NBR - clothes shopping question

springbeduk2

Have any of you (who maybe don't live in the boonies like I do) been in a bass or Eddie Bauer outlet or maybe Loft recently and noticed if they have any pants that aren't skinny-jeans fit or whatever the current really tapered style is called (ankle pants? Maybe? I'm clueless other than knowing they don't fit me well).

I'm trying to strategize for a possible outlet-store venture during new year's visit to family and with LO I know I'll only be able to go into a certain number of stores (unfortunately they don't all share one parking area - will need a few in and out of the car procedures to get to all the places I'd like to which makes it worse) so I want to try to maximize my chances.

I really need some new pants - khakis and black or navy khaki-style and maybe jeans. Since the baby my old ones either don't fit right or wore out or both - I only have 3 pairs that fit tight (all cords from kohls) which is sad. Buying pants is alwayys hard though ... most just don't fit well. Like no gap or old navy. And on the fuddy-duddy end (a bit more my personality) lands end and LL bean don't either. Need a shorter rise than they tend to have. Oh and I'm 5'4" with short legs and don't know how to hem pants so need to but short length or petite. Blah!!! Oh yeah and I'm a cheapskate too especially for clothes.
And the skinny -fit ones are just right out. I can't even get my leg into them. Size 8 ish but apparently I have chunky calves. Plus I'm 40 and not into fashion so would feel awkward even if I could get them on.

Bass and Eddie Bauer have worked well for me before but not sure this year. Any tips??

TIA

Edited because boonies had autocorrected to boobies. Oopsie!

gutsysneakers

I would also check out Banana Republic outlets too - they have a petite section. 

yepyepsms

I am 5'3" and wear a size 10. I carry my weight in my butt and thighs. I wear the Ann Taylor Loft Julie Trouser petite fit - it's my jam. Only dress pants that fit me. Most stores only carry black, blue or khaki but other colors are online. I hate pants shopping:) good luck babe

bumpuser10194737

If you are going outlet shopping, I am also short and I love the ankle length jeans and pants from GAP.  Limited pants are a favorite too.  

bumpuser10194737

If you see an Express store, their "barely boot" cut is a nice option too for jeans.  Not quite as wide at the bottom as boot cut, but also not a skinny jean or straight leg, so I think they are a little more flattering.  The only downside is that I wish the rise at the waist was just a little lower, and the material is a little more stiff than I would like.  

spinsoffresonance

I buy my pants at Express. I'm 5'4" and wear the 8short. I wished it was 1" longer but I can't be bothered to hem pants so I stick with the short (I have long legs). Funny story my DH who is 6'4" wears the same length jeans than me (he has short legs)! The Editor pant from express has straight legs, I wear the Columnist which has skinny legs.

RachelCA29

If shopping is a challenge to try lots of things on with little ones (I failed at this yesterday trying to try on some bathing suits for baby swimming lessons) check out Gap online. I love their pants and jeans and they offer short length in a lot of styles. Plus they have free shipping returns to you can order a bunch of stuff in multiple sizes and just mail back what you don't like/doesn't fit.
They even have a "ordered multiple sizes to try" option as one of the reasons for return on their return form!

lrmrtn

yepyepsms said:

I am 5'3" and wear a size 10. I carry my weight in my butt and thighs. I wear the Ann Taylor Loft Julie Trouser petite fit - it's my jam. Only dress pants that fit me. Most stores only carry black, blue or khaki but other colors are online. I hate pants shopping:) good luck babe

This. I'm 5'2" and a size 12 and also love the Julie trouser. I also find that the Loft outlet near me actually has a better selection of petite pants than the regular store. I've also had luck with the Eddie Bauer Blake/Blakely fit for khakis and their curvy boot cut jeans, both from the outlet.

springbeduk2

Thank you all! I had success at the Eddie Bauer outlet - 2 pairs or chinos and a pair of jeans. Yay! Though strangely the chinos had to be a size smaller than the jeans to fit right and I think theywere the slightly curvy cut while jeans are the curvy cut. Whatever. They seem to have gotten rid of Mercer and blakely cuts.

PSA if anyone Elsie is outlet shopping this weekend - Bass had their Amelia ankle length pants for like 14 bucks! Didn't fit me well (way too tapered) though length was OK - felt like maybe a 28 inch inseam? But if any of you like that cut of pants and have a bass outlet nearby 14 Buck pants ate pretty sweet!

Thank you for the other tips, too. I'll have to go try limited jeans/pants sometime ... I think its been like 10 years since I've gone in a limited due both to being a cheapskate and disliking malls. But your descriptions of fit and quality are tempting!

I do have a good pair of dressy-work pants from loft I'd almost forgotten about - not sure if they are the Julie ones or not but they are the "curvy" cut and actually do still fit (yay!) although since baby I feel way less curvy - lost weight in all the wrong places so waist and belly are bigger or maybe same as pre-preg but butt and hips are smaller. Id be way happier if it were the other way around! I blame whatever pesky hormone that is that has made like 60% of my hair fall out. Ill also blame it for all the new wrinkles and call it the post-partum uglifying hormone.
Anyway that was a digression. The loft pants are a bit too "nice" for daily wear for me ( on the floor, playground, etc with 6 year olds and I need functional pockets for keys) but are good for times when a step up from cords or chinos is in order.

Free return shipping for Gap does make me tempted to try. Though I have never in my life found pants from there that fir. But maybe ....

Anyway its nice to know I'm not alone in finding pants shopping so hard. Thank you all and good shopping vibes to you for 2015!