Elastic-waist pants are high on the list of things I refuse to ever wear, no matter what my size. I'll accept elastic at the sides or the back, but not all the way around. It has to have a waist band with a fly.
I also won't wear muu muus, skirted swimsuits, polyester slacks with a sewn-in crease down the front of the legs, or solid black unless I pair it with white or a bright color. Not even at a funeral will I wear solid black by itself.
The reason is simple rebellion. When I was growing, up, the clothing I've just described were all that was available for plus-sized women. They were the standard fat-woman uniform, what everyone expects us to wear. I heard too much of, "Oh, no-no-no, dear. You can't wear red. You're too heavy. You have to wear black. It's slimming." Oh, bite me. My bathing suit is a tankini, floral navy on top and solid navy with a mock belt on the bottom. Yes, even a buckle. Anybody who can't stand to look at the shape of my gut can bloody well turn their heads away.
This isn't to say I'm not attempting to lose weight. I'm just saying I reserve the right to feel beautiful *now,* even though I'm still pretty close to my heaviest.
No, no, I think Aclai was referring to the fact that it was difficult to tell if I meant actual "stretch pants" or if I meant "stretch material pants". I meant the latter.
Hmmmmm stretchy pants....I'm on and off on them. Right now I own two pairs of stretchy jeans. One a bit more stretchy than the other. One is a legging/bootcut type and the other is a loose fit type. The first one sits well on my legs but crap around my bottom, the last one is much better and sits very well on my bum!
Really stretch jeans leggins are a big no no for me. I hate them!
Regular leggins are actually very in fashion these days, if you wear them with skirts, dresses and long tunics. I do and it's really pretty. I would never wear skirts, dresses and tunics otherwise!
Now the only high-waist jeans you can find are mom jeans.
My younger co-workers tease me about my mom jeans, but I keep telling them, you do NOT want to see me in low-rise. Yeah I have a small waist, even a six-pack, but it's flabby and would NOT be pretty in the low-rise. At all!
I have the same issue as Uber but one size down. The 16s are too baggy (particularly in the butt) but some 14s are a bit tight. My solution was, I tried on every single pair of 14/16s in a store til I found the smallest 16 and bought them (a large 14 would have been more satisfying but this pair of 16s was smaller than some of the 14s). They are Gloria Vanderbilt 'Amanda' and have a bit of spandex, 2% maybe. They hold their shape very well and look great.
Dating myself here, but when you say "stretch pants" I think of those awful polyester pants with the seam sewed up the front that were so popular in the 70's. They came in every color under the rainbow and in OMG! PLAID! POLKADOT! HOUNDSTOOTH CHECK! And every other nonflattering thing any one could ever put on! They were tight and showed every single cell of cellulite you owned. My Mom used to wear them.
But, when I was a kid, what we now call "capri's" were called pedal pushers, I hated them then, still do. Leggings, *runs for cover trying to put out the ugly fire*! Who thought those up? A glorified cross between pantyhose and long underwear! That you topped with a sweater big enough to fit Alaska! And then we added stupid little, let me fall on my bum, slick bottom boots as winter wear? Who thought that was cute?
While I'm at it, who thought up those old late 80's aerobic outfits? Spandex pants, covered with a g-string top, leg warmers and a head band? Puhleeeese! And the BIG hair????
I prefer my jeans to be jeans, as in Levi, Wrangler, Rocky Mountain, Lawman, etc.
I still believe that one contributing downfall to weight control was the invention of polyester and elastic and the social acceptance of going out in public in sweat pants. When I was in highschool, sweatpants were for workouts only, if you were on the track, football, basketball, wrestling, volleyball team etc.
No one else in their right mind would have been caught dead out in public in a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie!
I loooove me some stretchy leggings! They are like wearing socially acceptable pj's out in public! You can dress them up with a nice long tunic or a sweater dress and a pair of heels, or you can wear them with some higher boots and make them more casual. I pretty much hate wearing jeans because I feel like they are so constrictive. However, I do also prefer my jeans to be stretchy so that I feel as movable as possible. Plus, I'm like 100% hourglass figure, so I have a smaller waist. Jeans without stretch never fit me right. I would have to get a size bigger in order to fit my legs, but then the waist is too big. If I get a size to fit my waist, then I have an unfortunate camel toe sitch and a leg tighness issue. With the jeans with stretch, it seems to be smaller where I need it and bigger where I need it.
Dating myself here, but when you say "stretch pants" I think of those awful polyester pants with the seam sewed up the front that were so popular in the 70's. They came in every color under the rainbow and in OMG! PLAID! POLKADOT! HOUNDSTOOTH CHECK! And every other nonflattering thing any one could ever put on! They were tight and showed every single cell of cellulite you owned. My Mom used to wear them.
Yes, this is what I thought of too. And they were always elastic waist. They were pretty much the staple of the plus-size woman's wardrobe. Along with the big flowery camp shirts, not to mention muumuu's.
By the way, stupid question alert: What exactly is wrong with mom jeans? If you're a mom, that is. Heck, I'm a grandma. Why shouldn't I wear mom jeans?
Last edited by LovebirdsFlying; 01-12-2010 at 08:02 PM.
I have a great pair of stretch pants that I've gotten lots of compliments on. They're Eileen Fisher, which carries a wide range of sizes and caters to the bigger girl. They are black with a wide waistband and wide, but not too-wide legs. There's plenty of room in the thighs too. I think they're a staple item that she carries every season. They were really expensive but I wear them constantly. Machine washable. I would buy whatever size is slightly loose, definitely not tight, as you try the on.
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