Buying flares when you're short

Gigi

I am 5'2" and am interested in buying a pair of flares, either jeans or some type of pants. I am wondering about the placement of the flare and had a couple of questions:

1. Is the flare supposed to start right below the knee, right above it, or just somewhere in the general vicinity of the knee?

2. Since I am short, am I going to have to buy a short inseam or a special petite size to make sure that the flare starts in the right place?

Thanks for the help!

7 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from

Susie

Veteran

Hi Gigi, I am no expert but I AM short! The fit at the knee is why just hemming the length isn't always enough to make regular pants fit well. Flares can be particularly problematic and I do generally stick to petites for those.

7 years ago

Susie

Veteran

I think the start of the flare can vary but I usually prefer styles that are pretty fitted to the knee, with the flare starting below; otherwise, it's just too much fabric for me.

7 years ago

Anonymous

I don't actually know, but here's a picture of vix in hers with heels.
It's hard to see where to flare starts but it seems to me you'd want it to start at the knee or higher.

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....mon-flares

7 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

I'm a Petite at 5' 1" with short legs, so always buy Petite sizes when I can. Petite flares will be scaled to fit a shorter person so will be less likely to be overwhelming. If the flares are fitted on the thigh like a bellbottom, they will be more comfortable if the flare starts slightly above the knees. If the flares are more like a wide leg and are straighter from the hip, the consideration would be whether they overwhelm.

7 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Thanks for the info. Does anyone know whether short inseams (as opposed to petite sizes) take into account the flare positioning? Or is everything the same as the regular but the length? I'm wondering because I see that Free People sometimes has short inseams.

7 years ago

Beth Ann

Veteran

Petite sizes will scale the flare to a shorter person, but there is a lot of variation in knee placement among people. Some women have a long femur, others might have a long shin length. The only solution? Try on and look for brands and store lines that "get" you. When something fits well, I'd suggest taking detailed measurements and storing them in your phone. What length from the hem to the break? From the inseam crotch point to the break? How wide across at the narrowest part? At the hem? I always tuck a small, rolled tape measure in my purse. It can be useful for home goods, too!

7 years ago

Tanya

Veteran

I would guess that short inseams ( as opposed to petite sizes) have everything the same but the length of the pants. I am of average height at 5'6", with proportionally short legs and long rise (and torso). Petite sizes do not work for me because the rise on them is too short. Banana Republic often has their pants in range of sizes, including petite, regular (short, regular and long) and tall and their regular short fits me very well. I have just bought these flare jeans and they fit me perfectly in size 2S - length is just enough for a 2" heel, which is what I wanted.

Banana Republic

Sailor Flare Jean

$98.00

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Top Pick

7 years ago

karen13

Veteran

Petite size pants definitely adjust where the flare or shaping begins, as well as any distressing, and they typically have a shorter rise. You will really notice the difference in distressing/fading being too low/long if you try to just hem a pair of regular length jeans. And on flares or boot cuts, it just starts to widen too low on the leg and you end up cutting off a bunch when you hem.

I'm 5'2" with somewhat longer legs/short waist. Petites are sometime a bit short, but regular lengths are usually too long. I bought the Logan fit trouser jeans from Banana Republic in both 2P and 0S, and despite the website saying they had the same inseam, the 0S was about 1/2" longer, which I needed - and the slightly longer rise was OK.

The 0S was a tad snugger than the 2P, but not a full size down. This also varies between retailers - always check and compare measurements for Petite versus Reg/S if available. You really just have to experiment.

6 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I asked the question because I haven't seen anything that really looks good to me in petite offerings, so I was starting to venture into misses'. The comments here have confirmed that I do need to be careful about where the flare hits. I have long legs, but my thighs are short, so the flare ends up starting too low. I'll keep looking!

6 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Have you checked out Alterations Needed? She has lots of info and experimentation and she used to wear a lot of flares (not sure she still does). You might find some brands mentioned that would be helpful for your particular modifiers.

I can't generally wear petites because of my rise and also they tend to be too short (since I'm 5'4"). So I wear regulars but always have to hem, though sometimes a "short" will work for me. I do find that some brands have distressing and knee break in wrong place for me, though, so I experiment as well.

6 years ago

Chris987

Veteran

I am 5'1" but for pants I end up buying regular sizes some of the time because the petite sizes are too short in the leg, or the largest petite size offered is too tight. It's a hassle because the regular sizes often has a rise that is too long. I do a lot of trying on

I have stayed away from flares for a while but happened upon this pair recently that fit EXTREMELY well in a petite size, and the flare seems to be "just wide enough" to look good to me. The cropped ones fit me well too in a petite, although they are one size larger than the flares. They are a both a Macy's brand called Style & Co. This is a pretty inexpensive brand and some of their fabrics don't last very long, especially in knits, but they fit so well that I keep going back to it.

Another petite blogger you could look at is extrapetite.com. She doesn't show flared pants very often but she's another blogger who discusses fit in great detail.

Macy's

Style & Co. Petite Curvy-Fit Tucson Wash Bootcut Jeans, Only at Macy's

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Macy's

Style & Co. Petite Printed Miami Bloom Blue Wash Boyfriend Jeans, Only At Macy's

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6 years ago

Diana

Veteran

As others have already mentioned the flare should start at or above the knee. I am lucky because although I am short I have extremely long thighs so I can generally chop a few inches off the bottom and have the proportions still be ok.

That said don't discount the non petite offerings just yet! Remember that most flares are cut to be worn with heels. So if the inseam is 34, it's probably designed for a "normal" (31-32") inseam with 2-3" heels. What that means is that the extra 2-3" is going to be at the bottom, not in the thigh, and can be chopped off.

If you haven't looked already I'd check out lucky brand. They tend to have a variety of different lengths in many of their styles.

6 years ago

Anonymous

I'm 5'2" tall, and have the same problem with petite pant inseams being too short. It's downright aggravating when they use the same inseam length for every pants width. They don't consider the fact that wider width pants are usually worn with heels.

6 years ago

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