I have short legs and a long torso. Petite pants usually hit me at the right length and are sometimes even a little bit long, average/regular pants are too long on me. Some shirts will be a little short on me though. My inseam is about 29 inches from what I can tell which is a petite.

Mel - I love Macy's and their sales!! They always have tons of good sales racks. NY & CO online is becoming my next best friend. Maybe one day I'll be able to actually step in their mall store without feeling self conscious

edited to add - I decided to assess the bathing suit situation since I'm heading to CA in a few weeks. Well all the bathing suits I wore last year are huge and baggy. A few years ago, I bought a size 16 tankini bathing suit thinking I'd be close to fitting it. I wasn't even close then. I looked like ken trying to fit into barbie's clothes. It wasn't pretty. Anyway, the suit fits although because of my long torso, if I lift my arms up, my belly will show. I'll only probably wear it once or twice and we'll probably be going to Miami beach later on in the year so I don't want to buy a bathing suit now. It'll have to do.

Ah, Nelie, you and I are built the same. I hate today's styles of short tops - I find very few that keep my mid-section covered. Thank goodness it's Summer Reading time at work - we have themed t-shirts to wear! And petite pants are a necessity for me. If I buy regular ones the crotch is half-way down my thighs and they are several inches too long. (I could deal with the length, but not the rise).

And let's not talk bathing suits..... Thank goodness the opportunities to wear one in Alaska are very limited. I did wear one in Costa Rica, but usually with a t-shirt over it so I wouldn't burn, or a life vest so I wouldn't drown, or both.

I actually find the opposite to be true--most of the tops I see at the moment are too long and are supposed to hit below the hips (to cover what super-low rise jeans leave exposed). My legs are a bit short and these long tops really mess with my proportions. I want my shirts and jackets to hit exactly at the hip, otherwise my legs look short or my tummy will show above my jeans.

hey baffled- did ya notice that you are 6-8 inches taller than most of us?
But I agree on the tops. This year's styles are long. On me, they look like mini-dresses!

Too bad we can't all divy up our "parts". I've got long legs and a short torso with a wide back. Petite pants fit me perfectly (long is relative here, I'm only 5'2 and a smidge), but petite jackets won't go across my back no matter what size. Regulars are too long and the sleeves are too long. Maybe I should quit lifting those heavy weights!

Oh I thought I was imagining things. I wore one of my new tops today and I wasn't sure if I was wearing it right because it was so long. Interesting trend.

It's a dodgy trend, in my opinion. I think you need either really long slim legs or high heeled shoes to pull them off. Otherwise they just tend to make the legs look short and stumpy.

Still, at the very least, think of all the butt cracks we'll be spared from seeing by the presence of a very long tee!

Oh, but I'm excited for longer tops! On me they come where y'all have been having your tops - mid-hip. I'm soooo tired of nice t's (i.e. dressier knit tops for work) that expose my tummy every time I lift my arms over my head. I agree, let's all swap body parts My torso is built for someone at least 5" taller than me (I'm 5'4" if I stretch) but my rise (from my waist to crotch) is short (thus the petite pants) and my legs are about 28" I'm sure all this comes from having an over 6' father and a 5'2" mother.

And what a good thing that is!

I got lucky in the proportions department - everything is short or small - just have to do a lot of hemming of pants, even when they're petites.

And I have the opposite problem, Carolyn. I'm tall with long arms and legs. It used to be that normally proportioned pants always looked like capri pants when I put them on. But with age, I've shrunk a bit and now pants fit.

I really like to shop now!

My new Land's End 2 piece arrived and it's almost a bikini! Haven't worn one of those in 25 years. I also ordered a skirted bottom and it hits an inch below my belly button so I'm going to have to hold my stomach in when I wear it.

I ordered my first pair of capri length pants in petite. Again, they're longish and look like high water floods rather than capri's. So I'm wearing them with the hem turned up to look like tailored pants. They are somewhat wide legged instead of tight which is good since I have very muscular calves. I've never worn capri's before because I always thought they would make me look like I had chicken legs - not a good proporation. Instead, this pair looks cute.

Go to our new thread: Summer Clothes Shopping.