Looking for advice/information on pants

[redbird]

I need to buy some new pants, suitable for winter, meaning reasonably warm.

I would like them to fit reasonably well. The difficulty here is that I keep looking at size charts for women's pants from different brands and companies, and they consistently have a ten inch difference between waist and hip measurements for any given size. That is, while the sizes are numbered differently, 42-inch hips always go with a 32-inch waist, and 48-inch hips with a 38-inch waist. (The difference is constant, so the ratio varies with size.)

I have 42-inch hips and a 37-inch waist, and would like a pair of pants that neither gapes horribly at the waist nor is incredibly baggy at the hips. Can anyone point me to brands or styles that are likely to fit well?

Pointers to stores might be useful, if they're either online or mail order companies with decent return policies, or places I can reasonably get to, which includes most of New York City, maybe Yonkers, and parts of the Boston area.

(I also have most of my height in my torso, meaning that while I have a 28-inch inseam, the rise in most petites is too small for me, and they're annoyingly snug at the crotch. I'm resigned to possibly having these pants shortened, but that's a simpler and cheaper process than taking in the waist significantly, even in garments where the latter is feasible.)

Comments

[daharyn.livejournal.com]

The "Right Fit" series at Lane Bryant does jeans and pants in three different waist-to-hip ratios. I have a similar waist/hip differential and the black pants I bought from them were the best fit I'd had in years. Their waists start at 34", so they would have a size for you. On the web site you can plug in your waist and hip measurements for a size/style recommendation -- but I would go try on in the store, to make sure the rise works for you. (34th St just off of 5th Ave -- heading west -- would probably be convenient.) They do these cuts in several denim variants and two different pant styles.

I wear my black pants (I believe I have last year's "Houston Pant"?) with tights beneath if it is really cold, but otherwise they're fine; the fabric was a surprisingly decent weight for the price. (Basically, last fall I spent hours trying on every pair of black pants at Macy's, which were all made of fail. I walked down the street to LB and was in and out in about 20 minutes.)

[submarine-bells.livejournal.com]

The styles may or may not be your cup of tea, but fanplusfriend.com (http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-Gothic-Lolita-cln-Skirts-%26-Pants/Categories) do made-to-measure clothing at very reasonable prices. I have some stuff on order from them at the moment; when it arrives in a couple of weeks, I'll be able to let you know what the quality is like, if you are interested. But the pictures on the website (some of which are quite detailed) look great! It's worth having a bit of a browse through their offerings - in and among all the fluffy frilly stuff are some quite striking and simple tailored items.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Presumably you've already established that men's pants typically fit even worse? Unfortunately, the store/brand where I buy both men's and women's versions of similar garments, Marks Work Wearhouse, has no sizing charts at all on their website.

[redbird]

No recent data on that, actually; suggestions are welcome, including from anyone who wears men's pants and feels like pulling out a tape measure and measuring either the pants or their own body to see if the proportions seem promising.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I'd check out Old Navy men's pants. My proportions seem similar to yours (if larger) on a quick measure.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

You would expect there to be much less difference in men's hip/waist measurements than the standard women's measurements.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's why I suggested them.

[redbird]

Less difference, yes, but while a ten-inch difference is not good for me, a zero-inch difference would be worse. The actual numbers suggest that I'm going to be trying on some men's jeans and such.

[jesse_the_k]

My good buddy with a similar shape loves her men's Carhartts. They're very heavy-duty canvas, and are also available in lined and quilted versions for us dairy farmers, but they're not haute couture -- their site shows two downtown and one Brooklyn source, all Army-Navy stores.

[redbird]

Thanks. The men's relaxed fit ones seem promising.

[firecat]

I'm seconding the suggestion for men's pants; the waist to hip ratio on men's pants seems to be more in the range of 5".

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I'm thirding men's pants - I just looked up Burda patterns and their Men's 42 is 37 waist and 42 hips.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

In my comment on your later post, I forgot to say that last time I was discussing pants-buying on LJ, someone recommended me to Lane Bryant. I checked out their website; it turns out that they have a few different shape ranges. Their smallest size was still too big for me, but I was actually kind of impressed that their straighter cut really had quite a small change from waist to hip, and by the variety in their jeans cuts (I mean, high waist, low waist, straight leg, bootcut, etc). It might be worth your time to look at the sizing on their website.