April 16, 2008 | Perhaps It's Time I Start Listening to the Universe
Many years ago, I decided to give up wearing women's pants. I could never find any that fit, and I've always hated women's sizing. The sizing on men's pants makes so much more sense, don't you think? Find your waist size, find an inseam length, and find pants that mostly fit! Brilliant! So I started buying men's pants. And for many years, I was happy with my pants purchases.
Until a couple of years ago, when I realized that maybe the men's pants weren't all that flattering. I found myself yearning to try a boot cut or a flare trouser. I wanted to find something a bit more feminine and stylish. This happily coincided with Old Navy having a huge selection of pants at the time. I was buying trousers and jeans left and right. Not all of them were great purchases (sequins, anyone?), but I was able to replace almost all of my "man pants".
Since then, it hasn't been that hard to find pants. However, in the past few months, Old Navy has been taking the crazy pills, and I can't find a decent pair of pants to save my life. Some of them have belt loops located 2 inches below the actual waist. Or they only have two belt loops (which are in the front and completely lacking in the more critical back area). I'm also finding that even their angle length pants have all of a sudden become too long. Why is it so hard to make a simple pair of cotton pants that fit?
The final straw was the order I received last night. I had ordered two different sizes of what I thought were normal pants. They appeared to have belt loops in all the right spots, they were cotton, and they came in my beloved grey (which is my favorite color for pants lately). What I received yesterday were pants that had a zipper and a button ON THE SIDE. They were too long. The smaller size was too small, and the larger size was WAY too large! OLD NAVY, WHAT IS UP WITH THE CRAZY PANTS?!?
It looks like I finally might have to start looking somewhere else for my trouser needs (and the prospects aren't promising). Perhaps this is the universe's way of hinting that I should just wear a damn skirt already?
Hi, I am a huge fan of Smitten Kitchen, and came across your blog through her link. Yes... I know the pant woe's all too well. I happen to be 80% leg (it's a funny sight), so I was always on the hunt for 35" long inseams... a hard thing to find. I finally heard about the jeans and pants at a mall department store called Vanity. They have sizes by the waist and length... very handy!
You and I are walking the same path...I wore men's pants for years and then realized that they were not terribly attractive - last summer I did very well at Old Navy and replaced several man pants.
I need a pair of black ones this year but it sounds like I should stay away from ON.
I should also mention that I've tried on pants at J Crew and their sizing is not consistent. I fit in a size 6 from one store and a 4 in another -same pants.
Companies no longer care about manufacturing quality it seems.
My experience with Old Navy is that it is hit and miss. Suddenly they'll lose their minds and put some seriously strange stuff on their shelves, then things will be alright again. And their sizing is all over the place. And I think they think most of their customers are 6' tall as their regular pants are usually 6-12" too long.
Even though they're owned by the same company, I find that gap pants fit me much, much better than Old Navy's pants ever could. Maybe give them a try?
I gave up on Old Navy pants when I once tried on three pairs of the same style, each marked a 6. One way too small, one that I could get on with out unzipping at all, and one that fit. I was like the Goldilocks of ON.
I bought the pair that fit, left the store pumping annoying pop songs and switched to the more-expensive-but-more-reliable Gap.
What seven said - I rely on thrifted several-seasons-ago pants for the most part. Not sure what's going on in the fashion world, but it's not good!
They used to be my trusty stand-by, but lately... not so much. But nowhere else has pants that fit me either, so I am reduced to looking at Goodwill for Old Navy pants from back in the day. What the crap?
That irks me too! I tried to buy some pants there yesterday and I couldn't figure out how anyone could fit into them. Very upsetting.