What can I say? I’m short. Yes, it’s true great things come in small packages, but unfortunately pant manufactures don’t get this.
If you don’t know by now I love to shop, but trying to find a pair of pants that fit properly can wear me down quickly. I have tried the "short" pants that some stores offer, but these are usually too short. The only shoes I could wear with them would be flip flops or flats and while this would be fine for a pair or two it doesn’t work with the forty-some pair of heeled shoes I own. However, when I go to "regular" lengths, I end up walking on enough fabric that I could make my daughter a pair of pants or at least a decent skirt.
So what’s a short girl to do? Here are some options that I would like to share along with some pros and cons…
Buy taller heels
Pro: You can always use a new pair of shoes and would definitely know that you have shoes that match your outfit or at least the pants.
Con: This could become a bit pricey. You may also potentially end up lame if your job requires a lot of walking.
Pay somebody to hem the pants
Pro: You can rest assured that the hem will look professional. You can also tailor it to meet your length needs. If you know you will mostly be using them with flats then you can go shorter, and with heels keep it longer.
Con: Can be costly and addictive. Once you pay for one pair and see how much you like it, then you will be tempted to buy another pair to get hemmed, and another, and another… well, you can see where that is going.
Hem your own pants
Pro: You could buy any pair of pants that fit. You can focus on the waist, hips, thigh or other trouble areas rather than putting the pants back just because they are too long.
Con: If you don’t know how to sew, then you will have to learn. This could also be time consuming, especially if you buy many pairs of pants.
Roll ’em up
Pro: Easy fix for any pair of pants.
Con: Not very stylish on some any pants. They could also become unrolled, resulting in your tripping over yourself. That could hurt.
What option do you use when you find a pair of pants that fit, but the length doesn’t? Vote now!
About Melissa
OHHHHHH I hear you. Pant manufacturers seem to have a warped idea that all women are either less than 5’2″ or more than 5’5″. Those of us in the 5’3″-5’4.5″ netherworld get lost.
I end up wearing lots of skirts and dresses. 🙂
I’m right between lengths as well. “Regular” pants are for women up to 5’7″ and “tall” sizes start at 5’9″. I’m 5’8″. Regulars are often too short and talls often puddle on the floor. If the length isn’t right, I don’t buy them and I just keep shopping. But when I DO find pants that fit me well, I usually buy more than one pair. Buying pants is often a very time consuming experience!
i have this problem too and so does my daughter. in the past, we’ve just rolled up them but but have recently started something new.
we turn the bottoms in and give a quick hand stitch to them to keep the large cuffs up and inside the pant leg. it’s not a professional hem by any means but you can’t really see the stitching, keeps us from tripping on our pants and keeps us from having exaggerated cuffs at the bottom.
we do this for our jeans and casual pants only but for ‘fancy’ pants – i pay someone to fix them up for me.
There’s always the “Oh, I’ll just wash/dry them on HOT and they’ll shrink” option. It rarely works, yet I still manage to justify many unsuitable pant purchases with that logic.
I did vote. For “hem them myself” because that’s what I end up doin’ 9 time outta 10, unless I paid heap big money for the pants, in which case I go pay heap big money for a pro to tailor them for me.
I have some strange, strange logic goin’ on, don’t I?
I have multiple pairs of pants. I don’t pay for hemming, nor do I hem them. I just buy pants that go with my shoes… I don’t like wearing the same pair of pants more than twice a week now that I’m working, but I’m weird.
I have a similar problem. I’m 5’5″ with long legs, and often regular pants are a hair too short. But longs are WAY too long. What to do…
I’m 5’5″ w/a 32″ inseam (no idea if that is “average” or not). I buy Levi’s in the “short” whenever I can. Granted I can’t wear 8″ heels, but somehow I surviv. 😉