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 agree. I really like the refusal of most young women to wear uncomfortable tight clothes and unfeasibly high heels.

Whistles have some trousers that are what I'd call 'sane'.
As do Boden (see it's been linked to already.)

They aren't 'high fashion' but are more cigarette style, straight or gently wide.

Wide legged trousers swamp me, just too much fabric flapping around. I end up looking even shorter than I am!!

Trousers are like bras. You have to try on dozens before you find anything not dreadful. Some of the more 'out there' leg shapes now are not that flattering on anyone, frankly. But the good news is there is a range of acceptable leg shapes currently considered fashionable so you just have to plug away until you find the right ones for you.

I find M&S has the best range of trousers and jeans to suit all occasions, sizes and body shapes. And they label them to show not only leg length and leg shape but also whether the waist is high, mid or low rise. This helps reduce wasted time trying stuff on that will inevitably be wrong.

If you've not changed your trouser style in ten years you might have to push yourself out of your comfort zone a bit, otherwise you'll look risk looking dated and frumpy. But that shouldn't mean you have to wear something that doesn't flatter you.

As I’m already older I only invest in clothes that will ensure I’m fabulously well dressed for the rest of my life.

Acne Studios
Alex Eagle Studio
La Fetiche
Margaret Howell
Studio Nicholson

have all proved joyously hard wearing, getting better as they age. (Though I admit I buy more skirts than pairs of trousers.) I buy a combination of new out of the shop / sales / outlets / pre-owned. Very rarely pay full price. I’m just under 5’3 and happy to have things altered to fit, but it’s not invariably necessary.

I saw a thing on insta the other day of the same model wearing six different styles of jeans in a grid of photos side by side. It was remarkable how each one either flattered her or really didn't. The trousers you choose really can elongate your legs or make them look short and dumpy. Or make your waist look thinner or fatter and your hips/bum look wider or more narrow.

It's nice there are so many trousers in shops at the moment, for years it all seemed to be dresses!

Me too! I’ve walked miles in the High Street and out of town centres.

Choices are very limited. I just want a straight forward pair of everyday trousers. A stretchy waist will help for my up and coming long haul flight. Nothing, nada! So frustrating.

Why do you care about looking shorter? Genuine question from a 5ft 1.

I love wide legs!

@PashaMinaMiothese would be great for a long flight:

https://www.toa.st/collections/womens-trousers/products/stripe-linen-cotton-barrel-leg-trousers-shadow-blue-black

Or these:

https://www.toa.st/collections/womens-trousers/products/suki-panelled-denim-trousers-indigo

Toast always has a good range of elastic waisted trousers - and they’re pretty much indestructible.

I'd say choices were at their most limited around 2010. I say this with confidence because that was when I was so bored with the trousers on offer that I switched to skirts and dresses (which I don't normally wear).

I can understand how the sheer variety of styles available now can feel overwhelming but to claim no choice exists feels a bit perverse.

Whether it'll last is another question - the balance seems to have tipped towards wide legs now. But, as far as I'm concerned, the choice of trouser shapes over the last 10 years has been one of the best things about fashion. Fabric and quality is a different matter entirely but that's hardly exclusive to trousers.

I love your posts @Floisme. Always balanced and insightful. As a fellow clothes lover I salute you.

I've recently bought M&S cotton rich straight leg chinos in navy and black.
Product code 04350668 if you want to find it on their website.
I'm 5'4" and the Short version fits me best

Gap still exists - there's one in the Trafford Centre. The quality can be a bit hit and miss but they still do a reasonable range of 'classic' clothing.

https://www.gap.co.uk/shop/womens/clothing/all-trousers?p=1#0

I agree @Floisme - there is a lot more choice now, but quality and durability have taken a nose dive in this fast fashion era.

I also never wore trousers (other than jeans) between about 2005-2020-ish. Work trousers were all slim or skinny black trousers with low waists or flat-fronted suit trousers that gave me camel-toe . I always felt like I was going on work experience at NatWest when I wore them.

I started experimenting a bit with tapered, 7/8 lengths trousers for work (I was channelling The Split and loved a silk blouse…I still love this style even though it’s a bit dated).

Then I found that some ultra high waisted, pleat-front wide legs really suit me IF the fabric is heavy enough to hang right.

I’d love to be able to pull off satin trousers or those big billowy palazzo pants in lightweight fabrics, but I am tall and long of leg and it feels like too much fabric.

I maintain my earlier comment - there are trousers out there for all of us, but it takes a painful amount of trying shit on to find the ones that suit your body shape.

And I do care about what suits and ‘flatters’ me.

Not because I give a shit what anyone, least of all men, think. (Trust me, at 48, I couldn’t give a fiddling fuck about the male gaze).

But the ‘I just rolled out of bed, threw on a boxy tee, massive woolly cardi, low slung creased jeans and some battered New Balance’ look that all the young women wear on my commute to work (which I love for them!) doesn’t translate to a middle aged woman. I want to feel good.

@blossomtoes, I’m 5ft 2in as well. They look fine on me.
It depends on your build and body shape.
i'm 5'4" and they look silly on me and a lot of women.

@theministerscat , my chinos are Gap Khakis. I have several pairs all from charity shops for about £2 or £3.

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles , I tend to wear the same jeans for months on end - I change into them before I go out and change again when I get home.
I'm sure they've been shrinking gradually over the winter.
I dread to imagine what the ones in the wardrobe will be like.

But the ‘I just rolled out of bed, threw on a boxy tee, massive woolly cardi, low slung creased jeans and some battered New Balance’ look that all the young women wear on my commute to work (which I love for them!) doesn’t translate to a middle aged woman. I want to feel good.

That wasn’t what I meant. I want to feel good too. The kind of young woman I’m referencing obviously thinks about what she wears and it’s oversized jackets/coats, interesting trousers/dress, immaculate trainers or flat shoes with impeccable make up and hair. That translates very easily to me at 72. I love it that stylish dressing now knows no boundaries where age is concerned. My only regret is that winged eyeliner definitely has an age limit!

These are similar to the ones I wear but I do NOT wear 3/4 or cropped trousers or ones without pockets.
Beige Mid-Rise Downtown Chinos | Gap
(not in beige either )

But the ‘I just rolled out of bed, threw on a boxy tee, massive woolly cardi, low slung creased jeans and some battered New Balance’ look that all the young women wear on my commute to work (which I love for them!) doesn’t translate to a middle aged woman.
Thank goodness I'm not on that commute. The young women on my commute do not wear that!

I've done 'wearing what flatters' and I went from feeling pretty happy and confident in my own skin to obsessing about my thighs, arms, jawline and flat arse. When I realised what was going on, I stopped. These days, if I get dressed and want to go sashaying down the road whistling (even though I can't whistle) then, as far as I'm concerned, I'm wearing clothes that suit me.

I appreciate that 'dressing for your shape' works for many women, what I don't appreciate is the endless narrative on this board (not specifically this thread or any single poster) that this is the way we should all dress and that you're some kind of Tic Toc addled fool if you don't.

(And thank you @BIossomtoes - very kind!)

@Oneearringlost I would only ever wash expensive items on 30 delicate cycle! I only wash towels and bedding at 40 and not all the time.

I empathise @theministerscat I'm just having a restorative cup of Earl Grey after nearly two hours of trawling around shops and trying on what seems like every pair of trousers in my town 🙁 Frankly, I'd rather do this from the comfort of my home, so I'm going back to online ordering.

The 'highlight' of my try ons was a pair of slim flare jeans (think that's what they're called) in M&S. They were so high waisted that the waistband was about two inches under my bra band! Looked hysterical.

I'd love a pair of wide leg jeans that aren't too wide, and not stiff denim because I hate that (looking at you, Levis). I'm 5' 3", small framed, and some things are just too overwhelming on me.

Amen to all that. And it’s not kind, it’s true.

I get it, I think!

I am mourning winged eyeliner, too. Very suddenly in my late 40s the ‘wing’ isn’t compatible with drooping eyelids