STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

sephorablue · Marc Jacobs

Fit clinic: help!

wetbandit42 · Marc Jacobs

I don't know the solution, but I feel you! My pants never fit right - if they fit well in one area, they don't fit well in another. It drives me nuts! I also get that pull across the crotch sometimes. For some reason, most of my pants and jeans are too long in the crotch, so when I sit down, I get that folded over bit of fabric that looks so attractive. doh

Kitty · Hermes

I'm actually glad you brought this up. When I worked at the boutique, my coworker and I got into a huge discussion about this.

We had this pair of pants at the store that I LOVED but that pulled in the crotch area. I have kind of fatty inner-thighs, so I just figured I needed the next size up, but at the time we didn't carry that size in the store. Well, we eventually got a new shipment and I tried th enext size up..STILL pulled, even though they were even kind of loose in the thigh. I decided to try yet another size up and there was STILL pulling..but the pants were huge..like literally almost falling off and NOT tight in the thigh.

So, I think sometimes it's just the fit of the pants...but I personally HATE any pulling in that area (It can be very very slight, but anything too obvious and I can't deal).

I have a few other questions about fit of pants that I'm hoping somoene can answer:

1. Does anyone know when pants get too short? I have some jeans/pants on the shorter side and sometimes with certain pair of heels there is like an inch of heel showing..is that acceptable? Or do you think they should be longer?

2. Ya know how sometimes w/ jeans you get those creases on the back of the thigh (few inches below the butt)? does that mean the pants don't fit and are too tight? I ALWAYS get those lines..even when the jeans/pants are really loose. I see other girls w/ those creases all the time..but I've always thought it means your pants are too tight.

sephorablue · Marc Jacobs

I heard somewhere recently (possibly the new Tim Gunn show, which I have decided I hate) that your pant hem is supposed to hang about half an inch above the ground. Which sounds about right. I guess you just have to skew your hem height based on whether you most frequently wear heels or flats. Which doesn't help me at all, because I wear flats to GET to work, and then put on heels once I am there. Since I don't want to ruin my pants by dragging them on the sidewalk, this has resulted in my wearing almost exclusively jeans or skirts to work, unless I am going directly to a client meeting and go the whole way in heels. Ack!

I did a search and uncovered this thread:

http://www.makeupcraze.com/articles/alt-fashion/20040831/1252047_How-long-should-dres.asp

but am still a little confused.

Kitty · Hermes

I usually like it when the pant is basically touching the ground, but I have a bunch of pants that either were hemmed a little too short, or that shrunk in the wash or whatever...and I hate to throw them out...but I also don't want to look like an idiot w/ pants that are too short.

I swear, this is the reason I rarely wear pants and mostly stick to skirts and dresses.

luckylily · Gucci

Argh! I guess this is why I wear skirts 90% of the time. It is SO hard to find pants that fit right.

FWIW, Sephorablue, I think your pants look great in all the photos your posted.

I like my pants to be as long as possibly without actually scraping on the ground. But, they do seem to shrink over time no matter how well I care for them, so I try not to sweat it too much as long as there is less than 1" of heel showing. Any shorter than that and I won't wear them. Too short pants is one of my biggest fashion no-nos; I'm always noticing girls whose outfit I think would be really cute if there pants were a bit longer.

littlebean · Kate Spade

I hate it when pants do that, too! But I don't think it's too bad on you. I'm not sure how to avoid it. It happens to me, but not always, so I try to stick to pants that minimize (or at least don't maximize) the problem.

I think 1" off the ground is fine for pants. I used to think pants should always skim the ground, but I noticed last spring in the fashion mags that ads and spreads would often show girls with pants that were more like an inch off the ground and they looked good. I think it depends a little on the style of pant and the style of heel how much off the ground you can get away with. .

I think that creases on the back of legs in jeans can be fine, too. I can't quite describe it, but I think there are some creases that look like they are pulling because they're too tight (the dreaded "sausage-casing" phenomenon) and some creases that look natural and unproblematic (more like bunches). Like the creases at the crotch, I try to avoid these, but it can be impossible!

Suasoria · Chanel

I prefer no less than half an inch and no more than an inch from the floor. Any closer to the floor and it can look like you're wearing your big sister's pants, especially if you're 5'4 or under. It's a tough call though, since an extra half inch of heel, or even a slight platform, throws the whole thing off - and I'd rather have them a half inch higher than dragging on the ground, myself.

Seph, of the pants pictured, I don't think any of them are exactly ill-fitting. My favorite on you in terms of fit is #2. My least fave is #1, but it's hard to see.

I love your place, though!

Kelly · Hermes

I'm so glad you asked this question! I was posing the same question to myself this weekend while I fought with jeans shopping. That happens on EVERY pair of pants I try on, whether they're too small, too big, or just right.

I don't know the solution. But I kind of put up with it. I don't know what else to do! I was wondering how many others were "afflicted" by this...

halleybird · Hermes

all my pants & shorts are like that. I am sure they're not perfectly tailored, but I don't think it necessarily means they're a bad fit. If you look at a lot of clothing sites, the models' pants fit similarly.

twinkle · Coach

i feel like it's the type of thing that you notice on yourself, but not on anyone else.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

I think it depends on the type of pants too; however, pants that are too short for their style are not a good thing - no matter what.

This is why I posted about the desire to wear mostly/only skirts this fall last month or so. Pants are such a pain. They shrink in the wash sometimes; and I don't like having to relegate each pair to only one or two pairs of shoes. Body changes (like water-retention/bloating) can slightly affect pant fit - even length. If I'm at the cusp w/ regard to length, a bloated tummy pulls up on the pants - rendering them too short (temporarily).

As for pulling in the crotch area, it seems like a case of reluctance on the part of designers to make pants that fit the natural curves that most women have at all sizes. I get the crotch-pull (and the winged-out pockets) when I've become too big for a pair of pants. The length might still be fine, but the rest not.

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

This is the reason why in late June I decided to only wear skirts and dresses this summer. I was tired of pants looking horrible on me. I always have pulling and a weird man-crotch effect. I'm dreading the colder weather b/c I'm going to start wearing pants again.

On What Not To Wear they said one time that pants pull and do other funky things in the crotch area because the waist of the pants don't fit properly. Which for me makes sense, since I buy pants to fit my hips/butt, and my waist is much smaller so there's always gaping in the back.

Here are some examples on me, and these are the less-pully looking ones. When I take pictures I stand all funny to try an minimize the pulling.

luckylily wrote:
I like my pants to be as long as possibly without actually scraping on the ground.

I agree. I think anything more than an inch between ground and hem just makes legs look shorter.

jj · Kate Spade

SB, I think every pair of your pants look great on you! I have decided that I will never find the perfect pants, so I try to find what's best. My shape would best be described as boyish - I am straight up and down without a real defined waist. So I try to buy low rise pants that sit on my hips. For me, it helps to elminate the low crotch problem and pulling across the hips.

AND I HATE POCKETS!!!! AAAAARGH...they never lay right!!!!

Re Tim Gunn, did you see the first episode where they freaked out about her poorly fitting pants in the dog walking outfit?? I thought....ummm...they look fine to me! That show is way too nit-picky and obsessive compulsive to me.