Should I just become a nudist?

September 18, 2009 1:59 PM

I need to find dress pants that fit.

I am a short female (a bit over five feet tall) and have a little bit of a belly (meaning my stomach isn't perfectly flat), but I am well within the normal weight range for my height (I weigh 115 pounds). I sort of have a pear shaped body but it's not that extreme. I eat well and am active but this is just the body that I have.
I cannot seem to find dress pants that fit properly. They all squeeze my waist and give me a muffin top or I am unable to sit down in them without feeling like they are going to pop off. I have tried many different sizes (2, 4, 6, petites and not petites) in many different brands, and they all squeeze my waist and hang off of my butt and generally make me look dumpy and terrible, or they are so tight I can't even get them on or sit down. I have a lot of luck with low rise jeans but I want to wear something nicer on a daily basis.
Is there a particular brand of dress pants that might work for my body shape? I want to dress nicely because I look very young due to my height, but I unfortunately have a limited budget. I cannot pay $200 for a pair of pants, but I could probably justify paying up to $100 if they really were great and didn't make me look or feel bad. I am used to having to get things hemmed by a tailor but I do not want to have to buy pants that essentially need to be resewn by a tailor to fit me properly. Unless that is the only solution, but it can't be.
This is anonymous because I do not want people to know that I am having this kind of issue with my body. I know that I shouldn't be upset because I look good naked and I am a healthy weight, but when I put on pants I feel squeezed and gross and preoccupied with my discomfort.

posted by anonymous to clothing, beauty, & fashion (16 comments total)

Have you tried low rise trousers? New York & Company has a ton of them. And they're pretty cheap.
posted by elsietheeel at 2:07 PM on September 18

Taking in a pair of dress pants in the seat and thighs would cost around $30 a pair at my tailor.

Thankfully I am big enough to fit into Lane Bryant's dress pants (which have lots of room in the tummy), but if were smaller I'd buy dress pants that fit me in the waist and then have them taken in at the hips and hemmed. A $50 pair of dress pants would end up around $100 and would fit nearly-flawlessly. Taking in the butt of a pair of pants is a pretty common alteration, actually, and in no way equals "re-sewing" the pants.
posted by muddgirl at 2:11 PM on September 18

Ordinarily, I wouldn't advocate shapewear for someone so small. However, knowing how my own squishiness impacts my ability to comfortably wear pants, I might suggest just that. I find that it's precisely the fact that it DOES dig into my waist that keeps the pants where they have to be, belt or not. I just wish it wouldn't go quite so deep, because that's what causes the discomfort.

So perhaps if you wore some Spanx, you would find that you would have less of a muffin top and thus less of the feeling that something's digging really deep in to fit. "Yeah, but then I'd have to wear Spanx!" Well, I don't think they're too bad, and I've got way more of myself to squish in 'em. If they're more or less seamless, they're actually pretty comfortable; none of this giant boned corselette crap like they wear on Mad Men. You could probably even get away with a spandex cami if it's long enough (and with your size, it probably will be).

So... crazy, but just a thought. And yes, check out those low-rise pants.
posted by Madamina at 2:20 PM on September 18

Oh! Also, there are companies in India, and elsewhere, that will make you custom pants for a pretty reasonable price. I know that MeFi's own Jacquilynne (who is plus-sized, not petite, but similar difficulties probably apply) used this site and was pretty pleased. (I linked to the non-jeans page.)
posted by Madamina at 2:27 PM on September 18 [2 favorites]

New York & Company

Yeah, I am roughly the same shape as you and I've had a pair of NY&C pants for years that look great on me. I also find that thicker material works better; I wear corduroys a lot (we're business casual). Or lined wool pants in the winter.

If you have the opportunity to go to France or if you know someone there, I have found tons of stuff that fit me great. One medium-priced brand is La City (English site).
posted by desjardins at 2:28 PM on September 18

I definitely sympathize. In fact, you sound like my body twin, right down to the height and weight. I also have a very difficult time finding comfortable dress pants because the rise is usually too high, and the waist is too small. I have a wider waist and smaller hips, which might be the same for you, too.

I haven't found the perfect fitting pair of pants yet, but I have had some luck at the Gap with their low rise pants. I recently bought some "hip slung flare pants" that fit ok and would work as dress pants. They also have some stretch, which helps. Banana Republic used to have the Ryan fit, which were more low rise than their Martin pants (which do not fit me at all). Unfortunately, they discontinued this fit, but I see them sometimes on Ebay. I'm not sure how dressy your pants need to be, but I have also had luck with the Jr's brand Delias, because they seem to make their pants with a wider waist and a lower rise. Finally, Theory Max C pants fit me, but they are quite expensive. I bought my one and only pair for $60 by stalking the sale section on Nordstrom.com.

I know it's frustrating, and nothing is worse than sitting at work all day feeling constricted. Just remember that women's pants are usually cut for a generic body type, which might not be yours. Good luck and happy shopping!
posted by annie_oakley at 2:38 PM on September 18

You might want to look at Sears. Ordinarily, I wouldn't look for clothes there, but I was shopping for tools for my husband, and it just sort of happened perfectly. In the petite section, look for pants by Apostrophe. I'm just under five feet tall, and pear-shaped, but no overly so. I've had good luck with that brand for pants, but not so much for tops.
posted by mitzyjalapeno at 2:43 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Another vote for New York & Company. I have some hips/tummy issues too, and I think almost all my work pants are from there. Just about all the pants are available in Long, Regular, and Petite, which is nice, and they have lots of styles (wide leg, flare, low-rise, etc.). They have a little spandex in them, which helps too.
posted by LolaGeek at 2:44 PM on September 18

Me too. (My next AskMe question was going to be, in part, about this exact phenomenon.) I don't have this problem with my weekend clothes, but most dress pants cut into my waist all weird and make me feel like a Pogo Ball. It's not a body issue, it's an ARGH STUPID PANTS issue.

I occasionally do find a pair of pants that works really well, and it's always something in a slightly stretchy fabric. I've had good luck at Talbots and the Gap in the past.

Also - this might be construed as a crappy non-answer and I apologize if it is - but do you wear skirts? When I had to dress up for work, I wore skirts as long as it was above freezing out. I find that they're way more forgiving than pants because you can usually wear them an inch higher or lower on your waist if needed, and you almost never need to hem them.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:46 PM on September 18

What kind of material have you tried? I have to go with something with a little stretch. Something like these from Ann Taylor Loft? Poly/rayon with a little bit of spandex, the rayon would keep it drapey but the other materials allow for you to sit without feeling like you're being cut in two.

I've also found pull-on black flares (not too wide) at places like Burlington Coat Factory. Even the kind with the funky metal chain belts, which I remove, look nice with an empire top or nice dress shirt and sweater/blazer over them.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 2:48 PM on September 18

I have the opposite body type insofar as my pants are always way too big in the waist and small in the hips/butt, so I can only assume that pants that don't fit me might work like a charm for you. So: J.Crew. Theory (on sale).
posted by telegraph at 3:18 PM on September 18

I am about your height and have pants issues all the fricken time. I've had pretty good luck at The Limited. They have a thing on their site where you can enter your waist and hip measurements and it will suggest a fit for you. They come in a short length, too.

If you wear flats most of the time, you might need to get the hem taken up just a tiny bit, as I think the inseam is a 30. I am almost all legs, so with heels on they're about perfect for me.

They're reasonably priced and hold up very well. And I think they're even on sale right now.
posted by howrobotsaremade at 4:05 PM on September 18

You say you are pear shaped. Pants are the most individualistic and complex garments to fit. Each brand has their own distinctive body shape. There are some key points of variation.

Perhaps your waist is not sharply indented between your rib cage and your hips, tubular shaped instead of hourglass. in that case, high waisted pants with a tight waistband would give you muffin top, gas, and bad moods.

Or if you have square, boxy hips, you could have a prominent "high hip."

Perhaps you have a "long rise." Rise is the measurement from your belly button, between your legs, up to the small of your back. Most petite pants have a shortened rise. Since I have a long rise, I often buy Tall pants and hem the legs.

Strangely, for all these fit problems, I would suggest the same solution as elsie the eel-- low or medium rise trousers. If low rise jeans fit you well, check if your favorite brand of jeans makes a twill trouser. Find some online merchants that offer multiple pants "fits." Usually the medium rise trouser is called a Modern Fit. Look for gabardine or twill fabric, crisp detailing to get a dressier look.
posted by ohshenandoah at 4:26 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]

Your best bet may be to figure out whatever part of your pant-covered area is the biggest (hips, waist, belly, rise, etc.), and get a pair of pants that fit in that spot. Yes, this will mean that everything else is big.

But that's when you take it to a tailor and have the tailor make the rest of it fit you the right way.

I feel your pain -- my waist size is a full size smaller than my hip size, and I've got a bit of a pooch (I had major abdominal surgery when I was 26, so I will never have a flat stomach ever again). And a tailor once worked a miracle on a pair of pants that were baggy at the waist and had a weird-ass rise, and made them look great.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:34 PM on September 18

Wearing a belt really helps me out a lot with almost any jeans or pants I wear. It generally keeps the pants where I want them and stops a lot of the slippage/waistband fabric digging in/muffin top business. I was surprised what a big difference it made. A really low-profile one works great under fitted tees or sweaters (NEVER tucking anything in!).
posted by FuzzyVerde at 5:41 PM on September 18

Here is the truth: Nobody has an easy time finding pants that fit perfectly. NOBODY.

Here is the answer: TAILORING. Get pants that fit your largest part and then get them tailored to fit perfectly. It's not hard, it's not expensive, and it's the only way to do it.
posted by brainmouse at 6:15 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]