Thursday, November 13, 2008

Another clothing rant

This rant is about slacks/pants. A couple of years ago, I found some great knit slacks in Lane Bryant's catalog (cotton/polyester/spandex, and not a thin fabric at that). They had straight legs, elastic waist band (which is a must when the waists of pants are so high they hit my bra band), had pockets (have to have pockets), and came in talls. So, those slacks are getting worn out and I need to replace them. Does LB still carry them? For some reason, no, they don't. The only pants in that fabric with pockets have tapered legs (which I don't like, they cling to my compression stockings when my legs swell), and the elastic waist also has a drawstring that ties in front (WTF is the point of having a drawstring waist AND elastic?). The ones that have the straight legs don't have pockets, and they don't come in talls (I have a 32" inseam, so they have to be talls). I checked out Woman Within, and they don't have them either. Catherine's is a lost cause for me for pants, they don't carry talls at all (do they think all fat women have short legs or what?). Roaman's doesn't have them either, and neither do any of the other online catalogs I've checked. And what the hell is up with changing the sizing on pants from 18, 20, 22, 24, etc to 1X, 2X, 3X, etc? I know what size I wear in the conventional sizing (a 28) but this 1X/2X/etc bullshit means I have to guess if the damned pants are going to fit, because the conversion chart they give isn't very accurate (I ordered one pair using that chart, and the pants were way too big, and the fabric was thin and cheap).
Now, LB and Woman Within carry the denim bootcut leggings I like, in talls, with pockets, but I can't wear jeans all the time. There are times when I need a casual pant, but I have to have pockets (cell phone and van/house keys go in them, I don't like carrying a purse, my billfold holds everything else I need). I liked the pants from LB catalog because they were comfortable, they looked good, and they lasted quite a while, not to mention the fact that I didn't have to pay $40 or more per pair (I think they were $15.99 on sale, at that price, I could afford to have them in navy, black, brown, hunter green, burgundy, and charcoal gray). I have checked out every online catalog I know of for fat women's clothing and none of them have the kind of pants for which I am looking. Those pants are a staple of my wardrobe, and I am not a happy camper at the prospect of having to go out and hunt for the same type of fabric as those pants are made of, if I can even find it in the colors I want, then have to take an old pair of pants apart for a pattern, and make my own. Yes, I can do it, I used to make most of my clothing (back when bullet-proof polyester was in fashion and I could find it for $1.00 a yard). But it looks like that is what I'm going to have to do to get the pants I want (at least if I make my pants, I can alter the pattern so that the waist in front doesn't come all the way up to my bra). But damn, why can't they keep the pants I like? Why do they have to change the style every year? I mean, FFS, pants are damned pants, there are only so many ways they can be made, so why leave out important details like pockets and add superfluous details like a drawstring on an elastic waist?

16 comments:

  1. Oh man, I feel you. Here's *my* pants beef: when I find pants that fit me in the waist, the crotch is generally down around my knees. I mean, I'm all for generous fit, but come on, people. Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I want to look like I'm wearing a freakin' paper bag.

    I wish I could remember where I read the suggestion that women's clothes be sold like men's, with waist/hip/inseam selected per item. Whoever takes that marketing idea to the bank will become an effing millionaire.

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  2. hera - No kidding! And I know my waist in front is lower than most women's, it's right at my belly button (always has been, even when I was 175 lbs). But come on, those waistbands hit me 6 inches above my waist. It's like they think because some women are fat, they must have these huge bellies out in front (like all fat women look like they're pregnant). Hell, I have more ass behind me than I have belly in front of me and and that part of the waistband hits right where it should. If I put the waistband in front at my waist, the crotch of the pants would be halfway to my knees too, so I know what you mean. And it's been that way all my life, I've always had to roll the waistband on my pants in front, unless I was wearing men's jeans or hip-huggers (hip-huggers hit me right at my waist when I was thinner). And I would love to see pants for women sized by waist/hip/inseam (and add rise to that for those of us who don't have a long torso).

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  3. I hear your pain. When I find the rare pant that actually fits me properly and feels/looks good on me, I make it a practice to buy a bazillion pair in several colors.

    I've learned from sad experience that the fashion idjits who run the companies will NOT keep around the best designs, no matter how great or popular the design is. Change is the name of the game in fashion. So my advice is when you find a great pair you really love, go buy them out in that style and keep the others in reserve for the future.

    Do consider Junonia. Some of their pants are terrible but I like the Ponte knits line. Fabric's a little heavy but they have the cotton/spandex fabric, pockets (MUST have), several different pant leg cuts to choose from, and come in different lengths (petite, regular, and tall). Or at least they had this line last season; I bought a trillion so I haven't checked to see if it's there this year. Take a look and see.

    I agree totally; I would love to see pants for women sized by different parameters, the way they do for men. It's pissed me off for years that they do it that way for men but not for women. Augh!

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  4. WRM - I checked Junonia, and all their pants are way more expensive than I can afford (they start at $40 and go up from there). At that price, I'd be lucky to afford 2 pair a year, let alone be able to stock up on them so that if they quit making them, I'd be set for a while. And the color selection ran to black, brown, and navy which is not enough variety for me, either (yeah, I'm picky, I know....LOL). I have 20 online links for plus-size clothing for women (and that doesn't count my links for bras and panties) and none of those places has the pants for which I am looking (I spent 3 hours searching all those sites last night, just in case I had missed something). Nada, zip, zilch, zero, in anything I could afford that even came close to what I was looking for.

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  5. I feel your pain.

    My waist though is super high up like right under my boobs.

    I get a crapload of catalogs and will have a look through them and see if I can find you something then email you the info..

    If you're going to make them I was just the other day looking at maybe altering a yoga pants pattern and use suiting fabric. not sure if that would work but OMG that would be awesome wouldn't it?

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  6. nudiemuse - that would be awesome for sure. I'm going to have to go to Alexandria and see what the fabric stores have in stock for pants fabric (we have no fabric stores in this small town). I may even check my online sources for fabric and see what I can find there, they have sales every once in a while (that's where I found the fabric for the top I made to wear to my son's wedding).

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  7. Hehehe, having elastic AND a drawstring is a little like wearing a belt and suspenders.

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  8. Did you try Romans?
    http://www.romans.com/Plus-Size-Knit.aspx?DeptId=15465&Page=1&12PerPage=true

    I hate it when I find something I truely love to wear and then it vanishes from catalogs everywhere.

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  9. cynth, yeah, I checked Roaman's, and the only one that had pockets didn't come with an inseam long enough :(
    I do wish that fashions (for pants, anyway) didn't change so often. It seems like every time I find pants I like, they discontinue them. I've been researching fabric online, and what I can find, in the colors/type I want is anywhere from $6 to $8 a yard, so that's $18 to $24 just for the fabric for a pair of pants (takes 3 yards if I want to add pockets and get them long enough). Guess I'm going to have give it up and spend the money on the fabric.

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  10. Wow, pants like that actually exist?? (Or rather, used to. *sigh*) Because your description sounds like something that would fit me, and I haven't been able to find a single pair of pants that fit me since I had my child. Well, okay, I have one that could be described as yoga pants that fits all right, but it's not warm in the least and doesn't have pockets, either. I have to go out wearing pants that don't fit just because they're warmer. Argh!! Yet another reason to hate the fashion industry ...

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  11. Tiana - Yeah, they used to exist. Now, if you want warm pants, you have to buy the sweat pants, and those are more casual than I want in pants (not to mention that where my thighs rub together, they pill and wear through too damned soon). And I don't like sweat pants, never have.

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  12. Needless to say, I too feel your pain. Pants are currently a problem for me. In fact I have two that I rotate...I guess it's a good thing I'm unemployed. I could certainly go and buy more but the prospect of that whole shopping exercise is so depressing and demoralizing that I'm just gonna go with the status quo of my wardrobe. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving your kind comments. They really lifted me up yesterday!

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  13. Small addendum:

    Needless to say, I too feel your pain. Pants are currently a problem for me. In fact I have two that I rotate...I guess it's a good thing I'm unemployed. I could certainly go and buy more but the prospect of that whole shopping exercise is so depressing and demoralizing that I'm just gonna go with the status quo of my wardrobe. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog (fatgirlonthedancefloor.wordpress.com) and leaving your kind comments. They really lifted me up yesterday! By the way, I seem to be unable to leave you a comment through wordpress for some reason....Thanks again!

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  14. When I find pants that fit/look good I try to buy multiple pairs of them, even if they are identical. My fat thighs wear out the inseam so fast that pants don't last very long. I hate hate HATE drawstrings (one more thing to fumble with when going to the bathroom, they lump up under shirts, and they bounce around on my belly) and pockets are an absolute must.

    I have the opposite problem you do; I'm short. Even petite pants are often too long. Crop pants and such often come down to my ankles (short pants touch me feet, to quote Calvin and Hobbes). It's frustrating. Even if I sewed well enough to hem pants, the cut of the leg is all wrong.

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  15. I know exactly what you mean. I have such a hard time finding clothes that fit my specific body type. It doesn't help when they are always changing the clothes around.

    My problem with pants is that even though I'm tall, my height isn't in my legs. I'm very long waisted and I have a hard time finding shirts that will cover my stomach.

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  16. April - I have the same problem with shirts, not because I have a long torso, but because I like my shirts to cover my belly and my hips. I end up buying tunics to get them long enough. If I make a top, I can add to the length, so the ones I make are always long enough.
    I altered that last pair of pants I bought, ended up moving the pockets down 8 inches, cut 6 inches off the waist and put the waist band back on. They're still a couple of inches too long in the waist, though, and now the legs are too short. Pisses me right off that I spent $16 on the pants and 3 hours altering them and they still don't fit the way they should. I'm not buying pants anymore, I'll buy the fabric and make my own. At least then they'll fit the way they're supposed to.

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