I'm the first to admit that I'm not a tall person. Neither do I consider myself particularly short either. Five foot four (five foot two by Rich's reckoning, but hard to tell from his lofty heights). I'd have said that was about average for this country (kind of like if I was size 12 that would be about average). I will admit that I'm a little larger than a size 12, but even so, there are plenty of people my size and larger. This being the case, why is it so hard for me to buy trousers?
Trouble number one. Oddly of me I like my trousers to fit. Can't think why. I like them to fit at the hips and the waist. That rules out half the stores that sell women's clothing. Far too many just increase the dimensions of a size 8 proportionally. Doesn't work for me.
Trouble number two. Most significant trouble. People who make trousers assume that everyone has long legs! Why?! But half the time when I try for the 'short' length they are too short. There is no happy medium.
This has led to my wardrobe currently containing no less than three pairs of trousers with the hems down and two pairs of trousers which are too long and need taking up or wearing with heels. I'd fix them all myself but the sewing machine I bought for the purpose had its needle buckle the first time I tried to use it. Bah.
All of this led to me shopping for new trousers in the January sales. Shopping full stop, in fact. Only two pairs of serviceable trousers left in my wardrobe I was beyond desperate.
So. I risked the shops between Christmas and New Year. Something I wouldn't normally do.
It took several attempts and a good few versions of Marks and Spencers and Evans. I was that desperate that I was even looking at trousers I didn't particularly like. And still I couldn't find anything that would fit me. Every pair of trousers in my size was standard length - about 2 inches below the bottom of my feet. ARGH!
So Rich and I ended up in Bluewater (much against Rich's better judgement!). For those who don't know Bluewater was (and for all I know possibly still is) the biggest shopping mall in Europe. Huge Marks and Spencers (my favourite choice for trousers). And I wasn't disappointed. A much larger range than any store visited previously, and even some trousers in my size in short length. Hurrah!
Went to town a bit and ended up buying two shirts and a jacket (well, I have a lot of jackets, but not one in black). And that came to over a £100. Oh well, thank goodness for my Christmas bonus!
Trouble number one. Oddly of me I like my trousers to fit. Can't think why. I like them to fit at the hips and the waist. That rules out half the stores that sell women's clothing. Far too many just increase the dimensions of a size 8 proportionally. Doesn't work for me.
Trouble number two. Most significant trouble. People who make trousers assume that everyone has long legs! Why?! But half the time when I try for the 'short' length they are too short. There is no happy medium.
This has led to my wardrobe currently containing no less than three pairs of trousers with the hems down and two pairs of trousers which are too long and need taking up or wearing with heels. I'd fix them all myself but the sewing machine I bought for the purpose had its needle buckle the first time I tried to use it. Bah.
All of this led to me shopping for new trousers in the January sales. Shopping full stop, in fact. Only two pairs of serviceable trousers left in my wardrobe I was beyond desperate.
So. I risked the shops between Christmas and New Year. Something I wouldn't normally do.
It took several attempts and a good few versions of Marks and Spencers and Evans. I was that desperate that I was even looking at trousers I didn't particularly like. And still I couldn't find anything that would fit me. Every pair of trousers in my size was standard length - about 2 inches below the bottom of my feet. ARGH!
So Rich and I ended up in Bluewater (much against Rich's better judgement!). For those who don't know Bluewater was (and for all I know possibly still is) the biggest shopping mall in Europe. Huge Marks and Spencers (my favourite choice for trousers). And I wasn't disappointed. A much larger range than any store visited previously, and even some trousers in my size in short length. Hurrah!
Went to town a bit and ended up buying two shirts and a jacket (well, I have a lot of jackets, but not one in black). And that came to over a £100. Oh well, thank goodness for my Christmas bonus!