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Grumpy week: pants

Anonymous

Keeping my promise that this would be official "grumpy week"-today's gripe is pants!
I did my weekly outfit creation session yesterday, with the thought towards outfits that are "me" but still winter appropriate. The result: skirts, dresses and ponte pants (technically verboten in one of my offices).
Last year I actively tried to make my trousers more fun-by introducing more color and 1 pair of floral. And I admit they're warmer and I don't have to deal with fussy tights.

But:
I gain weight-every single winter (then lose it in spring). Pants that fit well in October are a squeeze in February. Enter-vpl, muffin top, and camel toe.

Even at my non-winter weight, I have a 12 inch difference between hips and waist. Not to mention the round bum. Even curvy fit pants aren't quite right. Knit materials help, but pick up more pet hair than wovens.

I feel frumpy and overly casual compared to in skirts and dresses.

Lastly, visual clutter and an extra inch or more from pockets, buttons and zippers-at my hips, where I need it least. Even with a longer top, the bulk of it all shows through.

Anyone with me, or have solutions?

*Upcoming scheduled Grumpy Tiger rant: layers!

Dressing

26 replies

Latest reply was from Cee

kkards

Veteran

ponte pants are not within dress code???? hmmmm....who wrote that dress code? let me guess, some guy in HR? long ago i worked for a fashion retailer and we were introducing casual Friday's (yes, i said it was long ago) and the code said no jeans or leggings...it was pretty funny, because basically it left women with what ever the "ladies" equivalent of Dockers LOL....good thing we had a SVP of women's fashion who schooled the SVP of HR...and policy was revised....ok, now my rant is over....

Anonymous

"No leggings or stretch pants" not sure if ponte pants count, since mine have legging shape. Wider leg ones may fly though

Katerina

Veteran

I don’t know if this would be useful, but I have a favourite style trousers - zipper on the side, flat front and elastic at the back part of the waist band...hope you understand what I mean and sorry for the strange explanation. These accommodate fluctuating weight and lie flat over the stomach area, not bulking. Elastic waist bands are good for me too, Otherwise, alterations at the waist to make pants more “curvy”.

Anonymous

I do like side zips, when I can find them. That eliminates the front clutter. Where I gain weight isnt the belly, but the hips, but maybe elastic makes the pants waist contract to fit better?

Katerina

Veteran

Suntiger, I think the elastic could make tha pants waist contract... Anyway, this is the kind of style I mean. I normally gain weight mostly on my stomach and it works for me, but maybe it would work for someone with a small waist too.

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Runs With Scissors

Veteran

I feel your pain. I have the waist/hip differential thing going on. Fortunately my workplace is casual and I can wear jeans -- in the Winter, this is all I wear. The rest of the year, I wear a lot of skirts and dresses.

For non-jeans, I've had some luck with "athleisure" styles -- the Athleta Gramercy wide-legs can actually look pretty professional. But warm they are not. Ditto Lululemon's On the Fly pants, but with the elastic waistband covered, they look reasonably work-appropriate. I've also had good luck with ponte pants from White House Black Market.

Gap Gramercy Track Trouser

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On The Fly Pant 28"

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White House Black Market

Comfort Stretch Plaid Slim Ankle Pants

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Sonce

Preach! 10" waist-hip differential here; no matter what my weight or size this ratio remains the same. And I don't know if you also have the hefty upper thigh/saddle bag issue like me, but visually from the front & back my thighs are actually wider than my hips.
The only style of trouser that ever works for me is wide-leg. I recently wasted a couple of hours of my life trying on "curvy" pants at various retailers. From what I can see, curvy means hourglass, not pear.
I have tried sizing up to fit my hip/thigh and getting the waist altered in, but usually this isn't worth the expense and time for me.

That said, I did end my marathon pant try-on session with success: wide-leg ankle/crops from Ann Taylor Factory (or Outlet? I forget which they call it). Tbh I'm not sure I'm going to keep them because (1) the length combined with a wide leg is a new thing to get my head around and (2) I'm not sure that I didn't buy them just because I needed to size down to an 8! (Generally I'm wearing 12 or 10; for most of my adulthood up to 2 years ago I was 18W on the bottom).
Anyway, all of that is to say that I feel you pain, pants are the worst, and thank goodness for fleece tights and boots that make skirts and dresses wearable in winter!

Roberta

Veteran

I was just at Loft returning a pair of pants that didnt suit me, when i saw them on one of the lovely curvy assistants. They are pull-on wide leg trousers in a gorgeous herringbone weave. No details at the waist or hips and a very professional look. They do nothing for the model online, but looked GREAT on an actual woman. And also on sale right now!

Petite Wide Leg Pants in Herringbone

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smittie

Veteran

I'd break the rules and wear ponte pants and hope nobody notices. There are some really nice ponte pants recommended by JuniperGreen that might pass as regular pants.

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Alicewonderland

Veteran

I Understand! I have a 9-10 in difference and still have a lot of trouble. Pants are cut extremely straight these days. You are probably going to have to have waists taken in. I rarely buy pants also as fit is hard for many reasons. Dresses are much easier. High wasted wide leg pants have been easiest. And I prefer to buy ones that have belt loops in case of weight fluctuations.

Bonnie

Veteran

I don't have advice for office wear but I can understand the weight gain pain. I gained five pounds recently as one of the side effects of selling one home and buying another. My pants are tight and I don't want to buy a larger size because then I'll stay at that larger size.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Suntiger, I can help you find pants for Winter. Which curvy fits have you tried - and are you petite?

Gretchen

Veteran

I hear you - I'm also pants challenged. In my ideal world, pants would be designed as skirts that just happen to have legs attached - zip on side or in back, set in waist, darts, no pockets etc.

Since that's a unicorn, I make do with more traditional cuts in forgiving fabrics. WHBM and Loft both tend to have pants that are ponte or double cloth, in a variety of sizes. I still have to have then altered to fit my waist, but at this point I just factor that into the cost of the pants.

rachylou

Veteran

I hate pants. I need custom made from a fabric with some stretch. The problems start with the waistbands always giving me indigestion. I pretty much only wear jeggings if I can get away with it.

Anonymous

These are my current collection not counting ponte, plus 1 pair Chaus with size zip, Jules and Leopold (big in waist) and Loft Modern (best fit but casual fabric). Nydj has been successful and Chicos too. I'm technically petite at 5'3-5'4, but long legs so I don't wear petite pants.
The main issue though, even moreso than fit, is I just feel drab and too casual in pants. They're just never my best option. Also, pockets are my nemesis-I really don't need to add more inches to my hips...And belts-fussy and painful.

Since there's only another few weeks of pants season, and my life will be drastically different next year, I'm waiting to add any right now.
Think my main quest is how do I make pants appear dressier, and-or should I just follow my heart and wear skirts and dresses only (and find tights that are less of a pita)?

Banana Republic

Sloan-Fit Slim Ankle Pant

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Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants for Women

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Banana Republic

Sloan-Fit Solid Pant

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SarahD8

Veteran

First of all, I SUPER love the idea of grumpy week!

I vote for following your heart. If you really love and feel more yourself in dresses and skirts, you might get more pleasure from figuring out how to make them work for winter than from trying to solve The Pants Problem.

Some ideas:
-Sweater knit skirts or dresses, for added warmth?
-Fleece-lined tights?
-A slip, maybe in silk, for an extra layer = more warmth
-Make sure your tall boots capsule is in good shape, to help keep your lower legs warm
-What's your least-fussy pair of tights? Can you duplicate them and/or add more colors?

For pants, maybe it would make most sense to identify 1 or 2 pairs of winter pants, and then buy 2 sizes. Then, even if you are mostly wearing dresses and skirts, you are covered for the occasional pants day no matter your size.

Anonymous

I much more like the idea of figuring out how to warm up dresses and skirts I've used fleece tights, don't have any now, but not expensive to add (and don't count against my 36). Tights can be awkward too though-too short in the leg or too loose if I size up.
More tall boots are definitely on my wishlist! I have 1 pair of workhorses, 1 pair tall refined snowboots, and 1 too casual.

SarahD8

Veteran

Have you bought from Sock Dreams? They often have good info about sizing -- how tights fit different body types, etc.

jussie

Veteran

I feel your pain. I have only three pairs of work trousers, 2 are halfway flattering and 1 is ermmm jfe....
But I just keep repeating these three pairs because it’s so tricky to find a flattering and decent pair of pants.
Honestly if I were you I would probably just wear ponte pants with other dressy elements to the outfit.... It would take a pretty brave guy to challenge you on that technicality surely?

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

I agree that many pants add a lot of bulk with belt loops, buttons etc. I prefer pants with flat waistband, no pockets at all, side zip for just this reason- but they’re hard to find!

Joy

Veteran

I feel your pain although I no longer have a waist. Insulin injections tell the body to store fat. Not a happy thing and there seems to be no help from exercise or diet. There is a.very expensive new medication that does not do this but is over $1000 a month and ify as to the results. My pants do not want to stay up over my non-existent hips, which is a challenge.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Wait, what? You made "you" pants outfits & that made you grumpy?

In any event, you are funny, Ms Grumpypants

Anonymous

No I tried to make pants outfits for work that felt like me-fail They're ok for casual but not what I want for work.
Ironically though I have jeans on today (off work) and outfit does feel like me. The burgundy boots help a lot!
Will look up Sock Dreams.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sweet Suntiger, no more Sloane! Those are for straighter bodies. You need the Avery fit at BR, and try some of the fits at Talbots.

YES, to figuring out how to warm up dresses and skirts! That's the best solution since that is YOU. Start a separate thread on that.

Gigi

Veteran

You could maybe try some of the trousers at WHBM. They make a curvy fit, and some of their materials are extremely stretchy.

For warmth, you could try some silk underwear (basically silk leggings). I have a pair from WinterSilks, and you can easily wear them underneath both trousers and skirts (if you get the thinner ones). When I wear a dress, I often wear it with sweater tights and then put the WinterSilks on top. When I get to where I'm going, I take off the WinterSilks layer. Easy peasy.

Cee

Veteran

Damn camels borrowing pants without so much as a " by your leave " !