Where Can I Buy Pants That Don't Make Me Look like Joe the Plumber?

Ha! I think this is an all too common problem nowadays between how women are actually made and how clothing is cut. I've seen way too much "What Not to Wear" and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" and think FIT is so so so important with clothing. If a piece does not fit, you should not be wearing it. So that said, it is actually VERY difficult for most people to have clothing fit great right off the rack. One tip I got from those shows is that you have to buy a piece of clothing to fit the largest part of you and then tailor the rest. With pants, I think this is a GREAT investment (more so than some sort of trendy top...pants are classic and can be worn for years and years if you treat them right). So either make friends with a great tailor or shop at stores that offer alterations....I think Nordstrom does, but I'd guess many, many others do as well.....I just got a few pairs of jeans done in at the waist, and i finally feel like i can wear them without risking a whole peep show!

Try the Ann Taylor or Ann Taylor Loft curvy jeans. You can pick the rise (low rise or at the waist). The curvy jeans give you less room in the waist and more room in the hip, butt and thighs. Usually I can wear one size smaller on the Curvy cuts than I can on the regular ones and the fit is much better!

I've really had good luck at Ann Taylor Loft. Their pants fit great, and they have good sales. Banana Republic has good pants, but they're more expensive. Sometimes I 've had luck at Kohls. Also, when the waist was too big, I've brought them to the tailor whose put darts in the back of the waistband so you don't get the plumber look. The fit turns out great. Hope this helps. Good luck!

M.,

I feel your pain! I have the hardest time buying jeans & pants. Last summer, I discovered Ann Taylor Curvy Fit jeans. They were made for my body. They are smaller in the waist and larger in the hips/thigh/butt region. They are a little bit low-cut, but not bad. The best part is they are so slimming! They are about $60.00, but you can find them cheaper at the outlet stores, and the quality is pretty similar (unlike other outlet stores). Or, if that it too pricey, that new line of Lee jeans fits me pretty well too.

I HEARD that Black and White has good jeans, pricey but good.

Hi M.,
Try Kohl's. Not the teany bopper section, but the mature section. They have Gloria Vanderbelt jeans that should work for you. Also try Liz Claiborne jeans.

LEE jeans just came out with "porportioned fit" for women with curves. They have a stretch to them also. You can have jeans tailored at most big dept stores also. Its a little cheaper if you can wear mens jeans. I don't know why they charge more for women but they do. Good luck and happy holidays.

I seem to recall that Eddie Bauer had "curvy fit" jeans in its collection, with a smaller-than-typical waist (or larger-than-typical everything else). There are probably other non-jean casual pants with that fit as well.

One word: tailor, tailor, tailor. The other posters have all suggested specific brand/styles that I agree have better proportioned pants for your/my figure. I start with those brands/styles and then have to have them tailored. I tailor almost all pants/jeans in the waist -- I know this before I even enter the fitting room, so I really don't get upset about it anymore.

In the dressing room when deciding whether to purchase I focus entirely on the butt/thigh area -- if it fits well there, I don't really worry about the gapping waist other than to make sure it isn't TOO much of a difference. This obviously depends on the pant style and your tailor's expertise, but after you've done it a few times, you'll get a feel for whether the waist is just too much too big to be altered cleanly.

I factor in the cost of the alteration ($15-$20) when deciding whether to buy the pants/jeans. On the other hand, I tailor even inexpensive pants (just did a $19.99 pair of Eddie Bauer jeans).

I have one tailor I use at my dry cleaner (it could take a few tries to find a good one, so don't give up if the first round doesn't work -- try it first on a less expensive pair of pants you already own).

You won't regret it -- your pants will fit 100 times better. It's a huge boost to your self esteem.

good luck.

I really like Ralph Lauren jeans. They're cut for women like you and I who have no intention of showing the 'whale tail' or where a 'tramp stamp' goes. They also do not look like 'mom jeans' or accentuate the 'muffin top' or 'front butt'.

Unfortunately I also found, in my quest for respectable jeans, that the cheaper I went the worse they were.

I have similar waist to hip ratio challenges, and I've often found that although they aren't designer jeans, Old Navy jeans seem to fit. They're even making them now so that the zipper is more than 1 1/2 inches long, so your plumber's crack won't show anymore! Ha ha. They're inexpensive, so if they get baby goo all over them you won't be upset. I'd give it a try.