This thread was buried! We probably need a winter thread actually. Unless I'm the only one shopping?
I have a new bugaboo that I would like to share!!! Now that I pretty much have to wear a Small, I'm finding that ALL THE CLOTHES ARE TOO SHORT!!!!!!!
At 5'9 I've always been right on the cusp of regular/tall lengths in M, L and XL. If I want to wear heels, I need talls, and I need talls in cords and things that shrink in the wash. For the most part though, I can get by.
But recently I've been buying size small sweaters and they are all too short in the sleeves. And a shipment of lounge pants arrived from VS today and they are all several inches too short. Is it really true that smalls are sized shorter than Ms and Ls??? Unlike jeans and dress pants, things like sweaters and lounge pants are quite difficult to find in tall sizes, so this is a bit of a pickle.
Really, I think that if they're going to be vanity sizing to the point that someone like me wears a small/4, they need lots of options for we taller types in the length.
Alright. Rant over.
Last edited by baffled111; 11-29-2007 at 09:55 PM.
wait...all the tall clothes are getting shorter? thats not right, because all the short clothes are getting longer....including ones I bought by the inseam measurement. We all must be 5'6" it is the only acceptable height.
BUT I was excited that costco had SHORT jeans. As long as jeans are gonna fit me crappy, I am pretty happy to only pay $18 for them.
Oh yes Baffled, smalls are quite frequently sized shorter than M's and L's. I'm not as tall as you, but I still find that some smalls are just TOO SHORT, either on the sleeves or the torso. I don't want to be wearing fitted tees that barely cover my belly button... how slutty. I used to be a fan of "showing a little skin" back in my thin days... ... funny how I refer to them as my thin days when I wear the same size now... the thing is, I weighed less and looked WAY smaller... but I digress... I also definitely DO NOT want *business* shirts rising up, either. I doubt anyone would mind but some may deem it inappropriate.
I went Christmas shopping, so I'm currently too broke for winter clothes. This won't stop me for long, though.
Ennay, the tall clothes are still the same; my observation is that regular smalls are shorter than regular M, L or XL. I think I need a TS in tops and bottoms in almost all clothes. This is annoying because 1. stores don't usually stock Longs in the store, just online; and 2. tops and some kinds of bottoms are not widely available in longs, online or off.
Shane, when I've found shirts too short, I always thought it had something to do with my boobs--which used to be really big. Sometimes when they don't cut enough room in the bust, it comes out of the length. I think that I must have been right: my shirts are all long enough in the torso (and I have a longish torso), but too short in the arms. It's probably not good, but I consider that a minor problem. The bigger problem for me is too short pants. That is unacceptable!
Grrrrr on vanity sizing, and manufacturers who do not acknowledge that short and petite are 2 very different things! Along with those who think that women who wear larger sizes cannot also be short (or tall). I really need petite jeans/pants as I have a very short rise. Pants that are merely "short" are shorter only in the legs, which I don't need as I'm 5'4" I don't wear petite tops, but in fact quite the opposite. I buy talls when I can find them, or I look for tunic length stuff. (I swear my body was put together by a committee!) Baff - you're right about the boobs. Mine don't go down by much no matter what size/weight I am, and it does make shirts shorter, but this current craze of tummy-baring shirts drives me insane. I'm 62 for heaven's sake - NO ONE wants to see my midrift! I recently bought 3 shirts from J Jill which had the actual length in the description, so I knew they'd be long enough, though one is still marginal.
I did find some cords that fit reasonably well, at Wal-Mart of all places. Whatever, they were inexpensive enough and they'll last this winter, or until I'm down one more size and my Land's End ones will fit again.
My issue with winter clothing has to do with skiing/snow boarding gear. Columbia is one of the easier to find brands, but they seem to think that all women have no hips and thick waists (this is true with their street clothes too.) When I find something that fits my hips the waist is was to large. I'm not an extremely "hippie" person either.
Hmm, winter clothes? Asside from wearing a ski jacket or my dress winter coat and some Christmas sweaters I've collected over the years, I've never thought about having separate clothes from my fall or early spring wardrobe. As soon as the temperature goes below 70 degrees, out come all of my sweaters and I must have 2 dozen.
I've started to watch Tim Gunn's Guide to Style on Bravo on Thursday at 10 EST. He says there are "10 Essential Items" each woman MUST HAVE. I can only remember 8 at the moment:
a black dress,
the classic white shirt,
dress pants, (black or dark)
a blazer,
a trench coat,
jeans, (dark and dressy)
a cashmere sweater,
a sweatsuit alternative.
On the show, he and a supermodel goes to the house of a fashion challenged woman and basically throws EVERYTHING she owns out. Even the sentamental stuff. Then he shows her how to shop, but does it in with a clearer plan then on What Not To Wear. They usually start by getting her a proper fitting bra and underwear that doesn't show panty lines.
Off the list, I only have 1 pair of dress plants that fit. But I'm always complemented on my clothes - especially because I usually wear pretty dresses to the dance parties we go to. But I do see where his list makes sense as a building foundation and that classic clothes that are well made and well-fitted never go out of style.
Baff~I'm 5'8" and the regular stuff I buy is barely long enough BUT if I buy talls, then I have to wear high heels! Can't they get something in between??? I have a very casual job and since it is usually quite temperate here (not today--rain!!) I can wear flip flops daily (which I just love). My newest jeans from Express aren't long enough any more (which makes me sad). I have to wear tennis shoes with them to give them appearance of being long enough (they hit right about on my ankle bone and I prefer them to be just above the floor but not dragging at all).
I have to say that most of the CAbI(Carol Anderson by Invitation--you have to be invited to a party to get these) are the only pants that I can find that are the right length for me. Talbots, which I love, Coldwater Creek, Chicos and many others are simply too short so I usually only buy capris from them (and it's not seasonable to wear capris in the winter). I can get tall from the Gap, but I swear they add 4" to make them talls and I only need 1-2". And I'm not into having jeans altered!
The shoe/pant thing is sort of a conundrum. I have some flats, some shoes with little 1.5" heels and some higher 3" heels, but the trouble is that you have to match your shoes with specific pairs of pants because of the different lengths. Basically my shoe choice is determined by my pant choice each morning, or vice versa. It's a pickle. I often buy the pants long and get them hemmed. Jeans...well, jeans I work with. There's a boutique in town that sells expensive designer jeans and they'll do the tailoring for free, which is nice. But otherwise it's a pest.
But can someone explain: what's the difference between short and petite? I don't get it.
Last edited by baffled111; 11-30-2007 at 04:11 PM.
Carolyn, I have most of the items on that list. The one thing I have to disagree with Tim Gunn about is the "classic white shirt." I assume this means a standard collared white shirt. The thing is, if you are build and colored like I am, not only does white look bad in general, but collared shirts look awful on me! No white collared shirts in my wardrobe!
I have issues with lengths on pants too. They usually say that 5'4" is tall enough for "regular" sizes but it is not true 90% of the time. It USED to be true, I swear jeans have been getting longer over the years! The problem is that if you're 5'4" you're also too tall for "short" sizes 90% of the time. However, luckily I have found some exceptions. Turns out that Levi's "short" sizes are just barely long enough for me! Woohoo! Express "short" sizes are just about right too, although they never seem to carry my size in anything remotely attractive.
So in general for jeans I look for something that says "curvy" "bootcut" and "short" on it. My standard jeans right now are Levi's 515 bootcut, but they recently came out with a curvy cut (I think it's 528) that fits much better. When I was at the store they didn't have it in short length though so I couldn't buy it. I always go for the "curvy" ones because otherwise I end up with the waistband squeezing my tummy and a big old gap over my butt. I guess my butt is just too big!
Baff - petite pants are cut smaller overall, that is, the rise is shorter as well as the leg length. Short pants merely have shorter leg length but the same rise as regular. Which on me means that the crotch is halfway to my knees I keep pulling up on the waist to put the crotch in the proper place (very unattractive). It's very hard to find shorts and capris in petite unless you get an more expensive brand.
Both my SILs are barely 5' tall and have a terrible time with clothes. Neither is overweight, but one is really skinny and straight and ends up buying casual stuff in the kids/teen areas. Off topic, but she also buys children's glasses frames.
I did some shopping at the outlets while on vacation with my hubby. I bought 2 pairs of cords, 1 from Tommy and 1 from the Gap. I love them both but the Gap ones drag the floor, even in heels! I usually buy regular size no talls or anything. Gap jeans fit just perfect length wise. I also was able to get a pair of Nautica jeans and the lenght is great on them as well but I bought a pair of Tommy boyfriend cut jeans and they are really too short now that they've been washed. I always wash my darks on cold and dry on low, Oh well. I have found that the small tops are always too short in the arms for me as well. I got a pretty cashmere argyle sweater from Kohl's {I've been wanting since last year} and the arms are almost too short. I have a tendency to pull my sleeves up a little so it's not too bad. But I don't do that on all shirts. I hate to have to buy a medium just to get a good fit in the arms and have it be to big everywhere else.
I wear children's glasses frames also! Thought I was the only one.
Thanks for explaining about short and petite. The low rise jeans I've been wearing since March were marked short - first time I'd seen that type of labeling. But I still had to shorten them 2 inches. Since they're my first pair of low rise, they sure don't feel like regular in the rise! It took me a while to get used to them and to figure out how long shirts I was buying had to be so I won't be showing off my lower tummy. Which looks fine, but at 46, I don't want to be flashing except at the beach and in the shower.
Recently, a guy was trying to convince me that there's now a style where guys wear their girlfriend's pants. I didn't buy it.
Winter Clothes Shopping
... funny how I refer to them as my thin days when I wear the same size now... the thing is, I weighed less and looked WAY smaller... but I digress... I also definitely DO NOT want *business* shirts rising up, either. I doubt anyone would mind 
but some may deem it inappropriate. 
