Big thighs! Pear-shapes! Please whinge here!

[hermitlady]

I’m a pear-shape and have a frustrating time finding clothes that fit me properly. If I can manage to get jeans over my thighs, they end up gaping hugely around the waist. Dresses are too loose around the boobs and I have to wear spaghetti vests under nearly all my tops because the neckline and armpit gaps are so low. Anyone else have these problems?

I went looking for a good UK fashion blog that’s aimed at pear-shapes and couldn’t find many, just the odd US-based one. So I’m starting my own. It seems a little crazy for a woman who buys her jeans from ASDA to blog about fashion, but I like experimenting with my look and I’m fed up with fashion advice that says “wear A-Line skirts” like that will solve all my problems.

My main gripes with current advice are around the focus on “minimising problem areas” as if my beautiful derriere is a high crime zone, the A-line obsession, and anything that suggests I wear heels every day. (Nope. Not gonna happen.)

So my fellow bottom-heavy beauties, tell me what frustrates you about fashion and fashion advice?

I'm 5'2" hourglass/pear with really big calves. So I find a pair of jeans/trousers that fit my thighs and calves. They knee is in the wrong bit because they're made for a taller person so they wrinkle weirdly, making me look like I've got chipolatas for legs. Oh and I can fit a large bag of popcorn down the waist.
Dresses or tops are far too long around the shoulders/underarms.
Petite sizes assume that you're finer built just cause you're shorter.

Basically:
arms and calves 12/14
Thighs and chest, etc: 10/12
Waist: 8/10

I know working out would help the arm issue, but I think I really need help in finding out what to look for in clothes that can be tailored, how to find a good tailor, how to afford a good tailor when you can only afford New Look or how to become rich enough to employ a seamstress to make all of your clothes.

When I was a skinny malink 17 year old my calves were pretty much the same size as my thighs.

And another pear here! I'm 5'11" with a small waist but very wide hips, huge bottom and fat thighs. My favorite look is a collarless A-line / princess / swing coat like in the picture above with skinny jeans / jeggings / ponte treggings and smart pointy flats, loafers or chelsea boots. Wide legged trousers are dreadful on me and make me look huge all over. Also hate anything bootcut and refuse to wear high heels, so I'm pretty much disregarding most of the clichéd old fashion advice for pears.

In terms of tops I usually go for boat neck, V-neck or 60s style funnel neck stuff, ideally with 3/4 sleeves. Anything empire line works really well and some peplum tops (I know MN generally hates them!) can be really flattering if they flare out at the waist like above.

Size 6 top, size 10 (12 if not tight) bottom mostly my butt getting in the way. Really struggle to get anything to fit in normal shops but most gothic/ 50s style dresses seem to fit. I gave up with jeans years ago and just wear 2 pairs of leggings and a t shirt dress in winter. Work trousers are officially a nightmare

I am another disproportionate pear shape here. I am a size 8 on top with a size 8 waist but huge bum/thighs which make my bottom half a 12 (and sometimes even that is too tight).

Overweight pear here. 14-16 top, 18 bottom - if it fits on the top, it's too tight on the bottom. When I was heavier it was easier as there was less of a difference. Far more weight has come off my top half and my thighs and bottom just keep hold of it!

I do wear jeans but always need a belt - I can't buy trousers without belt loops and I always have a tucked in vest underneath my tops too.

Really feeling down on myself today. Have even cancelled going out tomorrow as I had been searching for a formal dress to wear but my legs are so fat compared to the rest of me I just feel hideous. My DH is going on his own now. It's a wedding of people I don't really know and we were having childcare issues too so coupled with my inability to find a suitable outfit I have just given up.
I have done loads of exercise this year and even taken up running and my legs are still awful.

if your blog is about thighs can you please call it "thigh will be done." or "no ifs no butts' if about bottom.

I too am pearesque! I am more or less a size 12 all over but have a sticky out bum and, er, sturdy peasant thighs (also disproportionately short legs, like a T-rex). I comfort myself that it's a good physique for doing squats, but not so good for getting trousers that fit. I also wear a lot of dresses.

My best jeans for fitting without gape are J Brand skinnies and Paige Hoxtons or Jimmy Jimmys, but they're pricy so can only be bought in sales/on Ebay. Gap used to do a mid-rise skinny that fitted perfectly but they changed the shape. :(

Ooh how this is fascinating, I'm a pear and just discovered Salas jeans. The high waisted ones do fit me round the waist, there is still an element of 'arse crammed in' (I could actually do with the waist to hip on them being another two inch) but they don't gape of show my entire bum pants when I sit down.

I'd be interested to know what your guys have as vital stats, cos I do feel like a minority

35:29:41

Another pear here. Sainsburys skinny jeans are good for me but I want more trousers which are machine washable and aren't made of polyester which aren't skintight on Thighs while gaping at waist.

My stats are 38:28:41 and 23 around the thighs

Judy where do you get your jeans? I'm a similar shape to you (probably with a bigger belly tho)

Wow please pm me once you have this up and running I'm such an extreme pear before babies I was 6-8 top 14-16 bottom half, insanely impossible to balance clothes trousers always show my knickers because waist is tiny books small (fried eggs as my dear dad calls them) with huge bum thighs calf's and cankles now a 14 top and 16 bottom so evened out slightly but it depends where I shop. Bought work trousers the other day and they fitted beautifully everywhere apart from bum as much as I Try to exercise, they weight comes off the boobs and waist before lower half I hate it! My hips are the worst though, they've always been so huge compared to everything else!! Boots are a nightmare I'd love to find some that are knee length and don't double over due to my calves and make them look bigger again!!! I like I have curves but I hate that no shops these days seem to have any shape allowance!!!

I'm a pear shape too and I seem to live in high waisted jeans or skater style skirts. I long to find a pencil skirt that flatters me as a lot of the women I work seem to look really nice in them but I know they won't suit me. I mainly buy my jeans in New Look as I find the waist is not too big, although I have to squeeze into them they do stretch a decent amount!
I also try to emphasize my top half a bit more but it's difficult as I have really small boobs. There really needs to be a better selection for pear shaped ladies. Some of the clothes I see seem to be accommodating of bigger bums but not the thighs to match

20-22 bottom and 16-18 top. So plus size pear with big tummy.

The recent fashion for 50s clothes has been good to me, especially formal occasions, but dresses look frumpy on my body. I wear M&S shape wear if the clothing is demands, but I love the jeans in Simply Be that fit better around the waist, and their joggers. Things about me that are not pear-related are my big hands, big feet and big head.

I have a slim-ish waist so corseted tops pull my fat in, I put a fitted skirt or top on and top with a belt. Chicken fillets boost my D-cups chest, which looks flat compared to my arse.

At work I have to wear a uniform which is hideous for larger folks. The trousers are tight on the thighs and mahoosive on the waist. They are fucking horrible. So I persuaded the boss to purchase my own similar trousers (without company branding) from a plus size shop and am massively happier. Many women have done the same. I couldn't bend over without worrying if the arse would split in the official ones. (The uniform was designed by Wayne Hemingway for 6ft tall willowy models) The tops are too long too, the sleeves have to be folded back or you look like a gorilla dragging your knuckles. Rant over.

Hallo! Old wrinkled pear here used to be 34 25 40 with 23 thighs like Wonder woman (that would be a great image for blog BTW). Now podgy 37. 31 42 haven't measured thighs too depressing. Only tip besides trying on 50 pairs of jeans is sometimes M&S, but Not Your Daughters jeans are fantastic, but horrendously expensive. However my other pair are my son's Uniqlo castoffs so don't rule out men's jeans I was amazed they fit perfectly and are not stretch!!! OP if you want a blog collaborator let me know I was considering same idea!! so happy to have found this thread

technically an hourglass but with thighs that make beyoncé looks like kate moss so i feel qualified to join in i'm currently a 14-16, with size 20ish thighs - at my thinnest pre-baby i was a size 10 with size 14 thighs, so i think it's just the way i'm built! i've recently (bizarrely) discovered M&Co jeans - they fit really nicely on the thighs, bum and waist without being baggy. i do need a belt but this is true of all trousers as my hips are 11 inches bigger than my waist
for dresses, i like collectif and phase eight. i can't wear the current 60s high necked tunic styles without looking like a terrifying cross between hattie jaques and betty boop, so i'm sticking with the midcentury style that suits my body. i wear cycle shorts under summer dresses to prevent thigh rub and i don't buy the whole 'avoid skinny jeans' thing - i'm proud of my thick legs and tiny waist and i'm not gonna hide them! flaunt it ladies

i also make a lot of my own clothes - it's a revelation!

Place marking pear.

Towelling robes! Trying to get one that is generous enough to wrap my thighs without the top flapping open.

Checking in. I'm not overweight but am very fine boned and delicate looking on my top half but blessed with legs that would be the envy of a premier league footballer. I have found that J Brand jeans fit well as do Sandwich trousers, plus some M&S. Skirts can be tricky...pencils require inordinate amount of care as even if I can get the arse-waist fit right, getting the length wrong renders my legs into sausages in an instant, made worse by cankles if there's a bit of water retention going on as well.

Thunder thighs here! I am currently wearing some size 14 per una straight legged jeans which are fitting Ok. Cannot wear Asda. Sainsburys straight legged are OK on me. Its the Summer I really struggle with. I like a skirt but do not like the chub rub.
My other bug bear is tops that are too short. No I do not want something that sits just below the waist thank you!
Following this thread for any handy tips!

Anyone else rub holes in the tops of their jeans/leggings faster than it takes to get them grubby (even with 2 dc under 5) I've bought expensive trousers and cheap ones and still struggle.

For thighs that rub in the summer, liquid talc is your answer! It stops all chaffing and soreness and is really cheap. You do have to remember apply a couple of times a day though.

I'm probably more hourglass but also with thunder thighs. My current wardrobe mainly consists of leggins and treggins, knee length boots (suede with elasticated backs to fit my somewhat chunky calves) and various tunic type tops. I used to insist on my bottom/hips being covered at all times, but really life is too short (as am I !) and my shape is never going to change, however much I would like it to. It's taken me about 50 years to accept this though!

And like Bubbly with trousers , I find the inner seams go and the fabric thins incredibly quickly. My best pair of jeans at the mo are from Biba at H of F. Nice denim and pretty comfy fit on the waist. Actually bought a 14 so they are pretty snug, but look acceptable for going out at night (couldn't wear them all day though!)

I don't personally know if these 'Bandalettes' work, but looked at them a after au uncomfortable Summer and thought they seemed a good idea.
((amzn.to/2lVnzgT)) I probably should try some anyway!

Argh! I wish I'd come here before buying the domain! But thanks hangingoutattheendofmywick, you've inspired me to have some pun fun with my post titles!

Length has always been a problem too. I've never owned 3/4 trousers because they always ended up being full length clown pants, ha ha.

I seriously don't know how anyone find fitting trousers without them gaping at the back. Belts are a drama too, I can only use fabric belts or woven ones because otherwise the gaping gets even worse.

KnitFastDieWarm, I tried two sewing classes to make my own clothes. I jammed the machine a zillion times and never went back. Not my bravest moment.

Bubblysqueak - YES!!!! Top left thigh in ever single pair of jeans I've owned. Always the left. I started to wonder if I have a weird friction-causing limp I didn't know about.

Thanks so much, keep your whinges and product recommendations coming