside. Those things just invite stupidity. Cute look _my ass_. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/48 "2005-09-28T00:03:40Z")
> [@Giant\_Spongess](#): > > No it isn’t. I saw a girl wearing a light blue version of those. And orange fringey moccasin boot things. And a tee-shirt that was too small. And big, stupid aviator sunglasses inside. Uh. So **LoganDear** says that one specific look was cute to her. So you disagree and go on to describe an outfit where the only thing related to **Logan** ’s example is that they were gaucho pants. They weren’t even the same color. Different color, _completely_ different shoes and a completely different shirt. Perhaps she was saying the _entire_ look she linked to is what she thought made the gauchos work? In which case, it’s kinda pointless to talk about a completely different look. ---
**Author:** ![partlycloudy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/partlycloudy/32/3114_2.png) [@partlycloudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partlycloudy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/49 "2005-09-28T03:02:32Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Uh. So **LoganDear** says that one specific look was cute to her. So you disagree and go on to describe an outfit where the only thing related to **Logan** ’s example is that they were gaucho pants. They weren’t even the same color. Different color, _completely_ different shoes and a completely different shirt. > > Perhaps she was saying the _entire_ look she linked to is what she thought made the gauchos work? In which case, it’s kinda pointless to talk about a completely different look. Amen. ‘Little harsh there, **Spongess** , it’s just an opinion. Besides, I think we’ve [all](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=336975) had our little fashion faux pas’. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/50 "2005-09-28T05:02:19Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > And anyway, IME gauchos and coulottes are a bit different anyway. Technically the only difference is that gauchos are meant to be pants, while culottes are meant to be worn under dresses for modesty while dancing. Don’t need to flash everyone when you kick up your heels… I’ve gotten used to calling them many things though. This summer I worked retail and had many people coming in and asking for capris, culottes, pedal pushers, clam diggers and puddle jumpers. They all meant the same thing. The latest I saw with the skort was what looked like a skirt, but the inside was the same as a pair of shorts. The gaucho’s are numerous on campus this year, thankfully those big furry boots never really caught on (not the Uggs, the other ones… that look like someone skinned a very furry muppet and made boots… this one girl _shudders at the memory_) ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572/51 "2005-09-28T05:33:50Z")
Okay, let me backpedal a bit and explain that I have never (in my admittedly limited experience) seen _anyone_ not look completely retarded in a pair of gauchos. Is it because gauchos just don’t look good, period? The semi-decent examples still look pretty damn silly. Is it because people who think gauchos are cool like to look like they picked all their stuff up at Goodwill? I don’t know. All I can say is, cute look _my ass_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pants/323572.md?page=2)