I'm really short. Any help with buying clothes? Mainly pants/trousers

[LukeKay159]

Just realised how much of a ramble this is, if you don't want to hear why I'm here, skip to the bold paragraph to where my question actually starts, and read from there. the stuff before just let's you know why I'm posting this thread.

Hey all, I need some advice. I've never really gave this any thought but I only realised the other day that most retail stores in the UK (primark, h&m, newlook, etc.) have pants that only go down to a inseam of 30 inches. Most of the models wearing stuff on the online stores and in the store posters are like 6'2 wearing 32in inseam jeans and there's still a little bunching at the bottom of their legs on the photos. You really think that me, who is 10 inches shorter, can pull of jeans or joggers that are only 2 inches shorter inseam in the leg, as the lowest inseam in most stores here is 30in? No chance.

I've bought a fair amount of different of trousers and jeans from these and some of them fit okay, but only in terms of fit on the leg. There is at least 4 or 5 inches worth of bunching at the bottom for a lot of them, unless I pull them up stretched to where my bellybutton is!

being a 5ft 4 male, at 51kg, with an inseam/inside leg of 24 inches, I struggle to find clothes for my lower body that are not only slim fitting, but fit right in terms of length. I'd love some jeans that fit me properly and some joggers that don't bunch up a lot on the ankles. Any solutions/methods/websites or do I just have to find a way to magically grow?

Id love to hear advice from fellow short guys like me. And by short, I don't mean 5'8 "short" people, because you aren't short! I'm talking 5'5 and below short. Try being smaller than some 14 year old girls at nearly 21 years old!

All that aside, any advice is truly welcome. I'd still love to hear your advice, regardless of how much you'd tower over me! I just wanna improve my presence out in the streets. Im okay with being short, I don't have no hatred for being short like I used to, as I've come to terms with loving it. it just has its caveats, as being really tall does! I just want to boost my self confidence even more with some well fitting jeans and such.

So please, if you know any stores that are either uk based physically, or worldwide online that cater for the smaller sized men, that would be lovely to know

 

[breakaway01]

Luckily for you, trouser legs can be easily made shorter. Jeans are a little trickier because of the "chain stitch" hem that comes on most jeans. It shouldn't be too hard, though, to find someone in your area who can hem trousers and jeans to your preferred length.

 

[GaiusM]

Go to an alterations tailor and have them hemmed. Hemming is cheap and simple. So long as they fit everywhere else adjusting the length is the easiest alteration of all.

 

[LukeKay159]

So long as they fit everywhere else adjusting the length is the easiest alteration of all.

Yeah they look good on my legs themselves, not too baggy and not too tight it's just the ankles that have excess length. seems like the best idea to have them hemmed, to be honest never really knew what hemming was until now when I googled it! thank you

 

[LukeKay159]

It shouldn't be too hard, though, to find someone in your area who can hem trousers and jeans to your preferred length.

Thank you for the speedy reply! Definitely going to have to give a look at the hemming process. Seems the way to go, both you and GaiusM said the same things so hopefully that should be my fix. Just gotta find someone that is reputable that I can go to. They'll be seeing me a lot if it works out lol

 

[The Dirty Pigeon]

I am 5'5"-5'6" and have spent the last 10 years trying to master the art of dressing well as a short man. You'll get a lot of people telling you to simply take your clothes to a tailor. Yes, you will need to start some relationships with great tailors in your area but that's not the whole story. Most off the rack clothes are made with taller people in mind so, in the case of pants, details like pocket size, taper, button/pocket placement, etc. are often wrong for your size/proportions. So, even after tailoring, your clothes might look "off" compared to people of average height.

Here's some advice:

• Check out The Modest Man blog and YouTube channel for a wealth of info and advice for short men
• Shop Peter Manning, Ash & Erie, Under 510 (websites) as they make clothing that is designed for men of your size/build. If you're ever in LA, go to Jimmy Au's.
• Find some mainstream brands that get pretty close off the rack and can be altered to fit well. For me, The Gap and J Crew work pretty well. The Gap sells jeans with 28 inseams online, which look a lot better after I've had a tailor take that extra inch or so off.
• As you get more familiar with your proportions and fit, experiment with made to measure clothing
• Get some relationships going with the best tailors in your area and get used to the fact that you'll probably have to have everything you buy tailored to some degree, even clothes that are designed specifically for shorter men.