# Why do women wear shirts that don't cover their stomach, then pull them down **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 30, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796 "2006-04-30T01:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/61 "2006-05-02T16:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Mrs O’Malley’s Cow] I personally stopped wearing shorts when I hit my mid twenties. There is just a point where you need to dress like a woman and most shorts are not made for women (a few brands are) [/QUOTE] You do have a point, but I’d argue that shorts fall into one of two catagories: teenie-tiny-slut-of-a-15-year-old-short shorts or I-am-an-old-old-lady-who-likes-wearing-stirrup-pants-and-mom-jeans-but-my-mom-jeans-are-dirty-so-I-will-wear-mom-shorts-to-right-below-my-knee-shorts. Damn, that was a mouth full. Anyway, interesting anecdote (to me, at least. Then again, I find all of my stories both insightful and hilariously entertaining :D): I went shopping with my friends- the Twins- for outfits for some school thing (I want to say it was “Hillbilly Day” during homecoming week). My friends are both a size 00. I was a size 14. We all decided that getting some shorts from Old Navy and messing them up would be a good idea. We found some shorts and all grabbed them. It was then that we had a realization: the only difference between the size 00 shorts and the size 14 shorts was the width of the fabric. In other words, the shorts were the exact same length. Now, my ass is much, much, much bigger than theirs, so this just made no sense. That’s pretty much my dilemma- either my ass cheeks are hanging out or the shorts go past my knee (I’m only 5’3, so it’s hard to find mid thigh stuff). Curse the world. Wow, I’m cursing the world a lot in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/62 "2006-05-02T17:44:25Z")
They all secretly want to be **Jean-Luc Picard** … ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/63 "2006-05-02T17:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] Oooh women who can’t walk in their shoe of choice! Now THAT is a damn near Pittable offense (ok, not really. But goddamn it bothers me). First, walking in heels = not all that hard. Most people are AMAZED when they see me running around in 3 and 4 inch heels, but are even more amazed when I show them why I can. It’s a matter of walking properly- which is a good thing for two reasons: 1- you feel better and 2- you look a whole lot better. Nothing bothers me more than seeing a woman hobbling around with her feet all pointed out. Alright, fine. Child molesters bother me more, but not by much 🙂 (kidding kidding) How to walk in heels: shoulders back, shift your weight OFF of the balls of your feet and onto your heels, walk one foot in front of the other, and shift your hips (helps distribute the weight). The first few times it feels weird, but then you get used to it and it’s great! I mastered this technique during high school debate tournaments where I insisted on wearing 3-4 inch heels for the 12 hour tournament. I was a stupid 17 year old. Well, I’m a stupid 20 year old, too. . . but that isn’t the point. [/QUOTE] Aw. It’s okay, we’ll still keep you. …and poodle ball you. 😃 I kid, I kid. I know, and here you were, getting all excited over the prospect. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/64 "2006-05-02T18:07:57Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] It’s particularly effective when the woman has a magnificent rack. Even better when she does it while looking you right in the eye. [/QUOTE] If you’re making eye contact with her, how are you simultaneously checking out her magnificent rack?? 😕😃 I don’t usually have problems with shirts, but I will admit to tugging up a strapless dress occasionally. But that’s because it, um… let me down one time. :eek: I was wearing a sweater over it so I don’t really think anyone saw anything too scandelous, but if anyone wants to check, I think it might be recorded on BWI’s security tapes. :smack: So yeah, I tug up my strapless dress. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/65 "2006-05-02T18:13:40Z")
[QUOTE=taxi78cab] If you’re making eye contact with her, how are you simultaneously checking out her magnificent rack?? 😕😃 I don’t usually have problems with shirts, but I will admit to tugging up a strapless dress occasionally. But that’s because it, um… let me down one time. :eek: I was wearing a sweater over it so I don’t really think anyone saw anything too scandelous, but if anyone wants to check, I think it might be recorded on BWI’s security tapes. :smack: So yeah, I tug up my strapless dress. [/QUOTE] Oh, let me field this one, pretty please. We guys are equipped with very very delicate sensors. It’s attuned to racks. We get to see the magnificent rack almost every time. You girls do the eye-contact nonsense to make sure we don’t see the rack, but we still get it. It’s like picture-in-picture. Trust me, if she had pretty eyes and he had the rackage, you can be assured that he added that mental picture to the spank bank. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/66 "2006-05-02T18:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=taxi78cab] If you’re making eye contact with her, how are you simultaneously checking out her magnificent rack?? 😕😃 I don’t usually have problems with shirts, but I will admit to tugging up a strapless dress occasionally. But that’s because it, um… let me down one time. :eek: I was wearing a sweater over it so I don’t really think anyone saw anything too scandelous, but if anyone wants to check, I think it might be recorded on BWI’s security tapes. :smack: So yeah, I tug up my strapless dress. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah…by the way…um… how you doin? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/67 "2006-05-02T18:53:15Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Aw. It’s okay, we’ll still keep you. …and poodle ball you. 😃 I kid, I kid. I know, and here you were, getting all excited over the prospect. [/QUOTE] I really was. That’s so not cool, man. You don’t get a girl’s hopes all up about poodle ballin’, then shatter her dreams. _“Whatever you got, I’ll eat it, ride it, or snort it, baby.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/68 "2006-05-02T18:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] How to walk in heels: shoulders back, shift your weight OFF of the balls of your feet and onto your heels, walk one foot in front of the other, and shift your hips (helps distribute the weight). The first few times it feels weird, but then you get used to it and it’s great! [/QUOTE] If I get the right pair of heels I can do this. Anything taller than a couple of inches I can’t seem to shift my weight back properly and I feel all off balance anyway. Maybe I could do it now since I’ve got a much better sense of balance than the last time I wore really high heels, but it’s hard to find a pair that will even fit right. I can run around just fine in my two inch heels though. 🙂 Mostly my problem with clothes, is that its made for girls who are a lot shorter than I am. Medium rise jeans turn into low rise etc, shirts that are longer end up higher on me than were designed to. If they made tall clothing a couple sizes bigger I’d be just fine but most tall clothing I find stops at size 14. This is in the average store though, there are a few stores where I can find stuff that is size 18 and tall. **DiosaBellissima** having worked in retail I noticed that myself. Some clothes do get longer as the size goes up, but not many and most of that seems to be the variation that’s allowed when cutting the cloth. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/69 "2006-05-02T19:09:26Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] We guys are equipped with very very delicate sensors. It’s attuned to racks. We get to see the magnificent rack almost every time. You girls do the eye-contact nonsense to make sure we don’t see the rack, but we still get it. It’s like picture-in-picture. [/QUOTE] Not sure how I feel about you giving away our secrets. So, how would you like to see a NJ dump up close and personal? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/70 "2006-05-02T19:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=elbows] Whenever I see a woman do it, I want to sneak up behind her and stay, stop doing that, it’s wrecking everything. [/QUOTE] Flashing the party would also wreck everything - and be much more embarassing, too. Given the choice of looking not-quite-comfortable with my clothing and topless, I’m going with the uncomfortable. Luckily, I’m short-waisted enough that I rarely have the problem of having a shirt that’s too short. Thank goodness, because no one wants to see my stomach. (Fitted shirts are not an option. The arms are too short and the body is too long.) The skirt thing, I’ve done. I try the skirt on in the dressing room (or at least hold it up to me and think “that should be fine” but it isn’t until I’m out having worn it for a few hours that I realize what size it actually is and that it might be just a tiny bit too short to be worn. Of course, by that time, I’ve still got to finish the day. Oh, and if you don’t really care about jeans and have no desire to spend $100/pair - Wrangler is excellent for long legs. Especially the Aura ones that **Barrel** mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/71 "2006-05-02T19:50:40Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] I really was. That’s so not cool, man. You don’t get a girl’s hopes all up about poodle ballin’, then shatter her dreams. _“Whatever you got, I’ll eat it, ride it, or snort it, baby.”_ [/QUOTE] Awwww..you know, I can’t just throw that card out there without a string attached to it. How else are you going to follow the trail back? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/72 "2006-05-02T19:54:16Z")
No, that’s it. We’re done. I’m never skunking your selfish ass ever again, let alone letting you poodle ball this! :: slaps ass :: ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/73 "2006-05-02T19:54:04Z")
No, that’s it. We’re done. I’m never skunking your selfish ass ever again, let alone letting you poodle pall this! :: slaps ass :: ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/74 "2006-05-02T19:55:44Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] Not sure how I feel about you giving away our secrets. So, how would you like to see a NJ dump up close and personal? [/QUOTE] I…er…um… …sorry? Does this mean I’ll be sleepin’ with the fishes, see? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/75 "2006-05-02T19:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=N. Sane] My shirt shrunk. I’m sorry that I keep pulling at it, trying to get it to cover my stomach, but that’s why I do it. I don’t know why my shirts shrink–my pants don’t; my skirts don’t; nothing else does. But my shirts shrink. [/QUOTE] Same here. I dry my pants on low heat so they don’t shrink, but anything resembling heat doesn’t go near my shirts. When I have dried ones I didn’t care too much about they shrink in length but not girth?? Must be the weave. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > And we haven’t touched upon the non-tuggers who blithely wear form-fitting clothing which exposes rolls of fat… Do you mean bare-skinned rolls of fat or covered rolls of fat? I wear knit tops with a little stretch so that they will be kind of the shape of me, which includes some rolls. It’s not to be gross or revealing or anything, just to not look any fatter than I already am. No skin shows though. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/76 "2006-05-02T19:58:19Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] No, that’s it. We’re done. I’m never skunking your selfish ass ever again, let alone letting you poodle ball this! :: slaps ass :: [/QUOTE] Fine then!! You get no more of the rodeo sex or the donkey punches!! Who else do you know that can serve up a hot donkey punch like me? Hm? HMM??? Besides, it’ll be like the last time you tried this. You’ll come crawling and slinking back like a kitten when you realize you MISS the poodle ballin’!! ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/77 "2006-05-02T20:36:55Z")
I don’t have a problem with shirts, but I do have a problem with bra straps. I can never find comfy bras in my size, so the ones I do have seem to slip down my shoulder all day long despite my best efforts to adjust them. I try not to mess with it in front of people, but sometimes it drives me nuts. Another peeve is the “vanity sizing” problem. I go into Express to try on pants and I take a 4 and a 6 into the dressing room, only to find that they are both too large. Come on now! I’m fit, but I’m not a freakin’ 2. A 2 is some tiny little thing with no hips. I’ve ended up buying 2’s because everything else is ginormous. Pretty much all of my dress pants are too big because I can’t find nice ones in the junior section. And yeah, walking in heels is easy. I think people who have difficulty with them often have bad posture. If you walk straight rather than hunched you should easily be able to wear heels. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/78 "2006-05-02T23:16:14Z")
[QUOTE=Indygrrl] And yeah, walking in heels is easy. I think people who have difficulty with them often have bad posture. If you walk straight rather than hunched you should easily be able to wear heels. [/QUOTE] From taking dance classes I got in the habit of holding up the center of the sternum and leading from there. It’s the best thing I know for straight posture, balance, and grace. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/79 "2006-05-03T18:00:32Z")
[QUOTE=Johanna] In classical Sanskrit literature, the highest praise given to feminine beauty is _gaja gamini_, ‘she who walks like an elephant’ [/QUOTE] Cool! I’m praised in classical Sanskrit literature! Well, I make as much _noise_ as an elephant, walking around- you mean that’s not what they’re talking about? Oh, poo. I might walk like [these elephants](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3423881.stm)- does that count for something? I solve the problem by not wearing heels or tight-fitting or strapless clothing when I can get away with it (which is the vast majority of the time- I’m a computer tech-support geek). ---
**Author:** ![Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cool)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796/80 "2023-04-13T03:32:23Z")
I know this is an old thread, but I can confirm this with the amount of 2000s movies I have come across during my 3 year binge watch. There are also some tv shows that I saw. I have discovered how often girls shirts would ride up to expose belly in many of these movies. This can include cheering, fighting, running, dancing, catching something, stretching the arms up, holding a person, being tied up or held hostage, and even just waving. The 2000s fashion was probably the best time for low rise pants and shirts that rode up at odd times to show the belly as well as the belly button. I actually think the best time for ‘belly-friendly’ fashion was around 2002-2006, with a broad range of 2001-2007. Of course, I saw some instances in 2008 and 2009. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-women-wear-shirts-that-dont-cover-their-stomach-then-pull-them-down/354796.md?page=5)