dear short ladies

how do you deal with extremely ... long .. crotch-lengths in pants? it's very irritating. I desperately miss the whole low rise thing, b/c that basically made all pants not gape at the crotch on me (oh my, are you happy to see me? no, my stupid pants are retarded). but now that it has gone away, I'm stuck with pants made for people taller than me. and stupid petite sections in stores all end at size 10 or 12. blech. oh, and plus-size petites, while admirable, really only fit ladies taller than 5'6". or are fuller in the below-the-waist midsection than I. sigh.

somehow, I can never find comfy dress pants, but jeans? no problem. best jeans ever - marks & spencer short. and only 25 pounds! if only their stupid slacks had the same fit!

okay. I'll stop ranting, but I'd love some advice, as my pants all fit dumb or ugly or both.

That's an appalling state of affairs in our short lady city of immigrants. Lo-rise must return!

generic dress trousers? I hate those. But I think JCrew and BananaramaRepublic have a bunch of geranimal styles short, long, etc.
Eileen Fisher comes out with some good non-flowey non-knitwear trousers in a vast size range. They have massive sales a couple times a year if you're not up to paying $120 for your pants.
sales staff in the store know what they're doing too
The trick *there* of course is not to come out of the store looking like a shrink.

And have you tried a tailor?
I believe your condition is referred to as "long waisted"

tailors cost a lot and the finished product is usually really jacked. it'd be easier to have something made for me.

eileen fisher is my downfall, frankly. I sometimes have trouble waiting for shit to go on sale - I justified a $300 coat to myself a few months ago, but talked myself out of the $400 steel-threaded non-coat sorta-jacket that I'm totally in love with. can't wait for it to go on sale, though. those steel threads mean crazy shapes.

alafairnadia wrote: tailors cost a lot and the finished product is usually really jacked. it'd be easier to have something made for me.

eileen fisher is my downfall, frankly. I sometimes have trouble waiting for shit to go on sale - I justified a $300 coat to myself a few months ago, but talked myself out of the $400 steel-threaded non-coat sorta-jacket that I'm totally in love with. can't wait for it to go on sale, though. those steel threads mean crazy shapes.

What if the $400 jacket rusts?

I actually spoke to some clothing designers in london about the whole steel threads in jackets thing. apprently the threads are coated in something that keeps them from rusting. thanks be to god.

alafairnadia wrote: I actually spoke to some clothing designers in london about the whole steel threads in jackets thing. apprently the threads are coated in something that keeps them from rusting. thanks be to god.

Maybe it's Galvanized.

Whatever you do, don't wear this outside during an electrical storm.

doctorj wrote:
Whatever you do, don't wear this outside during an electrical storm.

what a way to go!

by tailor, I meant getting something made for you, not alterations. There used to be a lady on my block that could copy anything...where are THOSE people?
(my particular one moved 'cause her husband couldn't manage to pay the fekking rent on their ridiculously cheap apt.
phooooey: one less $500 two bdrm in PS...)

My friends ran into some tailor shop in Williamsburg where they use treadle sewing machines...of course I think he just took their pictures and didn't have anything made...foolish boys!

check out SYMS downtown. they have low-rise and do their own alterations
educated consumers shop there you know....

There's a SYMS on 54th bw Park and Madison, too, if you work in midtown.

there are PLENTY of low rise pants out there. go to lucky brand. i love them.

for dress-up pants, i've had good luck with papaya republic. (you know, for those rare occasions when the suggestive zipper bulge seems...indiscreet.)

and j. crew has a lot of lower rise dress pants. i have super-short legs so i feel your pain

I've considered issuing pants challenges to the tailors on washington (there are two near me), but I think I'm going to challenge them first with dresses.

alafairnadia wrote: I've considered issuing pants challenges to the tailors on washington (there are two near me), but I think I'm going to challenge them first with dresses.

Nooooo! Beware! My husband took a bunch of jeans to one of the guys to be taken in one size and have some holes fixed. Literally he left them there for more than 6 months and the guy never got around to it. He eventually just picked them up. Very nice guy, but I think he really has to be prodded to do stuff quickly.

ack. so ... who should I go to for clothing construction? or is this my cue to learn how to sew. except, I've tried to learn how to sew before and totally suck at it.

don't try to learn to sew on pants. skirt = much less misery. or, better, something that isn't clothing (i learned on yoga mat bags).

ok, i'm good at sewing or finding people to help out. what do you want to do with the pants? are they jeans? if they're not, and you have a wide waistline compared to your measurements (ie: your middle is all about the same size. mine is, not a lot of curves there) you can always remove the waistband. let's talk further about this. i've spent my life removing or reconstructing waistbands

pitu wrote:
by tailor, I meant getting something made for you, not alterations. There used to be a lady on my block that could copy anything...where are THOSE people?

Last time I checked, they all seemed to have moved to Khaosan Road and nearby blocks.

sweet tea wrote: or, better, something that isn't clothing (i learned on yoga mat bags).

I'm thinking sackcloth and ashes could be the hot diy fashion statement to make this summer. You heard it here first.

brooklynpotter wrote: ok, i'm good at sewing or finding people to help out. what do you want to do with the pants? are they jeans? if they're not, and you have a wide waistline compared to your measurements (ie: your middle is all about the same size. mine is, not a lot of curves there) you can always remove the waistband. let's talk further about this. i've spent my life removing or reconstructing waistbands

we shall discuss. but frankly, I don't even want to buy pants anymore. I just want them made. I mean, if a pair of pants costs $100 or so in a material and construction I like, but a fit that sucks, and I can get a similar pair made to my specs for $200-300, I may go for it, especially if my "test" pair rocks. adjustments make me scared. though,f rankly, I should do something - many of my slacks create a fake penis.

alafairnadia wrote: though,f rankly, I should do something - many of my slacks create a fake penis.

Don't underestimate the power of the fake penis. I've heard it's sometimes better than the real thing.

doctorj wrote: [quote=alafairnadia] though,f rankly, I should do something - many of my slacks create a fake penis.

Don't underestimate the power of the fake penis. I've heard it's sometimes better than the real thing.

sweet jesus.

doctorj wrote:

Don't underestimate the power of the fake penis. I've heard it's sometimes better than the real thing.

i bet you have




:-#

:-'

Friend of mine swears by the tailors on the LES. There's a good one on Rivington (right next to Moby's shop) that he uses to get all of his pants done. He's been going there for years. There are a bunch of other tailors in shops in a two to three block radius of that place.

Subject: Re: dear short ladies

alafairnadia wrote: how do you deal with extremely ... long .. crotch-lengths in pants? it's very irritating. I desperately miss the whole low rise thing, b/c that basically made all pants not gape at the crotch on me (oh my, are you happy to see me? no, my stupid pants are retarded). but now that it has gone away, I'm stuck with pants made for people taller than me. and stupid petite sections in stores all end at size 10 or 12. blech. oh, and plus-size petites, while admirable, really only fit ladies taller than 5'6". or are fuller in the below-the-waist midsection than I. sigh.

somehow, I can never find comfy dress pants, but jeans? no problem. best jeans ever - marks & spencer short. and only 25 pounds! if only their stupid slacks had the same fit!

okay. I'll stop ranting, but I'd love some advice, as my pants all fit dumb or ugly or both.

Old Navy has a plus size section. Not all of them do , but I know that the one in the Atlantic Center does.

I used to find nice jeans at Old Navy when I was a size 16. I'm not that size anymore , but I still shop there cuz their jeans are nice , and for short 5'5 ladies like myself , their jeans come in a "short" length.They sell low rise dress pants , and jeans , so you don't have to worry about the pants sagging in the front.


You can check out their styles on the website.
http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/division.do?cid=5585

Old Navy
ATLANTIC CENTER
625 ATLANTIC AVENUE
BROOKLYN, NY 11217
Phone: (718) 638-2897

alafairnadia wrote: ack. so ... who should I go to for clothing construction? or is this my cue to learn how to sew. except, I've tried to learn how to sew before and totally suck at it.

Don't forget Carla's on Bedford. Deets are in this thread:
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33739