What's with Women's Trousers?

kylith · 19-10-2011 07:21PM #1

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 · 19-10-2011 07:31PM

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 · 19-10-2011 07:33PM

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 · 19-10-2011 07:41PM

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 · 19-10-2011 07:49PM

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 · 19-10-2011 08:04PM

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 · 19-10-2011 08:16PM

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 · 19-10-2011 08:41PM

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 · 19-10-2011 08:44PM

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 · 19-10-2011 08:49PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:30PM

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:

19-10-2011 09:34PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:39PM

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

Ouchette · 19-10-2011 09:39PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:43PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:47PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:49PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:57PM

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 · 19-10-2011 09:58PM

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 · 19-10-2011 11:41PM

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 · 20-10-2011 02:14AM

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_ · 20-10-2011 02:36AM

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 · 20-10-2011 08:21AM

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 · 20-10-2011 08:45AM

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 · 20-10-2011 11:42AM

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 · 20-10-2011 12:04PM

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 · 20-10-2011 01:39PM

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

Snoopy1 · 20-10-2011 02:40PM

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 · 20-10-2011 03:44PM

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 · 20-10-2011 03:46PM

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 · 20-10-2011 03:56PM

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.:)

What's with Women's Trousers?

Comments