What's with Women's Trousers?

kylith

I need new jeans and, being rather strapped for cash, I stopped into Penneys. Looking through the racks of trousers I was struck by how long they all are; the regular length are so long that in order have them at the right place on my feet I had to hold the waistband practically up to my nipples. I'd have no problem buying the short ones but they seem to only reach to an inch above my ankles. This means that the difference between short and regular is about 6". I didn't try the long ones, but I can only assume I'd have had to hold them up to my head, or something. I hate the thought, and expense, of having to pay an extra €10 to get them turned up.

I'd consider myself of average height; about 5'6", so it really does seem that the trousers are a ridiculous length. I stopped buying trousers in M&S because I had the same problem there. The only rationale I could come with is that they're designed to be worn with heels, but how many women would wear 6" heels often enough to justify every trousers in the shop being that length? OH suggested I might have dispropotionately short legs, or possibly a freakishly long back, which was nice of him :rolleyes:.

Is it just me, LL? Am I weirdly shaped and everyone else is happily wearing these clothes? Can you offer any suggestions as to why trousers are now so long? Can you tell me where I can buy trousers before I'm reduced to walking around in my knickers?

Giselle

kylith wrote: »

I need new jeans and, being rather strapped for cash, I stopped into Penneys. Looking through the racks of trousers I was struck by how long they all are; the regular length are so long that in order have them at the right place on my feet I had to hold the waistband practically up to my nipples. I'd have no problem buying the short ones but they seem to only reach to an inch above my ankles. This means that the difference between short and regular is about 6". I didn't try the long ones, but I can only assume I'd have had to hold them up to my head, or something. I hate the thought, and expense, of having to pay an extra €10 to get them turned up.

I'd consider myself of average height; about 5'6", so it really does seem that the trousers are a ridiculous length. I stopped buying trousers in M&S because I had the same problem there. The only rationale I could come with is that they're designed to be worn with heels, but how many women would wear 6" heels often enough to justify every trousers in the shop being that length? OH suggested I might have dispropotionately short legs, or possibly a freakishly long back, which was nice of him :rolleyes:.

Is it just me, LL? Am I weirdly shaped and everyone else is happily wearing these clothes? Can you offer any suggestions as to why trousers are now so long? Can you tell me where I can buy trousers before I'm reduced to walking around in my knickers?

At 5ft nothing, I'm finding it hard to have sympathy!

I probably COULD walk around in your knickers and people would think they were trousers

Penney's clothes are often weirdly shaped and of strange proportions. The sizing is all over the place too. I just never go there.

Its not just you

Stheno

Have you taken your inside leg measurement?

Most jeans/trousers that don't differentiate are about 30 inside leg, then if you have short normal and long, they are 28, 30 and 32/33 and extra long is from 34 - 36 in my experience.

If you know your inside leg measurement it will be easier to find jeans that fit you.

Mars Bar

Giselle wrote: »

At 5ft nothing, I'm finding it hard to have sympathy!

I probably COULD walk around in your knickers and people would think they were trousers

Penney's clothes are often weirdly shaped and of strange proportions. The sizing is all over the place too. I just never go there.

Its not just you

Me too!
I'm 4 foot 11 and find it so hard to get jeans. The "short" lengths are 29" and even then I could do with getting rid of 2 inches off the bottom. But if you do that, the pants just lose their shape. For that reason, you can often find strands of my jeans/tracksuit bottoms on the paths around town!

Also, the women's O' Neills are feckin' weird. They have tried to shape them around the hips or something and boy did they mess that up. They are not comfortable at all!

Giselle

mars bar wrote: »

Me too!
I'm 4 foot 11 and find it so hard to get jeans.

I'm 4ft 11 and a half!

I pretend I'm 5ft because I've a 5 ft ego!

Even if you buy capri length its obvious where your knees are designed to be and the shape is all wrong. Its even hard to find petite ranges that are actually petite - 5ft2 is not petite on the same scale!

rainbow kirby

Same problem as the OP here - I'm 5'6" and have relatively short legs in relation to my height. I'm currently wearing a pair of Gap jeans - where a 30" inseam is a "short leg", but is an absolutely perfect fit on me... if that's what they consider a short leg, then their shorter customers are a bit fecked!

kylith

I do hope I haven't offended any of the more petite ladies in the lounge!

I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one out there finding this. Thanks for the tip, rainbow Kirby, I'll try Gap at the weekend.

Novella

I'm 5'7"-ish and own a few pairs of River Island jeans which are short leg. I wouldn't consider my legs to be short at all! I think leg length in jeans and trousers can be a bit ridiculous so I agree with you, OP. I cannot even begin to imagine what shopping must be like for ladies shorter than myself.

LenaClaire

I am barely 5 foot and always have to get things hemmed, even if they are labelled as "short" or whatever.

I swear, the short size used to fit and I did not have to get them hemmed but in the past few years they have lengthened the in-seam.

I think it is a scam being run by the tailors of the world

lilmissprincess

In one shop I noticed that Petite was being marketed as 5ft 4 - not much use to me at 4ft 11! It really annoys me that ALL of my jeans either get completely mishapen by turning them up, or ragged at the end in a very short amount of time...

RacoonQueen

I'm 5'2'' and can rarely get jeans/trousers that fit. Of the few shops that do 'short' lengths they get very few of them in and what they do have flys out because that's a common size. Jane Norman jeans fitted me perfectly, but they're gone now. Fat fact have lovely casual clothes but don't do many in short length anymore.

I don't get why they all do this, I'm not freakishly short. Lots of Irish women are 5'5'' or shorter. Always wonder where other girls buy their clothes, I never wear heels unless I'm going out on a mad one and even then I only weal kitten heels. Hate buying jeans/trousers. :mad:

I'm 5'3" and a size 8, until two years ago I was very thin and a size 6. I used to get jeans that fit my waist perfectly and were always too long in the leg. I wondered what shape these manufacturers really think women are? Sure if I was taller I should have a bigger waist? Infuriated me (I was trying to gain weight at the time too!)

I was harping on about this in college with a friend who is shorter than me but a healthier weight, when I noticed she was looking a little bit uncomfortable, looked down and saw her jeans had been cut off at the bottom. She sheepishly said "Yeah, my ma "did a job" on them, I know what you're saying exactly!" Gave me a good giggle, it's exactly the type of thing my mother would do if she got near my clothes too.

lil-ms-vodka

I'm 5'3 and find Pennys trousers grand for work. Regular length is
mainly 31"
Normally wear a 3" heel for work

Ouchette

lilmissprincess wrote: »

In one shop I noticed that Petite was being marketed as 5ft 4 - not much use to me at 4ft 11!

That's ridiculous! What were they thinking?! The average height of a woman in Ireland is 5' 4.5", according to Wikipedia anyway. And that's self reported, so you can knock off another half inch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

The Princess Bride

I'm 5ft 5 size 10, find Tesco plain black trousers okay for work-length wise,(inexpensive too) very hard to get trousers that fit in length and aren't floating at my waist:mad:

woodchuck

I’m 5’2” (if I’m being generous…) and have the same problem. I tend to buy my jeans in Marks & Spencers these days. The short ones are about the right length and they do a good range of sizes (~8-18 I think; nice to know that just because I'm ‘petite’ doesn’t mean they assume I'm superskinny!). They’re not the best quality in the world (and sometimes don’t sit properly on the hips/waist) but at least I don’t have to get them altered and they're reasonably cheap too.

I come across jeans that are literally up to my chin sometimes! There are obviously some tall people that need longer trousers, but it boggles my mind the way they don’t actually do their research and stock their shops appropriately

sambuka41

I'm so glad to hear there are other ladies who are 4ft 11" i thought it was just me!!!!!!!!!!:D

I was in Penny's recently and seen some deadly Flares but they were only in the regular length (I'd have to cut the flare off for it to fit!!) I asked the lady working there if they had the short leg ones, she looked at me like I was a lepper and said "eh no". I wouldnt mind but she was the same height as me :eek::eek::mad:

shakencat

im 5'10.. 35 inch leg

lucky to find a pair long enough..

id prefer too long and pin up!

better than ankle bashers!

RacoonQueen

Deleted User wrote: »

I was harping on about this in college with a friend who is shorter than me but a healthier weight, when I noticed she was looking a little bit uncomfortable, looked down and saw her jeans had been cut off at the bottom. She sheepishly said "Yeah, my ma "did a job" on them, I know what you're saying exactly!" Gave me a good giggle, it's exactly the type of thing my mother would do if she got near my clothes too.

Compltely OT but I remember my mum turning up a pair of my jeans when I was 13 or 14. Loved the jeans and it didn't bother me in the slightest that they were turned up (why would it?). Wore them into school on a no uniform day and this fat, ugly yoke I used to hang around with (god knows why) picked up on it that they were turned up. Saw her giggle and nudge someone. She thought this was HILARIOUS, I didn't understand what was funny about me altering my clothes to fit, especially in your early teens when you're between kids clothes and adult clothes.

Neyite

Pennys clothes never fit me, yet my boyfriends sister gets dresses there and they look amazing on her - she must just have the right shape for them.

I got my last pair of jeans in New Look - I wanted black ones for work that would almost look like black trousers and got the 30" leg size 10. They are perfect.

I am 5ft, and have a short torso, short legs, and a pear with a tiny waist. Sounds grand but trousers that fit the arse gape at the waistband so much you could fit a backpack down there, (well, now that I'm pregnant thats one "problem" sorted) the waist of dresses lie on my hips, and the length is always too long. I can easily make a designer dress look like a sack of spuds in no time! Petite sizing on me is usually ok though, but the selection in petite is dire.

I ended up learning to sew so that I could alter my clothes, and make a perfectly proportioned dress. Now I love to plan a project, say for a wedding or a christmas party, and I know that it will fit me perfectly, and know that there wont be someone wearing the same dress.

Sauve

All my jeans are too long for me, and I'm a 30-30, pretty average size I think.
Yet when I fit them on in the shop, they're perfect. I think they put grow-juice in them when they're bagging them up

_Whimsical_

Neyite wrote: »

Pennys clothes never fit me, yet my boyfriends sister gets dresses there and they look amazing on her - she must just have the right shape for them.

I got my last pair of jeans in New Look - I wanted black ones for work that would almost look like black trousers and got the 30" leg size 10. They are perfect.

I am 5ft, and have a short torso, short legs, and a pear with a tiny waist. Sounds grand but trousers that fit the arse gape at the waistband so much you could fit a backpack down there

Same!
Why is it impossible to find a pair of jeans that don't gape at the waist? Who are these women who's waists are the same width as their hips,tummy and bum combined? I'm constantly boiling mine in the washing machine and overheating them in the dryer hoping they'll shrink a bit in the right places.
(that's the jeans I boil I mean! I WISH I could the same with myself::)

OP I am 5ft4-5ft5 and found the only jeans that would fit me this summer were Littlewoods petite range or small in New Look. Such a joy not to be taking things up.

Susie_Q

I'm 5'3 (or 5'2, I'm not sure which and don't want to check ) and I find the Dorothy Perkins petite range is great for jeans. I got a couple of pairs in size 10 and they fit really well. The length was perfect for me; I should qualify this by saying that I never wear heels.

Das Kitty

I think trousers are the hardest thing to find for women. Our bodies can be so different from one another.

I have a 30" leg. Regular length tends to be 33" in most places.

Next do a petite range that is quite good. I also like Gap Ankle length jeans (which are meant to be up around your ankles but are perfect on me!).

For trousers I can usually take them up myself which is a very handy skill to have for the short-legged. :pac:

Dolbert

I'm 5'3" and have a relatively long torso with short legs and no discernible waist - sometimes short bloke jeans fit me better than women's jeans!

Honey-ec

High-street jeans tend to be an awful fit and cut. I HATE spending a lot of money on clothes but had to accept long ago that the only way to get decent jeans was to spend a fair whack on them. I wear Citizens of Humanity and Rock & Republic mostly. Mind you, they tend to be ridiculously long too (and I'm 5' 7" and LIVE in 4" heels or higher), but having them taken up doesn't ruin the cut the way it sometimes can with cheaper jeans.

I don't even bother trying on jeans in Penney's/A Wear/River Island anymore, it's a total waste of time.

Oh, and another good tip is to buy jeans that are pretty much bet on to you, as they will loosen up a LOT as they age.

Haven't had any trouble with trousers, though. Maybe because I live in hee-highlers...

aujopimur

Trouser shortening instructions for dummies-
Get a scissors, a roll of vileda and a steam iron, problem solved.

Snoopy1

Im the opposite, i have 34 inch legs, and i can never find trousers long enough for me. I can never chance regular leg lengths as they always come up too short on me.
A wear are good for jeans, they do various leg lengths.

Giselle

Das Kitty wrote: »

For trousers I can usually take them up myself which is a very handy skill to have for the short-legged. :pac:

That iron-on hemming tape is the best invention ever. I must have used 100xkm's of that over the years on skirst, trousers etc.

I can sew hem things if I really have to, but I'm so clumsy I turn myself into a pin cushion.

+1 for Dorothy Perkins petite sizes, also Topshop and Miss Selfridge, though I'd be far from liking everything, or even most things, they have. I don't think they'd be so good for an hourglass or curvy petite though.

Childrens departments sometimes come up with the goods, but it only works for very plain things like black trousers, or you wind up looking too childish.

Snoopy1

Maybe it is me, but ive never found that hemming tape successful. I get a couple of washes out of it and the hem comes down again.

Giselle

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Maybe it is me, but ive never found that hemming tape successful. I get a couple of washes out of it and the hem comes down again.

You have to iron again it after every wash. Not a problem if you're a committed ironer like me, but for the wash 'n' wear girl it wouldn't be ideal.:)

Snoopy1

I iron everything (although not my underware or sheets), i couldnt wear stuff with any kind of crease in :rolleyes:

Giselle

Snoopy1 wrote: »

I iron everything (although not my underware or sheets), i couldnt wear stuff with any kind of crease in :rolleyes:

Iron it while damp/use steam?

I wasn't implying you look like you're creased btw, just that some girls are very good at doing the washing and making it look uncreased and some, like me, iron everything or I'd look like I slept in my stuff.

Snoopy1

I cant pull off that look either. Mind you im weird, if i wear jeans for a couple of hours i hate it when they go baggy at the knees, so i iron them again, and then put them on again!!!!

The worst shop for this is Zara. I have no idea why a shop for Spanish people, who are generally short, stocks jeans with about a 40 inch leg. I asked people about this in Spain and they said it's because Spanish girls wear heels with jeans, but that's BS. Even with heels, there's about 8 inches of spare material at the bottom.

I have issues in almost every shop. I'm 5'5, so average height, and I always need 'short' jeans, which are usually that bit too short so they ride up when I sit down (yet the average ones are much too long). I pretty much gave up on trousers and wear skirts almost all the time now. If I do wear trousers, I usually end up in skinny ones or thick leggings I can just tuck into boots. I really do wonder why they design trousers which just don't seem to fit anyone.

StrawberryJazz

I would pay anything for a tailor to fashion me a pair of jeans and trousers that would fit well...
...not even perfectly...just well.

Sick of trailing and ripped hems etc I'm 5'3"
Since when was the average Irish woman taller than 5'6?

Stheno

shakencat wrote: »

im 5'10.. 35 inch leg

lucky to find a pair long enough..

id prefer too long and pin up!

better than ankle bashers!

Yep same here 34 inside leg in flats, I've trousers with up to 38 inch legs to wear with heels

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Same!
Why is it impossible to find a pair of jeans that don't gape at the waist? Who are these women who's waists are the same width as their hips,tummy and bum combined? I'm constantly boiling mine in the washing machine and overheating them in the dryer hoping they'll shrink a bit in the right places.
(that's the jeans I boil I mean! I WISH I could the same with myself::)

OP I am 5ft4-5ft5 and found the only jeans that would fit me this summer were Littlewoods petite range or small in New Look. Such a joy not to be taking things up.

Try topshop, or Mexx for jeans, I've yet to solve the "they fit in the waist but have a giant ass that I can't fill problem

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Im the opposite, i have 34 inch legs, and i can never find trousers long enough for me. I can never chance regular leg lengths as they always come up too short on me.
A wear are good for jeans, they do various leg lengths.

A wear tend to have funny sizing though.

Das Kitty

Snoopy1 wrote: »

Maybe it is me, but ive never found that hemming tape successful. I get a couple of washes out of it and the hem comes down again.

I don't use it often either. I normally sew them. Takes about an hour.

Blush_01

As a teenager I took to wearing interesting socks. I figured if everyone was going to see them, they may as well be worth seeing.

My longest trousers are a 34" and to be honest, they look idiotic with anything other than flats. The only trousers I get away with boots or heels in is my three-sizes-too-big-and-held-closed-with-a-safety-pin trousers. I have two pairs of those. Love them.

I feel the pain of short people, but (although I know the fit isn't perfect) at least you can take them up. It's impossible to make a pair of trousers (especially jeans) longer without looking like you've borrowed your bottoms from Bobo the clown.

kylith

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with the huge waist problem. They're too tight at the front but gape madly at the back. Who the hell is designing these jeans?

OkayWhatever

Lexie Fluffy Telecommunications wrote: »

The worst shop for this is Zara. I have no idea why a shop for Spanish people, who are generally short, stocks jeans with about a 40 inch leg. I asked people about this in Spain and they said it's because Spanish girls wear heels with jeans, but that's BS. Even with heels, there's about 8 inches of spare material at the bottom.

I have issues in almost every shop. I'm 5'5, so average height, and I always need 'short' jeans, which are usually that bit too short so they ride up when I sit down (yet the average ones are much too long). I pretty much gave up on trousers and wear skirts almost all the time now. If I do wear trousers, I usually end up in skinny ones or thick leggings I can just tuck into boots. I really do wonder why they design trousers which just don't seem to fit anyone.

Really :O I bought 3 pairs of jeans in Zara and they fit okay.. 1 of them fits perfect and the other 2 they're slightly long but not long enough to roll up.

(I think) I'm 5.4, but saying that, I think the size of the jeans in Zara vary sooo much.

I think Awear is great for getting short length jeans, I bought a few pairs in there and I think they were okay, could be wrong though! They can be pricey for some of them, but they do great sales!!

I bought some in Bershka about 2 weeks ago and they're ridiculously long. I have to roll them up a good bit, makes my legs look even shorter, yipee!! :rolleyes:

CaliforniaDream

Like a couple of others, I have the opposite problem.

I'm 5'5" so not 'tall' but I need at 34" leg to wear with flats/runners. I can rarely find jeans/trousers long enough.
Everytime I ask a shop assistant about the length the assure me that the long length will be plenty. Usually followed by 'I'm taller than you and I wear long length'.
So off I go the the changing rooms and the long length is too short!!! :mad:

I definitely would prefer to be in the 'too long' camp as at least you can buy them and take them up. You can't add material if they're too short!

Rubberlegs

Giselle wrote: »

I'm 4ft 11 and a half!

I pretend I'm 5ft because I've a 5 ft ego!

Even if you buy capri length its obvious where your knees are designed to be and the shape is all wrong. Its even hard to find petite ranges that are actually petite - 5ft2 is not petite on the same scale!

Ha ha, are you me?? Yup, the very same, just insist I'm 5ft, sure what's half an inch:p?
I usually end up walking out of shops in despair. A Wear's short length jeans used to be great, but now I swear they are 2 inches longer. I never wear heels, so practically every pair of jeans etc that I own, eventually end up shredded at the back. Also not great if you step in dog poo, it usually ends up on the jeans as well:(
Manufacturors, bring in an extra short length, pleeeease!!

m'lady

Im 5ft nothing and have the same problem... unsure if its been mentioned already but 'wonderweb' is brilliant for trousers, but wouldnt be strong enough for jeans..

Jenneke87

I'm 5.9ft with 46 inch legs, up to this day, I own 3 trousers which are actually long enough. Finding one that is is a disaster. I resort to skirts mostely these days.

Lia_lia

They have definitely got longer in the past 10 years or so. I am 5'9" 1/2 (last time I checked...still have the odd weird growth spurts!) and I've been over 5'7" since was about 11. I take a 34" leg.

I could very, very rarely find trousers to fit me when I was younger. Did my head in. But now the "normal" length fits me perfectly in most places So it's worked out well for me! Still though, not average at all. However I have noticed that arm lengths are getting longer. Which is AMAZING. That was always my biggest problem.

Gyalist

Clearly posters don't know how to do their correct measurements. A 46" leg would mean that you are nearly 8 feet tall.

I am 6'7" and I know that my inseam is 37". I guess people are measuring the length from the waist when the way to do it is to measure the inseam from the crotch to the bottom of the ankle.

The reason that trousers at the lower price range are longer is simple economics. It is cheaper for the manufacturer, as the major cost of production is labour. Producing them in different lengths costs substantially more and would mean that the retailer couldn't sell them at the right price points.

Wibbs

Gyalist wrote: »

The reason that trousers at the lower price range are longer is simple economics. It is cheaper for the manufacturer, as the major cost of production is labour. Producing them in different lengths costs substantially more and would mean that the retailer couldn't sell them at the right price points.

Fair enough G, but how come as a bloke I can walk in and buy Penney's cheapest jeans and get ones that actually fit in different sizes? Women's stuff seems like a real crap shoot size wise, never mind this vanity sizing stuff.

Aishae

Wibbs wrote: »

Gyalist wrote: »

The reason that trousers at the lower price range are longer is simple economics. It is cheaper for the manufacturer, as the major cost of production is labour. Producing them in different lengths costs substantially more and would mean that the retailer couldn't sell them at the right price points.

Fair enough G, but how come as a bloke I can walk in and buy Penney's cheapest jeans and get ones that actually fit in different sizes? Women's stuff seems like a real crap shoot size wise, never mind this vanity sizing stuff.

Agreed! It's not just length either. It's like the sizes are : 'long leg= tiny waist, small bum,skinny legs ' and 'bigger waist= shorter legs and big bum' there's feck all uniformity across the board.

I've long legs but stocky thighs and a booty and a bit of a belly. It's really hard to find a pair of trousers that will suit those proportions.

I bought a pair of jeans in penny's that were jeggings so I didn't try em on. I can barely get them over my butt as they're a bitch on the legs - conversely I have other trousers that size and even shape and even some from the same shop that are grand on the leg but swim around my waist.

I prefer dresses at this stage!

liquoriceall

I know that the shortys arent going to like it but honestly as someone whos 5 11 I can never get trousers long enough and you cant lengthen trousers!

LenaClaire

I wish they would size women's pants the way they do men's. At least listing the in-seam and having multiple options.

Waist measurement would be harder due to different rises in the waist (like low riders vs pants that hit at the real waist).