Since my second child was born I’ve lost some weight. Rose is almost 5 so you’d think I would have figured out how to dress for my new, somewhat thinner, shape, right? Wrong. Buying pants is the most difficult part of dressing myself right now.
I’m convinced all the weight I lost came off my boobs and smidge from my hips and waist. My sizes are smaller but I don’t feel smaller. And I still have thick legs. Maybe it’s from my newfound love of dance class, or maybe it’s just my genetics, but my legs are short and round and they don’t seem to like any style of pant. Well, except yoga pants – every set of legs likes yoga pants, right? Too bad I can’t wear those to work!
Losing 25 lbs is a fabulous accomplishment. I’m still excited thinking about it. And I managed to get a few free bags of smaller clothes from giveaway sites on Facebook and other places. In them I found tops that fit great, but pants are another story. Anything that was shorts or capris seemed to fit my shape okay, and few were definitely too small so I passed those along to others, but pants and I never get along. In fact I’m still wearing some of my size 12 and 14 pants (I’m down to about an 8 now) because they fit “well enough”, and it’s easier to add a belt than shop for new pants.
Petite length pants usually work for me. I need something like a 28″ leg length. Or I need platform shoes so I’m not walking on my pants. And don’t get me started on shoe shopping – that’s another hated trip to the mall for me…
This past weekend Patrick and I had a few hours to waste while the girls were at a birthday party. He lovingly suggested we use the time to find me some new pants. Of course I protested, but he’s right – I need a new pair of pants for work.
So off we went. I think I went into every store in the mall that would have decent work pants (you know, black slacks type pants that don’t look too much like jeans.) A lot of stores don’t stock pants for short people like me. Or if they do, there is one pair in each size or style, and somehow the one I need is not there. Also, I’m cheap. I won’t spend $50+ for a single pair of pants.
After exhausting every store, I did end up finding one pair that fit me almost properly at Reitmans and were only $20. I grabbed them, wore them to work this week, and promptly spilled a co-workers soup lunch all over them. That was fun.
I did learn something while pant shopping. My legs are not suited for ANY pant style. Flare or bootcut work alright but can be tight in the thighs. Slim fit is also okay, but I feel like my calves are suffocating. Tight calves is easier to deal with than thighs because when you sit down in tight thigh pants it hurts. And then there’s the rise at the waist. Low rise gapes at the back, mid rise gives me muffin top, and high rise is sometimes hard to get past my large-ish thighs, especially in the lovely flat front (meaning no button or zipper closure) slacks.
Moral of the story? Not sure there is one. I guess it could be: “If you find a pair of pants that actually fits, buy it in every colour!”
~Jess
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