Cannot find decent pants for hourglass. Please suggest. - YouLookFab Forum

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Cannot find decent pants for hourglass. Please suggest.

Joyce B

Veteran

I have not been able to find decent pants for hourglass figure, other than NYDJs, but even some of their newer styles have taken a turn for the worse.
I got some Max Mara and some Theory and they both leave a bucket in the waist. I know they will fix them for free at Nordstrom but I am against paying the high cost and having to fix them. If they want the money then the pants better fit right.
Do you have any suggestions of pants that worked for you?

Dressing

35 replies

Latest reply was from Joyce B

April

Veteran

I have the opposite problem (pants that fit in the hip are too small for my non-existent waist) but I know that pants are the hardest thing to fit off the rack. I'm afraid that tailoring is nearly always necessary to get just the right fit.

I have noticed, though, that many stores have added a "curvy" fit to their pants offerings. Have you tried any of those? It's my impression that higher-end lines like Theory and Max Mara are a better fit on a straight figure. Maybe you would actually have more success going with something more mainstream?

Some suggestions:
Banana Repulic's "Jackson"
Ann Taylor's "Curvy"
Talbot's "Curvy Fit"

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks April, I will check those.

Anonymous

I buy Banana Republic's Martin fit

At Loft I have just bought the Julie cut

I am a tad curvy, leaning to a pear, if that helps

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks for sharing the specific cuts that can help, A. I will try those, too.

Alassë

Veteran

Talbots Curvy fit, Eddie Bauer Curvy fit, Target Curvy fit - try on all of them as some may still gape.

Von

Veteran

Pants or jeans? Levis Curve ID jeans are AMAZING. Love them to death (when I can find them). For dress pants, I love Ann Taylor - I've never had to have a pair of them altered at the waist, and like someone else said Banana Republic Jacksons.

carter

Veteran

WHBM Perfect Form fit my hourglass shape perfectly. They're low on styles right now, but they'll have the new batch out shortly. Read the reviews. They're really amazing.

Emily

Veteran

Are you looking for pants or jeans? I have the same issue.

Jeans: I have had good luck with Silver Suki/Aiko and Guess
Trousers: J.Crew's Minnie, BR Sloan and Express Columnist work for me

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Talbots and Ann Taylor. And the Express Editor. Also, waist adjustment is an easy alteration.

Emily

Veteran

Angie, I just tried some Editors and had major back gap

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Then try the Columnist, Emily.

Diana

Veteran

For trousers, I like BR Martins. I don't like "curvy" fits in general because I feel like they enhance one's "assets" too much (also the rises are always too high). For jeans, I just buy whatever I like and wear a belt.

Editors don't work for me (plus I hate the fabric). Technically, they fit, but I think express is going for a tight fit in the behind, so if I want a more fluid fit I have to size up which makes the waist enormous.

Anonymous

I wish we had all these options in Canada or at least where I live

Thistle

Veteran

I am also have a defined waist, and I love Talbots trousers. You can even find ones that don't require dry cleaning but still look very professional.

eds

Love both the Talbots and Ann Taylor curvy fit! No alteration needed for me at the waist, which is unusual. Most pants can be taken in at the waist, but you do have to be careful about what that will do to the length.

rae

(website)

Veteran

I don't think I understand the aversion to tailoring the pants, especially if the tailoring is free...? There are so many bodies in the world and relatively few designers, all trying to put out a pant that fits a wide range of bodies. It seems like a really unnecessary uphill battle to find a 100% perfect fit right off the rack if this is a common problem for you.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I echo Rae 100%. I don't understand the aversion to tailoring either. It's such a great solution.

Anonymous

I can explain my aversion to it:

The decent tailor that I know involves a trip into the downtown of my city, locate parking, she works only a few hours per week and it will cost $20 plus tax. Not a huge amount but adds at least an hour's worth of driving/parking plus another trip to pick it up, probably a week or 2 later....just annoying on top of all my other jobs, errands, responsibilities

Diana

Veteran

My aversion to tailoring is that I have trust and control issues. I don't mind letting them do simple things like hemming but I can also do those kinds of things myself. Even with a hem, I bring them in with the hem already pinned. Anything that involves altering the structure of a garment makes me nervous. When it gets into complicated things, I don't have anyone I trust. (Well, I trust my mom but she lives 3000 miles away and has too much on her plate right now anyway.)

Joyce B

Veteran

Thank you so much to all of you for your input. Now I have more than a few brands to try. What I am looking for are dress pants. I have too many jeans, more than I need, but I will keep in mind Von's suggestion for the Levi's curve because I love jeans...
OK, so my aversion to tailoring is as follows: if I buy high end pants, they better be a style that fits me properly.
Even if the tayloring is free, you never know how the pants are going to feel and to adjust to your body after it is done. Maybe the pants actually do not have enough room for the butt/ "cheek" space so fixing the waist will not give a good fit but you may not realize until it's too late and going a size up will only give you pants that fall down.
I have to agree with Diana and A on their aversion to tayloring.
I can taylor lower end garments but not the higher end ones. Plus, the companies send out the garment production and pay dirt cheap for them in the countries where they are made and they do not pass along the savings to the consumer. If I have to pay the high price I will only do it for something that really fits well. If I don't find it in the "better" brands then I will just save the money. To be fair, I think Theory is made in the US though.
In the mean time, I got a lot of great suggestions and I will definitely try them and get back to you all to let you know what fits nicely. Talbots and Ann Taylor seem to be the big winners according to your responses, and BR as well.
Carter, or anyone else who might know, what are the WHBM? Excuse the ignorance...

Anonymous

I think WHBM is White House Black Market or something like that.

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks, Ceit. I did not know about those. Their website shows a lot of great stuff. If they have a good return policy I am game.

carter

Veteran

Sorry, yes, White House Black Market. If you sign up for their free loyalty card you get 5% off (over and above sales and coupons), mailed coupons and free shipping. I return in store, so I'm not sure about free returns through the mail. Below are some pics of me wearing them. I am a size 4/6 pretty much everywhere. I buy size 4 in the cropped versions of these pants, but I get 6s in the full length because I like the extra length. For me, I like that these de-emphasize my lower curviness a bit. For size reference, I am 36-27-37. Happy to answer any other questions. I'm a huge fan of these!

carter

Veteran

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Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks Carter. Those Perfect Form pants fit you very nicely. It seems that there is a store close to my home, I will check them out and if they don't carry them I can order on the web and return in store. I'm hoping they will work for my daughter as well, her waist is super tiny and she has an even harder time than me finding pants.

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Just a thought, Joyce, but have you tried Lafayette148? I can see you're not averse to paying for quality, and I know the brand as a hole has experience cutting for a wide variety of figures. It's possible some of their offerings could work for you.

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks, Michelle, I will put those on my brands for pants search list as well as all of the ones that people suggested.

Von

Veteran

I have another suggestion as well - I found a surprising gem in the Macy's brand Charter Club dress pants. No gap, perfect leg, and they appear to be the sort of fabric that doesn't wrinkle easily. I think they're like $39 everyday value.

I tried the Express pants (editor + columnist) and I looked like "trampy office chick". They were skin tight all through the seat and thighs! Sizing up didn't help, only made a gap in the back.

Joyce B

Veteran

Thanks, Von, I am adding those to my list as well.
I also find that when pants don't fit and I go to the next size they are generally too big or have a huge gap.
That's too bad that the Express ones were too tight.
Pants are some of the hardest garments to get right.

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