shopping for short people...

I don't think I have ever worn St. John's knits but will give them a try
since you seem to think they are least comparable to Talbots in quality and
you still have some in your closet even though you rarely them anymore. May
I deduce that they are classic enough to last through multiple seasons and
that they hold up well over time?

j
"Barbara Hirsch" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 11:46:50 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:

I have the same problem. When I am buying clothes for work, I go to the
petite sophisticate or Talbot's.

I don't know about sophisticates, but I get my skating clothes at
Talbots. My zippered sweatshirts, t-shirts, turtlenecks. I think
they're really reasonably priced.

Haven't worn dress clothes in quite a while, but I like St. John
Knits. I still maintain a half dozen outfits for when I need them.


Barbara Hirsch, Publisher
OBESITY MEDS AND RESEARCH NEWS
The latest in obesity research and weight loss drug development
http://www.obesity-news.com/

In article , Jayjay
wrote:

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 02:07:43 GMT, Chris Braun
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 13:24:44 -0400, "Beverly"
wrote:

I know how frustrating it is, I went through the same thing a few
weeks back when I went shopping. And for those who say "just hem
it"... its not always that easy. Pants have certain cuts, the only
hemmed pants that look good are straight leg cut pants. Tapered leg,
or boot leg, or flared leg - you can't hem them without destroying the
look. Oh, and mind you - do you know how hideous a pair of hemmed
jeans look?

Its a real pain in the ass.

I hem jeans all the time for myself and the granddaughers. You probably
can't tell which ones I've hemmed and which ones have the original hems.
One trick is to use the jeans thread found at your local fabric store and
have a machine capable of sewing through layers of denim material. Just
cut off the original hem, turn under and sew..... The worst part is getting
the hem turned under and pressed before actually sewing them.


I think the issue is more that the tailoring off the legs doesn't work
right if the jeans are hemmed. Like, if they're supposed to flare
below the knee, they flare at mid-calf instead. If they're supposed
to flare at the bottom, they don't flare at all. (Probably this
wouldn't matter if the hem was 1" or something, but some pants are 6"
or more longer than my legs.) And of course you can forget any that
have cute details at the ankles. You pretty much need straight legs
for pants to look right with a significant hem.

Chris

YES!!!

I can't tell you how friggin frustrating it is to go try on a pair of
capri pants to have them be just barely too short to be full length
pants. 4 - 6" too long, yet in capri, not long enough to be pants.


Anything stylish goes out the window if you are too short.

It's also a challenge as you may be low in the rise and have short legs
or just be proportioned generally shorter overall waist to feet.

It might be worth either having a pattern made or a few pairs of basic
classic pants that would last for years.

"Jayjay" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 02:07:43 GMT, Chris Braun
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 13:24:44 -0400, "Beverly"
wrote:

I know how frustrating it is, I went through the same thing a few
weeks back when I went shopping. And for those who say "just hem
it"... its not always that easy. Pants have certain cuts, the only
hemmed pants that look good are straight leg cut pants. Tapered leg,
or boot leg, or flared leg - you can't hem them without destroying the
look. Oh, and mind you - do you know how hideous a pair of hemmed
jeans look?

Its a real pain in the ass.

I hem jeans all the time for myself and the granddaughers. You probably
can't tell which ones I've hemmed and which ones have the original hems.
One trick is to use the jeans thread found at your local fabric store
and
have a machine capable of sewing through layers of denim material. Just
cut off the original hem, turn under and sew..... The worst part is
getting
the hem turned under and pressed before actually sewing them.


I think the issue is more that the tailoring off the legs doesn't work
right if the jeans are hemmed. Like, if they're supposed to flare
below the knee, they flare at mid-calf instead. If they're supposed
to flare at the bottom, they don't flare at all. (Probably this
wouldn't matter if the hem was 1" or something, but some pants are 6"
or more longer than my legs.) And of course you can forget any that
have cute details at the ankles. You pretty much need straight legs
for pants to look right with a significant hem.

Chris

YES!!!

I can't tell you how friggin frustrating it is to go try on a pair of
capri pants to have them be just barely too short to be full length
pants. 4 - 6" too long, yet in capri, not long enough to be pants.


Anything stylish goes out the window if you are too short.

I have never been able to wear capri's. My legs look like skinny sticks and
the overall look makes me look short and dumpy. They are clearly not for
me!

j

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 09:38:33 -0400, Carol Frilegh
wrote:



It's also a challenge as you may be low in the rise and have short legs
or just be proportioned generally shorter overall waist to feet.

It might be worth either having a pattern made or a few pairs of basic
classic pants that would last for years.


That's not the point Carol. As Determined and I have stated - we'd
like to find some fashionable clothing. I have plenty of "basics"
and "Classics"... but for my personality - that gets BORING.

Unfortunately for me, I live in an area tha caters to the retired
folks, with fashion being pastel, polyester, elastic waisted clothing.


They've truely forgotten the forgotten generations. The ones
inbetween the brittany spears wannabe clubbers and the 70something
retiree's who want cool, comfort resort wear.

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 08:49:09 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:



I have never been able to wear capri's. My legs look like skinny sticks and
the overall look makes me look short and dumpy. They are clearly not for
me!

j


I've found a few pair that fit well, but in general, when I shop, I
feel the same way - although I don't have stick legs. I feel like
the clothing bulges where its not supposed to bulge and they
definately make me look shorter than I really am.

Same goes for hiphugger pants, they totally shorten the legs even
shorter than they are.

In article , Jayjay
wrote:


That's not the point Carol. As Determined and I have stated - we'd
like to find some fashionable clothing. I have plenty of "basics"
and "Classics"... but for my personality - that gets BORING.

Pants are a good basis for any look that's in. When I reached goal a
few years ago I decided to start witth some store bought but at any
variation in weight only one pair which I bought from Laura Petites
really fits right because of the "short thing" When I had my gown made,
the dressmaker was about to retire and I really regret not having just
one pair of black pants made that conformed to my shape ( it has a
large wiast and upper thigh but suddenly tapers leaving a baggy effect
with all store bought pants. And they could not be appropriately
altered)

I'm sure the rest of the list is really fascinated with these details:-)

I read somewhere that boot cut and flared leg jeans make one's legs look
longer. I didn't believe it but bought a pair of flared jeans at Old Navy
and they really do make my legs look even longer. (It's the only good
physical thing about me - I like to accentuate them). I do wear low rise
jeans but only because nothing fits at the waist. I am careful to wear a
longish shirt with them, though.

j
"Jayjay" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 08:49:09 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:



I have never been able to wear capri's. My legs look like skinny sticks
and
the overall look makes me look short and dumpy. They are clearly not for
me!

j


I've found a few pair that fit well, but in general, when I shop, I
feel the same way - although I don't have stick legs. I feel like
the clothing bulges where its not supposed to bulge and they
definately make me look shorter than I really am.

Same goes for hiphugger pants, they totally shorten the legs even
shorter than they are.

"Julianne" wrote in message
news:RSAgb.21342$k74.15771@lakeread05...
I read somewhere that boot cut and flared leg jeans make one's legs look
longer. I didn't believe it but bought a pair of flared jeans at Old Navy
and they really do make my legs look even longer. (It's the only good
physical thing about me - I like to accentuate them). I do wear low rise
jeans but only because nothing fits at the waist. I am careful to wear a
longish shirt with them, though.

Me too - my waist is really what holds me back as far as dropping pants
sizes... I have 34.5" hips, and according the speigel's size chart that's a
size 2 I think... But my waist is still something like 27.5"!!! That's
size 8! If I wear low-riders/low waisted pants, I can wear a size 4.

det

"SnugBear" wrote in message
...

"determined" wrote
I'm very frustrated. I left the house yesterday with the intent of
buying
new clothes. My pants are literally falling off of me... When they
first
got a little loose, it was cool. But now I look like I do-dooed my
pants!!!
Not very flattering. Went to Old Navy - good sale right now. Tried on
8
different pairs of pants. Size 4 fits great, except even the "short"
pants
were too long. I hate this. I need new pants! And there were only a
handful of "short" pants, so the selection sucked.

Where do shorties go to shop?

det

Jeeze, det - Old Navy short is good for me and I'm only 5 feet tall. (28"
inseam). I'm so used to shortening pants though, it doesn't matter. I
get
most of my jeans second hand. If they fit, I'll shorten them happily.
Good
luck.

I think the problem the other day at Old Navy was that the pants section
looked like they had taken boxes of pants and dumped them in piles on the
shelves. I couldn't find a pair of short 4's or 6's, but lots of short
12's... what's up with that? Maybe I should go in there first thing in the
morning when everything hasn't been ramshacked.

det

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 10:22:24 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:

I read somewhere that boot cut and flared leg jeans make one's legs look
longer. I didn't believe it but bought a pair of flared jeans at Old Navy
and they really do make my legs look even longer. (It's the only good
physical thing about me - I like to accentuate them). I do wear low rise
jeans but only because nothing fits at the waist. I am careful to wear a
longish shirt with them, though.

j

Yes, but... then you get into that issue of the flare leg jeans being
4 to 6" too long so the flare happens at the ankles, and you end up
getting this hideous look.