Clothing RANT

[emily_in_nc]

skhill, I don't know what size you are, but I have recently found Talbot's jeans to fit very well. They're attractive, well made, fashionable without being overly trendy, and have moderate cuts (not too low and not "Mom jeans" either!) They have good sales too!

This spring I bought two pairs at full price (which I rarely do) in the store because I was so delighted at the way they fit and looked. I have gotten compliments on these jeans unlike any other jeans I've ever worn, interestingly, and they've held up great to multiple washings. YMMV, of course, but they do have a wide size range (petites, regular, women's, women's petites - not sure about talls, though) and are not extreme in any way.

I share your frustration with jeans buying since I find that a lot of petites are just a smidge too short for me now that boot-cuts are so popular and need to be a bit longer, but regulars are always too long, and I refuse to hem jeans! Talbots Petites are 29" inseams so are perfect on me. I've also had decent luck with Lands End, which hems for free. I can't buy from LL Bean as their petite jeans are just a smidge too short for my inseam.

Good luck in your quest!

[Crankin]

Ahhh, I have been finding that most petite pants have gone to a 30 inch hem. It's driving me crazy. I am a 29 or 28.5. Unless I wear my pants with heels all of he time, they are dragging. So, I end up getting them hemmed.
I am holding on to my jeans from the Loft that I bought 4 years ago. I also have some new ones from Banana Republic, that I love, but they are too long to wear with my casual shoes. I am close to getting them hemmed.

[emily_in_nc]

Ahhh, I have been finding that most petite pants have gone to a 30 inch hem. It's driving me crazy. I am a 29 or 28.5. Unless I wear my pants with heels all of he time, they are dragging. So, I end up getting them hemmed.
I am holding on to my jeans from the Loft that I bought 4 years ago. I also have some new ones from Banana Republic, that I love, but they are too long to wear with my casual shoes. I am close to getting them hemmed.

Interesting! The only place I've seen "petite" or "short" jeans that have a 30" inseam is Victoria's Secret, but I haven't tried that many places and have never even been in a Banana Republic. Most petite jeans I've tried have been too short (28 or 28.5" inseams). The only ones I can wear in the "Ankle" (short) length at Gap are the Long and Lean model (longer than the norm for Gap). And at Loft, the jean styles from the last year or so are long enough now, but a couple of pairs I bought several years ago were a little too short, so I sold them on ebay! All of LL Bean's petite pants have 28.5" inseams, so even though they've got some cute styles these days, I can't wear them -- they might work for you!

[mayanorange]

Not that it really helps you in CA, but I adore Eastern Mountain Sports. They've always fit me really well in a functional way. And their stuff is rather cute. It's very dangerous for me to walk into EMS

[VeloVT]

Not that it really helps you in CA, but I adore Eastern Mountain Sports. They've always fit me really well in a functional way. And their stuff is rather cute. It's very dangerous for me to walk into EMS

Yes, I spent WAY too much at EMS last winter. I think "brand" stuff (Sugoi, etc) tends to be cuter, but EMS house brand stuff is pretty good quality and very functional, and frequently it's a fantastic deal (so I feel I have to stock up... arrrgh). Plus the EMS guys are so nice ...

[Crankin]

Emily: Maybe I am shrinking?? I have avoided Land's End because I have seen them as a "Mom jeans" kind of place, but maybe I will try. Athleta still has 28.5 length pants and they are starting to sell a lot of regular type pants, as opposed to strictly exercise stuff.
I love EMS, too and there is one 3 miles or less from my house. But everything is too big on me, especially the tops. The extra small tees have become longer and longer. I have a couple from like 5-6 years ago that I love, but the rest, forget it. I keep going there to search for stuff, and once in awhile I find something. Last weekend they had "club days" with a 20% discount for any outdoor or cycling club member. I did get a nice wool sweater; a bit itchier than Ibex, but it's something I would always wear a shirt under. Yes, the guys are very nice, but don't really want to listen to my size woes.
I think part of the problem is that younger people wear their pants dragging on the ground! I just don't want to have to have 2 sets of pants; one for heels and one for flats.

[Miranda]

PI Amfibs is what I wear running and XC skiing (the 2x I did it I was fine)

I bought those last year luckily on sale somewhere in my size at season's end. I just took them out today on the bike. Oh my, what a nice tight! I plan on using them post bike this winter in snow for xc ski and snow shoeing. The fabric is awesome.

[Miranda]

Interesting! The only place I've seen "petite" or "short" jeans that have a 30" inseam is Victoria's Secret, but I haven't tried that many places and have never even been in a Banana Republic. Most petite jeans I've tried have been too short (28 or 28.5" inseams). The only ones I can wear in the "Ankle" (short) length at Gap are the Long and Lean model (longer than the norm for Gap). And at Loft, the jean styles from the last year or so are long enough now, but a couple of pairs I bought several years ago were a little too short, so I sold them on ebay! All of LL Bean's petite pants have 28.5" inseams, so even though they've got some cute styles these days, I can't wear them -- they might work for you!

Express used to have some shorter length pants for dress slacks that were cute. The flare wasn't really proportioned as well as it could be though. They just hacked it off a few inches. But, they were ok if you didn't want to hem it.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily: Maybe I am shrinking?? I have avoided Land's End because I have seen them as a "Mom jeans" kind of place, but maybe I will try.

Lands End still has some "Mom jeans" , but they have gotten much better in the past year or so. There are lots of different cuts, so you just have to choose the one(s) that suit you. They have a "modern cut" (not sure if that is what it is called but something like that) that is below the navel (but not too low) and boot-cut. It used to be that 4P was their smallest size, but they've added 2P (maybe even 0P in some styles), and I find the 2P fits me really well -- and I can specify the inseam, which is nice! Bean also has a modern cut now but the 28.5" petite length, and I think 4P may be their smallest size.

We don't have EMS here in NC. Too bad -- I hear lots of good things about it here!

[skhill]

At last! Carhartt size 2 (WTF??) relaxed fit... still a little small at the thighs, but at this point I don't care... (It was just about this time last year that I slipped from plus sizes to the standard range, so that 2 is kinda freaking me out...)

So... can anyone suggest cheap places to get size 2 pants??

Thanks!

[tc1]

Size 2 pants? Seriously? You should check out title 9. They sell well made and stylin' athletic clothes in tiny sizes. They make me mad because they don't carry plus size stuff because they tried and the stuff didn't sell. They didn't sell because the plus size items were all a dull solid color, not the colorful things they have in their regular clothes.

REI sells all kinds of athletic tights, pants, etc in a variety of sizes including plus.

Eddie Bauer is good for outerwear. They have a huge variety of sizes, from petite to women's. And, their online site gives the dimensions of the item.

[yellow]

Crankin and other smaller and shorter ladies...aside from the "used clothing store" (which is where I get most of my clothes), I pretty much only go to Ann Taylor these days (not Loft, just regular old Ann Taylor). Not that I could wear them, but they carry all the way down to 00P, but they aren't teeny bopper clothes. I recently got 2 pairs of decent, not super fancy, but decent pants for work and they have a 28.5-inch inseam. They also carry some styles in "curvy" (smaller waist and bigger legs) as well as "regular" fit. Good for those of us with legs that are big in proportion to the rest of us.

Crankin, you and I can have our own little rant about clothing for smaller people. And I'm not that small. I always wonder what how the really small people must feel! I guess that's why my 4'10" Gramma always made all of her clothes.

Most other stores in the geographically limited area that I can tolerate for shopping won't carry small sizes in the store, so I don't even bother. I wish the Eddie Bauer store did. You can order small stuff from in the catalog, but I hate doing that (well, I hate always having to pay for return shipping).

As for athletic clothing (the original subject of this thread), I second/third/whateverweareupto the Sporthill stuff. I also have several pairs of Hind Munich pants I got long ago...I'm not sure if they make them any more.

[Crankin]

Yes, I am a fan of Ann Taylor.
Tc1, Title 9 does NOT have tiny sizes. In fact, they have no extra smalls, except for a few, I mean a very few pieces, mostly made by Horny Toad. I once wrote to them about this and their lack of petite sized pants and skorts. I got back an email that said basically they felt they didn't need to make them. That sort of made me stop buying from them. Oh and the fact that when Iwas in Boulder a few years ago, I visited the store and they were kind of snooty. Athleta has steadily increased their petite sized stuff and they are always sold out of the smallest sizes. That says to me that there is a market for this.

I know I am not the only short and slim person around.

[Jolt]

Mountain Hardwear makes some good hiking pants in three different lengths, for anyone who's looking for hiking stuff. And they actually come in sizes that fit smaller people well.

http://mountainhardwear.com/Product....1478&prod=2523

[Eden]

Crankin, you and I can have our own little rant about clothing for smaller people. And I'm not that small. I always wonder what how the really small people must feel! I guess that's why my 4'10" Gramma always made all of her clothes.

ooohhh can I join.... I sometimes feel like I'm not allowed to complain because I can't find clothes small enough.... Some people seem to think its some form of bragging, but it's not like I'm super skinny or something - I'm SHORT! and the rest of my body happens to be in proportion to the 5 feet of my height. I'm actually relatively curvy, just on a different scale. It's terribly frustrating that so few stores go small enough any more.

I love Anne Taylor- the petite stuff actually fits me nicely. The only jeans I seem to be able to buy out of the store these days are Gap Kids... From their web site it looks like I should be able to buy 0's, but I always get their namesake *a gap* in the back of the pants with women's sizes. Not to mention its really hard to find jeans that are not flares or boot cut in the store (they do have other cuts, but I really need to try things on before I buy them, so I'm not real interested in ordering from the web) and that just makes me look even shorter - its pretty ugly when the flare starts at your knee....