STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

laken1 · Hermes

Jean/pant length questions

shopgirl82 · Chanel

most 34" inseams fit for me. if i get pants hemmed, i base it on a 2-3" heel.

member · Hermes

*do your pants fit in the length when you buy them or do you have them hemmed?

I buy all of my jeans to fit in length. Usually designer brands have longer inseams and I need at least a 34' inseam. Work/dress pants are another story - a lot of times, they are too short, so I have them let out.

*if you have them hemmed, how much does that cost?

I think it costs about $5-7 for me to have my pants let out

*do you bring different height shoes with you when you try on? how do you know they are long enough in the dressing room?

I don't bring different shoes. I can tell my standing on my tip-toes if they will be long enough w/heels.

*do you have different jeans / pants for flats vs. kitten heels vs. heels vs. very high heels?

I do have different jeans for different shoes. Generally, I wear heels almost every day, so most pants are the length to go w/heels. But I do have some jeans to be worn w/flat shoes or tennis shoes, so they are a little shorter.

jj · Kate Spade

shopgirl82 wrote:

most 34" inseams fit for me. if i get pants hemmed, i base it on a 2-3" heel.

Same here! I rarely need to have pants hemmed, but when I do, I pay around $10 at the tailor.

All of my work shoes are 2.5-3", so I can wear pretty much any shoe with any pair of pants.

I have 6 pairs of jeans - 2 that are shorter, so these are my "flats" jeans and 4 that are longer that I wear with heels.

HTH!

luckylily · Gucci

It really varies, but I often get stuff hemmed. I'd rather buy too long and hem than have my pants be too short. It costs $8 - $10.

For jeans, I usually have them hemmed to be perfect with a 3" heel. That is the heel height I'm most comfortable walking in. They might slouch a bit when I wear a kitten heel, but not enough that it looks bad. If I want to wear flats, I just cuff them up to a capri lenght, which I think is cute.

With trousers, I'm more anal about the length. I like my trouser to almost skim the floor, but have my shoes peeking out. I only wear trousers w/ heels tho.

Elle · Hermes

Would it suprise you at all if I had this exact same thought last week after I posted my own outfit in TS? No? Alright then ...

*do your pants fit in the length when you buy them or do you have them hemmed?

I despise having things hemmed, so all the pants I buy are either the correct length or I leave them at the store.

*if you have them hemmed, how much does that cost?

N/A cause I'm too cheap/lazy.

*do you bring different height shoes with you when you try on? how do you know they are long enough in the dressing room?

I wear my clogs shopping, which have about a 1.5 inch heel. If they're the right length with those (ie, just skimming the ground), then I can usually wear them with flats without them dragging too much and can usually wear them with heels up to 3.5 inches without them being way too short.

*do you have different jeans / pants for flats vs. kitten heels vs. heels vs. very high heels?

All my dress pants are a good length for heel-wearing only. I have one pair of jeans that are just a tad short for heels IMO, so I wear them with lower stuff but I didn't intend/buy them that way - an unfortunate side effect of the dryer I'm afraid. I'm finding that if my jeans look/feel just a tiny bit too long in the mirror at first try-on, they'll be perfect later after washing.

laken1 · Hermes

Elle wrote:

Would it suprise you at all if I had this exact same thought last week after I posted my own outfit in TS? No? Alright then ...

ummm, yes, it would. I just looked back at it & thought yours was perfect. I don't like TOO long because I feel like they are dragging the ground & that I'm trying to be a teenager. (ignoring of course my graphic tees & hoodies!)

And ladies, honestly, how many inches in length do I need to add? I am going to be buying new jeans as I lose weight so I can measure what I have & go from there.....
Here is my most recent TS

short pants girl

-- Edited by laken1 at 17:07, 2006-01-30

Elle · Hermes

laken1 wrote:

ummm, yes, it would. I just looked back at it & thought yours was perfect. I don't like TOO long because I feel like they are dragging the ground & that I'm trying to be a teenager. (ignoring of course my graphic tees & hoodies!)

Here's the one that made me go Hmmmmmm:

(I feel like these look okay if you look at my right foot, but if you look at my left foot they are clearly an inch or more from the ground)

and here's the *slightly longer* jeans I went out and got to remedy it:

(these *almost* skim the floor in back)

I'm wearing 3 inch heels in both of these pics.

ETA: Laken, the jeans you wore with your tennies look great. It's kinda hard to tell from the pic w/heels, but it looks like you could probably get another 2 inches in there or so without dragging.

-- Edited by Elle at 17:13, 2006-01-30

halleybird · Hermes

I tend to wear my pants a little bit shorter than a lot of others. I can't stand when the hems hit the ground, so I am OK as long as they cover at least half of my heel.

*do your pants fit in the length when you buy them or do you have them hemmed?

Pants are usually too short on me, and I have a hard time finding long lengths in my size (except for Gap, which doesn't fit me anyway). I usually buy the regular lengths at Express, take out the hem, and re-hem them, getting as much length as I can. Jeans are sometimes too long, depending on the brand & how I want to wear them.
*if you have them hemmed, how much does that cost?

free. Either my MIL hems them, or I use hemming tape.
*do you bring different height shoes with you when you try on? how do you know they are long enough in the dressing room?

I stand on my toes, LOL
*do you have different jeans / pants for flats vs. kitten heels vs. heels vs. very high heels?

yes -- I have 3 lengths of jeans for this reason. My work pants are either hemmed to around 33" (for flats & low heels) or 34" (for high heels). I buy a lot of 2" heels, so I can wear them with either.

small fry · Chanel

I usually have to get my pants hemmed, although the pants I got at the gap they were the perfect length for once. I take the length and make sure it still skims the bottom of my foot even when I wear my highest heel so if I do wear my heel it wont be to short.

The person I go to she charges 7.00 unless she has to to it by hand. My white trousers I got last week she had to do them by hand because it already had a cuff and I did not care for the cuff.

It seems like Iam always getting something altered it really gets on my nerves after a while

kahluamilk · Dooney & Bourke

My tailor always asks if the jeans have been washed. If they are brand new, she always accounts for that extra .5 -1 inch skrinkage including the heels. Or sometimes I wash my jeans before I take them in.

Maat · Kenneth Cole

*do your pants fit in the length when you buy them or do you have them hemmed?

I always need them hemmed.

*if you have them hemmed, how much does that cost?

$12 regular. $25 to attach the original hem. I generally just pay the $12 for a regular hem unless there is something special about the original hem. Nordstrom does regular hems for free if you buy the pants there. I believe it is $20 for original hem there.

*do you bring different height shoes with you when you try on? how do you know they are long enough in the dressing room?

I bring my highest heels and still make them hem them so they are hitting the floor. After my jeans have been washed they get shorter.

*do you have different jeans / pants for flats vs. kitten heels vs. heels vs. very high heels?

Only by accident. One pair of jeans the tailor made too short even though it seemed fine in the shop. I wear those with flats or sneakers.

I am slightly obsessed with jean/pant length. If they are even slightly too short (even at the point where a lot of people think is the perfect length), I will worry about it all day. I like them so they are just about touching the floor.

-- Edited by Maat at 08:43, 2006-01-31

erin · Chanel

*do your pants fit in the length when you buy them or do you have them hemmed?
i have only ever gotten one pair of jeans hemmed. i am short so this is surprising, but i am lazy/cheap so it needs hemmed it's not for me.

*if you have them hemmed, how much does that cost?
it was around 10$.

*do you bring different height shoes with you when you try on? how do you know they are long enough in the dressing room?
i bring a pair of shoes that are about 2-3" heel height.

*do you have different jeans / pants for flats vs. kitten heels vs. heels vs. very high heels?
i really only like my flats with skinny leg jeans (with some exception), heels with trouser jeans so that's what i typically wear

laken1 · Hermes

halleybird wrote:

I use hemming tape.

tell me more about this - where do you get it?

rar210 · Marc Jacobs

I have to have all my designer jeans hemmed. With the original hem put back on. I have short legs. Like a 29'-30' inseam. It's worth it and I like them to hit at the perfect spot. Covering my heel, but not touching the ground. Your never going to catch me in less then 3 inch heels - so I base my length on that. And it usually cost about $16-$20.

As for pants - one of my reasons for loving Banana - they come in short lengths and thee perfect! The Gap's "ankle" length usually works for me too.

LA Gal · Kenneth Cole

laken1 wrote:

halleybird wrote: I use hemming tape. tell me more about this - where do you get it?

i'm not sure exactly what halleybird's referring to, but i temporarily hem my dress pants using toupee tape - yes, i'm serious, i use the stuff that you find at beauty supply stores that old men use to hold their hair in place. it's basically really sturdy 2-sided tape. it's not the easiest thing in the world to use (i figure out the length i want, get the tape situated just right inside the pants, fold the pants inward, and iron the bottoms to create a crease that looks right - and i end up adjusting it several times before both legs look right).

i've never used the tape on jeans since i like the look of a real hem - i mostly use the tape for new dress slacks when i'm not sure if i want to wear them with heels or flats

i always hem my jeans, with the designer ones, i have the original hem put back on (that usually runs $15-20) and with regular jeans, i just have them create a new hem (that runs me $5-10).

halleybird · Hermes

laken1 wrote:

halleybird wrote: I use hemming tape. tell me more about this - where do you get it?

the stuff I use is called "Steam a Seam." I think I got it at Jo-Ann's. It's just a strip of waxy stuff -- you fold the hem over it and iron. I used it on a couple of pairs of pants, and it's worked really well and lasted through multiple washings with no problems. The fabric has to be thin, though. It works best on my editor pants in luxury stretch. I tried it on a pair of Gap pants in a heavy fabric, and it came out after about 2 washings.