Do any stores still sell tall pants for women?

January 3, 2013 6:58 AM

Are there any stores that still stock tall/long womens' pants and jeans in their brick and mortar stores?

It seems like a few years ago I could at least occasionally go into brick-and-mortar stores and find pants in long/tall sizes. Recently I went into a variety of stores (Gap, Loft, Banana Republic) and found that none of them had any tall sized pants in the store at all. A further check online showed that more stores had moved their tall sizes to online only. I really like being able to try on pants and getting stuff shipped to my workplace is an inconvenience, and getting stuff shipped to my home is an impossibility.

I am a woman, generally wear a size somewhere around 8 for pants, and I generally buy pants with a 34"-36" inseam. I am in NYC so I have a wide variety of retail options available to me. I know regular sizes at Express tend to be quite long, and their editor pants work well on me even in standard length, but their jeans tend to be a little short.

I just want to try on some pants in a store and have there be a possibility of them fitting me-- am I looking in the wrong places or is that just too much to ask?

posted by matcha action to clothing, beauty, & fashion (23 answers total)

Express & NY&CO sometimes carry short/long in some styles in their stores.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:01 AM on January 3

Kohls usually stocks long Levis. They aren't as long as tall jeans from, e.g. Eddie Bauer, but if you need just a little extra length, they could work. They usually don't have talls in any other kinds of pants, though.
posted by BrashTech at 7:02 AM on January 3

My wife, who must wear longs, goes to Kohls exclusively for her jeans and pants needs.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:10 AM on January 3

Here's a list of clothing stores in NYC that cater to tall people. The list appears to include both men's and women's clothing stores.
posted by dfriedman at 7:12 AM on January 3

Target stocks different lengths of yoga pants (short, regular, and long) on the shelf.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:16 AM on January 3

Thank you so far kind mefites! I should clarify that I'm not particularly looking for workout wear and that an alternative to Kohls would be helpful since the travel time to the NYC Kohls is significant (about 90 minutes from me). Express appears to no longer stock longs in stores though I haven't checked NY&Co recently.
posted by matcha action at 7:19 AM on January 3

How much do you want to spend? I'm 5'11" and most of my jeans are from Jcrew (good to wear w/ flats or can wear the skinny jeans w/ heels and it still looks ok). Also try Madewell because they're owned by Jcrew but more jean-centric. 7 For All Mankind also has a "long legs" version that work well with up to 3" inch heels on me; the normal version is fine with flats. You can find those at Bloomingdales. I found Citizens and True Religion to be long enough for flats depending on style.
posted by melissasaurus at 7:26 AM on January 3 [3 favorites]

They have a Topshop in NYC - the London branch definitely has a 'tall' range in the store (unlike their sister stores these days) as I've bought leggings and tops from them. 8 is a UK 12, I think, so you should be fine there.
posted by mippy at 7:29 AM on January 3

The Limited stocks long pants in their stores. I'm pretty sure their regular is 33" so the long should be right in your target length range. They have good sales too; you rarely have to pay full price.
posted by emkelley at 7:40 AM on January 3

You might try Ann Taylor. Not the Loft, the proper Ann Taylor store. One of my previous significant others was of a tall, willowy build--call it 5'10" and 130 pounds--and she regularly shopped with success there.
posted by valkyryn at 7:56 AM on January 3

James Jeans (and most other premium denim brands) have long inseams. I have to hem some styles and I like a 33-34" inseam. Bloomingdales and Nordstroms have them in store, and sometimes Macys has them (depends on the store). If you find you like them, I've gotten pairs for $50 from sample sale websites.
posted by tealcake at 8:05 AM on January 3

A couple of months ago I bought a pair of "sexy bootcut" (ugh, that name) jeans at the Gap in a long inseam. I normally need about 33" and these must be around 36" because they are LONG. Like longer than the inseams of Seven For All Mankind. I know Gap stopped carrying long length jeans a while ago but it appears they must be stocking them in stores again, or at least they are here in Seattle.
posted by joan_holloway at 8:26 AM on January 3

Old Navy and Gap always have my long and tall sizes in store.
posted by FergieBelle at 8:27 AM on January 3

The Levi's stores have had long inseams in stock, so that may be worth a look. Also I am a fan of their new sizing system and the jeans wear better than Gap.

Jcrew.com's tall size section is where I buy pretty much everything else that needs to look moderately nice. Madewell is also a good option.

For workout pants, I give up and just wear shorts, although you may have luck at Paragons at Union sq. for pants. (they are $$ although have a solid selection. they have bi annual wearhouse sales that I buy most of my random workout gear at.)
posted by larthegreat at 8:55 AM on January 3

Eddie Bauer has recently readjusted their sizing so that the regular length pants are now several inches too long for me (I'm 5'6", really, they are ridiculously long). They also have started carrying some pants and jeans in short and long lengths in the store again after going online only.
posted by mimo at 9:43 AM on January 3

You might check back at Gap...I wonder if they were just sold out after the holidays, because I've found various styles in "long" there recently.
posted by rainbowbrite at 9:54 AM on January 3

How tall are you? Im 5'9, size 8, and Express pants are wayyy too long for me. I always leave the store muttering about how they must cater to 9 foot tall women. Their Barely Boot ones are the shortest cut but the rest of them are literally 3-4 inches too long for me. Have u tried them recently, because up until a year ago they were cut much shorter.
posted by silverstatue at 10:28 AM on January 3

I agree with Melissasaurus that you should try some higher-end brands, especially for jeans, if you haven't already. I'm one of the cheapest people I know, but at 5'8" (which I don't feel is abnormally tall at all) I can never find cheap brand jeans that fit past the first washing. Designer brands however are usually great, if not too long. I suggest Nordstrom Rack or Last Call if you want better prices, I've found some amazing deals on jeans and dress slacks there.
posted by celtalitha at 11:01 AM on January 3

American Eagle sells long jeans in the store.
posted by shmurley at 11:12 AM on January 3

To address some of the suggestions so far:

-J Crew no longer carries tall sizes in stores (found this out today)
-Madewell does not carry tall sizes in stores (ditto)
-Ann Taylor (regular) is not long enough for me and does not carry tall sizes in stores
-Express pants are long enough enough for me but the denim isn't
-Old Navy had a smattering of longs but none in the style/size combination I wanted
-Levi's was the most successful for me today, I ended up with 1 pair 1 size too small and 1 pair 1 size too big, they had nothing that I wanted in my exact size
-Limited and Eddie Bauer are both about 90 minutes away

High-end denim via TJ Maxx or Filene's was my staple back when those stores were open, the top end of my budget is about $80/pair. I will try Nordstrom Rack next time I go shopping.
posted by matcha action at 12:51 PM on January 3

Target carries short, regular, and tall versions of all their pants in the stores. I know this because I have to dig to find the short ones. :( They're usually about $30, which is well under your budget, but honestly Target has gotten pretty decent at pants.
posted by Nattie at 6:45 PM on January 3

Just following up: the Jcrew jeans I mentioned are just their standard jeans, not tall-sized. The tall size is great with heels, but the standard size is fine w/ flats (again, I'm 5'11").
posted by melissasaurus at 2:27 PM on January 7

Thanks for the followup, melissasaurus-- I am 5'11" also but the JCrew regular jeans are definitely too short for me.
posted by matcha action at 4:11 PM on January 7