# Zipper Keeps Falling Down **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961 "2011-06-27T00:08:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/21 "2011-06-27T14:26:45Z")
I had a favourite pair of trousers with a zipper which kept sliding down. I took them to an alteration/repair person at the shopping mall and had them replace the zipper for me. Yeah, I could have done it myself but I wouldn’t have done as neat a job and it would have taken me ages. Because I love these trousers and they are so comfortable, it was worth it to me to get it done properly. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/22 "2011-06-27T14:46:19Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > You can do the same with a loop of dental floss (which is stronger than it looks). Try a twistie-tie, like from a loaf of bread. It’ll be easier to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/23 "2011-06-27T15:04:30Z")
Ooo! I like that - I actually _have_ twist-ties on hand! ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/24 "2011-06-27T17:58:45Z")
I also have a pair of pants with a zipper that no longer stays up. Except the waist band doesn’t have a button or snap closure. It has two flat hook-and-bar fasteners, so a keychain ring won’t work. I’ve tried the safety pin solution, but it’s a pain when I gotta pee NOW! I’m too lazy and cheap to get it fixed, but I like the pants. Any ideas for me? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/25 "2011-06-27T18:09:38Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I also have a pair of pants with a zipper that no longer stays up. Except the waist band doesn’t have a button or snap closure. It has two flat hook-and-bar fasteners, so a keychain ring won’t work. I’ve tried the safety pin solution, but it’s a pain when I gotta pee NOW! I’m too lazy and cheap to get it fixed, but I like the pants. Any ideas for me? Hold the keyring up, with the bars in the center, and then put the hooks in the bars as you regularly would. I just tried it on mine, and it works, but I’m not sure I’m describing it well. It’s a little lumpy, but if you’re wearing a shirt that covers it, you’d be okay. (I also just tried it with an elongated “ring” I made of beading wire, so it’s not so bulky. Worked beautifully.) ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/26 "2011-06-27T18:11:34Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Hold the keyring up, with the bars in the center, and then put the hooks in the bars as you regularly would. I just tried it on mine, and it works, but I’m not sure I’m describing it well. It’s a little lumpy, but if you’re wearing a shirt that covers it, you’d be okay. (I also just tried it with an elongated “ring” I made of beading wire, so it’s not so bulky. Worked beautifully.) Hmm…thanks, I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/27 "2011-06-27T18:49:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Uh, yeah - female and not overweight, waist smaller than hips, jeans cut for female figure… yeah, definitely need to unzip to lower the pants. That’s sort of a normal configuration for us girls. Lots of jeans nowadays are stretchy enough and have a slightly lowered waist to where they can be pulled down without unfastening, despite one’s having a girlish figure. It wasn’t an unreasonable suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/28 "2011-06-27T21:36:48Z")
Really? I guess I’m not wearing the trendy jeans these days or something, I really haven’t heard of that. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/29 "2011-06-27T21:43:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Really? I guess I’m not wearing the trendy jeans these days or something, I really haven’t heard of that. Yes, lots of jeans now are made of “stretch” fabric, which means they have a bit of Spandex or similar in them. I’m too curvy for my jeans to come down without buttoning, but I do love the jeans with “stretch”, because finally for the first time ever, jeans that go around my hips also touch me at the waist instead of being loose! This wasn’t really practical for off-the-shelf jeans in the past, 'cause they don’t sell enough with my shape to cut them right. With the stretchy ones, they’ll fit more shapes with fewer patterns. They’re not trendy; they’re about 1/2 a step from Mom Jeans (Riders, I think) but the “stretch” is in many mass-market jeans now. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/30 "2011-06-27T22:02:09Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, lots of jeans now are made of “stretch” fabric, which means they have a bit of Spandex or similar in them. > > I’m too curvy for my jeans to come down without buttoning, but I do love the jeans with “stretch”, because finally for the first time ever, jeans that go around my hips also touch me at the waist instead of being loose! This wasn’t really practical for off-the-shelf jeans in the past, 'cause they don’t sell enough with my shape to cut them right. With the stretchy ones, they’ll fit more shapes with fewer patterns. > > They’re not trendy; they’re about 1/2 a step from Mom Jeans (Riders, I think) but the “stretch” is in many mass-market jeans now. And those skin-tight jeans you see on teens are usually spandexy, otherwise they couldn’t bend their knees. For the rest of us, it makes jeans a lot more comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/31 "2011-06-27T23:45:29Z")
I read somewhere that a swipe of solid deodorant will help a loose zipper to stay up, though I haven’t ever tried it myself. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/32 "2011-06-27T23:55:35Z")
And I read somewhere squeezing the metal part that holds the teeth with pliers to tighten it a hair is supposed to work. It’s the ‘a hair’ part that concerns me, too much and it won’t go up or down. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/33 "2011-06-28T00:47:48Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Really? I guess I’m not wearing the trendy jeans these days or something, I really haven’t heard of that. Yeah, my sister’s jeans all seem to work that way. My mom’s, on the other hand, usually require at least being zipped down a small bit. I always assumed it was because Mom has hips and Sis really doesn’t, but I guess it could also be choice of cut and fabric. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/34 "2011-06-28T15:11:38Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Yeah, the zipper can be had at a fabric store, but getting a needle & thread through the material can be tough. Thimble, pliers, needle, heavy-gage thread & patience. > > Hey, its that or a new ad campaighn: “LEVIs 508 Jeans: Just as bad as you are.” It’s almost worthwhile to just buy a new pair of jeans, though if money is tight that might not be an option. You could pin the zipper tab in place when you have the pants on, though that risks disaster if you ever have any gut rumblings… Also, have you checked to see if the pulltab has a little bit that sticks out, that is designed to lock the zipper in place if you fold the tab down? I’ve seen that. In my own experience, sometimes a zipper will begin behaving this way if I’m sporting a few more pounds than the garment was designed for. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/35 "2011-06-28T15:16:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Really? I guess I’m not wearing the trendy jeans these days or something, I really haven’t heard of that. How low the “rise” (length from top of waistband to crotch) has a large effect on whether or not you can do that. Very low-rise jeans won’t taper in at all/much at the waist since they barely go up the hips very far. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/36 "2011-06-28T16:46:12Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > How low the “rise” (length from top of waistband to crotch) has a large effect on whether or not you can do that. Very low-rise jeans won’t taper in at all/much at the waist since they barely go up the hips very far. Absolutely. I wear mid-rise jeans and have a very high hip to waist ratio, and I can still do it with most of my jeans since they fit the top of my hips rather than my waist. A small amount of stretch plus the waist band sitting below the belly button, and it’s no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961/38 "2011-07-12T01:40:16Z")
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