All trousers are weird and terrible now!

[theministerscat]

I really need some new trousers. I haven’t bought any for about 10 years - the last ones I bought were in a Gap shop, which haven’t existed for quite some time now, so really ages ago. Today I bit the bullet and went into town with the express purpose of finding some trousers. I was really determined to - how hard could it be, right? Well, apparently very hard. I went to Uniqlo, Zara, Cos, & Other Stories, Reiss, and John Lewis. Everything was either massive legs, weird horrible fabrics, or both. I’m a 56-year-old woman, size 10-12, used to be reasonably stylish. Can’t believe I could not find one single pair and have the fear that I will never be able to find trousers again. Where the hell else do I look?

I went shopping today and thought the same. I don't want skinny jeans anymore but I also don't want clown trousers or to look like I'm wearing a sack! Wide leg trousers are huge on me because I have slim legs so they drown me and I feel ridiculous with the excess fabric. I'm living in some m&s boyfriend jeans but they don't sell them anymore 😭

@ProphecyNext Slim fit mid rise jeans £28 are nice.

Abercrombie & Fitch, Sloan, incredible fit, decent fabric , choice of colours.

Next boyfriend jeans are comfy and they do nice trousers too in styles that aren't wide leg

Totally agree

I’ve got some decent, flattering trousers from M&S, Mango, River Island, Abercrombie, Michael Kors, Karen Millen.

However…it involved ALOT of trying stuff on.

Trousers are hard!

I’ve got trousers from Mango, Next, M&S and George. My problem is the length. The last 2 pairs I bought need shortening. I’m not short either!
I bought some jeans from M&S. They are flared/wide legged but I really like them. I had to buy short length.

Its insane. Ill try anything but drew the line at rib cage trousers. Not only were they higher than the waist but also ankle flappers. Ghastly.

I could have written this!

I’m short so have a limited range of options. Apart from M&S which usually has something wearable (though they’ve messed up the short leg length in the last few years), my best bet is Next.

Agree who wants their legs to look like barrels?

Your legs don’t look like barrels.

But you get to look like someone who’s interested in new things and not afraid of experimentation.

It’s not about the shape, it’s the signalling.

What trousers are you actually after? Tailored/ smart? Casual? If you haven’t bought any for 10 years then I assume you’re not looking for anything too trend led and you’re expecting them to see you through the next 10 years. Apologies if that’s not the case On the smarter end of the spectrum I wonder if Jigsaw or Massimo Dutti might have something a little nicer than Zara quality. I’ve bought tailored wool trousers which are pleated but straight legged and not too wide. For casual I’d look at Uniqlo (although I suspect some of their styles will be too trend led for you. ) Don’t rule out M&S either for either option.

I want straight trousers. Not horsehoes, barrel, carrots or cigarettes!

I’ve held onto all of my old GAP ones!
M&S. Massimo Dutti has nices styles.

Agree with this. It’s more about fashion.

I’m better working with my body shape!

@theministerscat your post has had me pondering for hours …

I’m in my early 60’s: I don’t think there can have been a single day this century when I haven’t glanced at a website or a newspaper article concerning clothes, or noticed what someone was wearing in real life (rarer), or in some way interacted, passively or actively, with the whole notion of style and evolving fashion. And, God knows, in the previous century I spent half my life trying stuff on in shops. (Jean Muir, Comme des Garçons and Phoebe Philo era Celine being the stellar highlights when I had no intention of buying.) Clothes are a constant buzz in my head - without any effort at all I can right now picture exactly what’s in the current collections of several dozen shops. It’s not my job to do so - I’ve followed two professions that have no formal connection to the clothing industry; I’m just interested.

But while I’ve always had friends who might be less obsessed by clothes than I am, it’s only through MN that I’ve realised that most people don’t think about clothes every day. S&B is currently full of people who haven’t worn a dress for twenty years, panicking over wedding invitations. I can only imagine how foreign the whole landscape must seem in such circumstances.

You just need to get your eye in …

@theministerscat totally agree. I'm 5'2" but most petite sizes are too short in the leg. I found a great pair of Next Petite Ponte pull on black trousers that are fabulous. I've had to go down to a 6 Petite because they are about 2 sizes out compared to other Next trousers which just don't fit. They are also very long in the leg and fine for me. M&S have changed their sizing because I used to regularly buy trousers from them. Now the waists are smaller and the hips and thighs are enormous. Add also jackets - why is the trend seemingly for jackets to come halfway down the thighs - even in Petite I look like one of the Bisto kids. Just glad I didn't throw out some of my old Precis Petite jackets which fit like a glove.

Glad to see I’m not alone! Yes, the barrels, the carrots, the ribcage, yikes. And don’t get me started on the weird lengths!

I’m definitely not fashion-led, but I am a bit arty and do enjoy a bit of colour. I quite like things with a slightly retro feel - so straight leg waist-height trousers with a couple of front pleats might be good. Need to work with ankle boots (winter) or trainers/sandals (summer).

I did also go into Mango and M&S, plus John Lewis had lots of small bits of other brands such as Jigsaw, Whistles, Hush etc but mostly seems to be either jeans or the aforementioned weird and terrible trousers. I would quite like to find one pair I love and buy them in multiple colours - blue, olive, grey.

Uniqlo are quite good in that if you find a cut you like they have it in lots of sizes and colours. It is mostly wider leg trousers at the moment though.

Not claiming these are in any way trendy, but they are true slim, straight trousers. I have two pairs and wear them a lot. I was so pleased to find trousers that fit me properly when sizing and shapes started to go crazy. I'm a slim pear and would say they fit slightly looser than shown on the model. The quality is excellent on both my pairs - no idea how they achieve that at this price, just grateful.

It's always possible they're messed with the cut since I bought my last pair, but from the pictures I'd guess not.

Agree. I found a nice pair of trousers in M&S last year that fit without crushing my perimenopause belly, I really should have bought 3 or 4 instead of one. Of course I go back and they have totally changed them, added linen which has made them less comfortable and more baggy, it was so uncomfortable it was like wearing a big bag of crisps. I checked the labels and they are made in different countries now, I suspect a lot of shops have changed their suppliers to cheaper options and the quality has plummeted.

Something a bit like this maybe? But these are £188 which is out of my budget, unfortunately.

@Octavia64 Uniqlo was the first place I went, because my colleague has a nice pair from there that look really fabulous on her. However, she is tiny and I think the barrel shape works on her in a stylish way that didn’t work on me - I just looked like a tubby clown, sadly.

I've just checked M and S for you and they still do the wool ankle crazer. £80. I've been wearing these since 2012. Sometimes they do them with silk. I've had ten pairs. Dry clean but I wash mine in woolite.
I'm tall with skinny legs, I look daft if I wear wide legs as I have a big bust. Too flappy for me.

eBay has a few pairs with the silk/ wool mix BNWT. Worth a punt at £21.50
I can't link.