STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

alb · Marc Jacobs

help! i think i need a whole new wardrobe of pants . . .

Hermes

aw, you poor baby! what a horrible problem wink

first of all, congrats smile

I think you have a good list going, and I think the black suit is a good idea as you can wear the pants and jackets as separates too (and please use our shopbop link aww

)

I highly recommend a camel pencil skirt if you have to choose between chocolate and camel, since you can pair it easily with colors and black. As much as I love chocolate and black together, I'm a bigger fan of camel and black. jmo

ViViDogWear · Kate Spade

Congrats! I wish I could be same weight as in H.S but even then my hips have grown too much.

I wear skinny black pants ankle height or slightly longer with flats and boots all the time. Those are my pant staples.

Also leggings are cheap, stretchy, and would look great on your new figure!

twinkle_star · Kenneth Cole

Congrats on your weight loss! I lost about 30lbs a couple of years ago and rather than buy all new pants I got a bunch of pants and skirts that I already owned and liked altered. I believe it cost me $19/pair. Since that cost me less than buying all new pants I felt ok about spending the money on a few nice new pairs since I wasn't starting from scratch!

I think your list looks good. I tend to wear these the most when I'm dressing on the dressier side:

grey wool dress pants
light brown plaid dress pants
black pants
black pencil skirt
camel pencil skirt

I also have a winter white wool pencil skirt that I love but haven't worn because I'm deathly afraid of kicking dirty snow up the back. I think it's really versatile and unexpected. Killer with tall black boots and a black turtlenck.

You might want to check out Ann Taylor, they were having a great sale last weekend and I believe J Crew is having 30% off sale merchandise online right now with EXTRA30 (although it's final sale so you might want to call with questions about sizing if you're ordering online). And also in stores.

Good luck!

alb · Marc Jacobs

thanks, girls! D, i will def. use the shopbop link if/when i get the theory suit but i'm waiting for a code. in the meantime, i may go to the saks and nordies outlets here - i really love theory pants but can't really pay full price right now.

vividogwear - thanks for your advice too. i like the idea of ankle length black skinny pants but would they look frumpy on a short person? i'm 5'1 and tend to avoid capris as they make my legs (which are actually kind of long for my frame) look short. i do have tons of leggings that are a size small so i think they'd still fit me, although i never wear them in winter, mostly just w/ summer dresses b/c i can't come up with good outfits in the winter time.

twinkle star - thanks for the idea of getting the pants hemmed. i think i will try that with the some of the pants that are difficult to part with. i had no idea they could be taken in in the waist and butt w/o looking weird! i also love the idea of a winter white wool pencil skirt - thanks! off to look at j crew and AT now . . .

oh, any more ideas are welcome!

twinkle_star · Kenneth Cole

I should have said that I had one pair of pants that were really big before and when they were taken in they looked ok but not great. If you don't have a tailor that you love you might want to have one pair done as a test. However that was one pair out of 4 pairs of pants and 2 skirts.

ViViDogWear · Kate Spade

I'm 5' 3 3/4" to be exact and I end up loving the short pants just cuz I can run around in flats all the time. Mine are all below the ankle/heel length. Anthying above the ankle cuts you off and make you look shorter. And fitted not baggy in the thighs or calves at all.

Forever 21 has great cheap pants and pretty short lengths. I just got a pair of riding pants w/stirrups that I LOVE! Perfect with boots, stretchy like leggings, but more structured with a WB and back pockets. I'm going back for another pair.

and i will 2nd and 3rd the charcoal grey trousers. Sometimes you can find good deals on Theory at the outlets or at Off Fifth. hth

alb wrote:
thanks, girls! D, i will def. use the shopbop link if/when i get the theory suit but i'm waiting for a code. in the meantime, i may go to the saks and nordies outlets here - i really love theory pants but can't really pay full price right now.

vividogwear - thanks for your advice too. i like the idea of ankle length black skinny pants but would they look frumpy on a short person? i'm 5'1 and tend to avoid capris as they make my legs (which are actually kind of long for my frame) look short. i do have tons of leggings that are a size small so i think they'd still fit me, although i never wear them in winter, mostly just w/ summer dresses b/c i can't come up with good outfits in the winter time.

twinkle star - thanks for the idea of getting the pants hemmed. i think i will try that with the some of the pants that are difficult to part with. i had no idea they could be taken in in the waist and butt w/o looking weird! i also love the idea of a winter white wool pencil skirt - thanks! off to look at j crew and AT now . . .

oh, any more ideas are welcome!

Suasoria · Chanel

I'm with D on camel versus chocolate as it's an all-year-round color. If I had to choose the most versatile brown tone, though, I'd go with taupe. It works with basically everything.

I hope black pants aren't too boring - I get the maximum wear out of mine and I have several...

After losing a lot of weight I'm surprised your tops/jackets aren't too big too!

alb · Marc Jacobs

ViViDogWear wrote:

I'm 5' 3 3/4" to be exact and I end up loving the short pants just cuz I can run around in flats all the time. Mine are all below the ankle/heel length. Anthying above the ankle cuts you off and make you look shorter. And fitted not baggy in the thighs or calves at all.

Forever 21 has great cheap pants and pretty short lengths. I just got a pair of riding pants w/stirrups that I LOVE! Perfect with boots, stretchy like leggings, but more structured with a WB and back pockets. I'm going back for another pair.

and i will 2nd and 3rd the charcoal grey trousers. Sometimes you can find good deals on Theory at the outlets or at Off Fifth. hth

thanks vivi, yes that's very helpful! okay, so i am going to look for some black pants like you described. i assume they are like cigarette pants (a la audrey hepburn) - sort of tapered at the bottom but not too much, right? and i will make sure they are fitted and heel length and not shorter. that should be perfect - and i have some really cute black satin-ey flats with an embroidered asian design in dark blue that would look good with them.

i am also going to check for the riding pants you described at F21! they sound awesome! are they easy to find? sorry for all the questions but F21 is huge and i want to make sure i see them. do you remember the colors they came in and the price point?? i think they would look good with my new fryes.

thanks again - there is a mall right next door to me with F21 so i am going to go there post haste!

thanks also for the tip on the charcoal pants. i'm def. heading to the outlets soon!

alb · Marc Jacobs

Suasoria wrote:

I'm with D on camel versus chocolate as it's an all-year-round color. If I had to choose the most versatile brown tone, though, I'd go with taupe. It works with basically everything.

I hope black pants aren't too boring - I get the maximum wear out of mine and I have several...

After losing a lot of weight I'm surprised your tops/jackets aren't too big too!

ooh taupe sounds nice too! as for tops, i haven't tried them all on yet. the biggest need right now is pants/bottoms so i'm focusing on that. some blouses are def. going to be too big - but my sweaters and other tops are fitted and so they still seem to fit okay. thanks for the help!

sydney · Kate Spade

The basic items you are describing are items I would invest more money on so they last. With all the wonderful sales out there, I think I would worry less about hitting every item on your list and focus on quality. Shop around for pants and skirts that are well made and fit YOU well, flattering your shape. I'd skip F21 right now and hit the more expensive stores that may have nicer stuff on sale for the same price you'd pay at F21 - but it will last a lot longer. The fabric cuts on more expensive peices tend to flatter better too. It may take more time, but it would be worth it.

alb · Marc Jacobs

sydney wrote:

The basic items you are describing are items I would invest more money on so they last. With all the wonderful sales out there, I think I would worry less about hitting every item on your list and focus on quality. Shop around for pants and skirts that are well made and fit YOU well, flattering your shape. I'd skip F21 right now and hit the more expensive stores that may have nicer stuff on sale for the same price you'd pay at F21 - but it will last a lot longer. The fabric cuts on more expensive peices tend to flatter better too. It may take more time, but it would be worth it.

that is my original plan and why i mentioned theory (i love their pants)- but i thought i'd just at least look at the F21 ones b/c Vividogwear recommended them so highly. but generally, what you described is exactly what i am going to do.

if you or anyone else know/knows of some great skinny cigarette pants in black pls let me know!