Trouser-based structural integrity issues

BeGrandLike

Of all the problems I did NOT expect to have when I started working out and losing weight, this was.. well, this was one of them.

So there I am, workin' away, trackin' my food, gettin' to the gym, cheerfully seeing those pounds disappear from the scales and the belt loops inching their way in. All going well, right?

Now, as I'd only a relatively small amount to lose- about 30 pounds in total- and as the finances aren't doing the greatest at the moment, I figured I'd just deal with my clothes being a bit on the baggy side for a few months and then once I got to my goal have an Epic Splurge Of New Clothes Shopping and enjoy getting to dress up my newer, leaner, 100% awesomer figure. I also had a couple of pairs of jeans in the cupboard that had gotten a weeee bit tight over the last year (when I'd put on a stone- eep!) and figured those would tide me over nicely.

Except. EXCEPT. In the past two weeks I have experienced not-one-but-two incidences of, shall we say, catastrophic failures in structural integrity in the inner-thigh regions of my jeans. Fortunately for me, the first of these happened when I was in my house. Unfortunately for me, I became Suddenly Aware of the second one when I was halfway through facilitating a workshop/talk with about 40-odd participants the other day. I've never been so glad to have a podium (or that I'd worn leggings under my jeans to keep out the cold!) in my life. Nothing quite says "I'm a knowledgeable professional who you should trust" like getting an eyeful of someone's inner thighs. And let-me-tell-you, the fact that those legs currently come in Single Woman During The Winter Edition did not help matters.

Luckily, a combination of strategically locating myself and those leggings being only a shade or two off the colour of the trousers saved my dignity and reputation from being completely ruined.

HOWEVER. Is this gonna be my life now!? Those very jeans were loose enough at the waist that for the past few weeks I didn't even have to open the button to put them on. Am I now doomed to a life with trousers barely making it past my thighs and then having vast oceans of space between waistband and waist?! Will I just have to live in leggings from now on?! Is there, somewhere in the world, a shop selling jeans for people who have just discovered they really want to be able to pick up really heavy things and also show off their getting-more-epic-every-day butt? Will I just have to make like She-Hulk and deal with budgeting for new jeans every few weeks?! Or else start a single-handed (double-legged) campaign to make ripped jeans cool again?

tomteboda

Very entertaining writing style. You might want to try changing your preferred jean style/cut, and locating the nearest Goodwill.

jaedwa1

Here's an easy/cheap option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzpE8jJze5s

Lounmoun

Never had that problem. My thighs are small.
My waist is still a bigger pants size than my hips however so I mostly wear stretchy material pants.

During your transition-
Get some long skirts or dresses.
Wear stretchy or wide legged trousers.
Visit thrift stores.

Christine_72

I'd stick with leggings, they're so much more comfortable than jeans. I'm a dag though and go for comfort before fashion

VintageFeline

You reference stones. Are you in the UK? If so, Sainsburys £14 stretch jeans should be your new best friends.

Sincerely
Chick with no money, shrinking but huge rear and thighs and tiny waist.

quiksylver296

Consignments shops. Pick up a couple pairs of pants to tide you over.

lemmie177

YES, I have this problem! Not the having-hulked-out-of-my-pants problem, but having to shop for my thighs instead of the rest of me. I get low-rise stretch jeans, with some % of spandex/elastane/whatever in the blend. I finally found a make and fit I like, but they're not cheap; so I buy them lightly used off ebay.

BeGrandLike

VintageFeline wrote: »

You reference stones. Are you in the UK? If so, Sainsburys £14 stretch jeans should be your new best friends.

Sincerely
Chick with no money, shrinking but huge rear and thighs and tiny waist.

Ha, cloooose! I'm over the way in Ireland. Where we don't have Sainsbury's but I am defo planning on seeing what Primark can give me for a tenner

BeGrandLike

MeganAM89 wrote: »

I've always had this problem.

I'm 5'3'' so automatically it's hard to find a pair of pants that aren't six inches too long. On top of that, I have hips that are like, 37 inches and a butt that's a bit bigger for my size, but my legs are normal, so when I do find pants that seem to fit, there's a gap in between my *kitten* and my waist and/or the legs are way too wide.

However, I've actually had a lot of luck with pants and leggings at Urban Planet and H&M. Have you tried going to either of those places?

Recently I've decided that I actually love flared jeans. I've find a few great pairs that fit really well and they show off all of the hard work I've been putting in.

Oh gawwwd DO I FEEL YA on pants shopping when you're 5'3". RIGHT THERE with ya.

As for H&M.. oh gawwwwd, that shop. So y'know the way that sizes kind of mean nothing, but you can normally predict what size you'll probably be in a particular shop? Like, this shop has sizes that run big but that one runs small, so you can more or less work out what you have to bring into the changing room?

I'm convinced that H&M just fire numbers at clothes at random. Possibly blindfolded. Maybe also drunk. I mean, who knows? All I know is that I've ended up buying two things on the same day that were three sizes apart and oh gawd life is too short to spend in the queue for the changing room over and over and over and over and over again...
(But like yeah they do have some nice stuff and it's not pricey. So. I rant but then I keep going back.)

BruinsGal_91

Oh I feel your pain. I've always had a fat *kitten*, huge thighs, but a small waist. And I'm only a shade over 5' 1" too, so jeans shopping is a complete bloody nightmare. And although I've lost 25lbs this year, it's all come off proportionately, so I still have the same problem.

sadinplaid

I hit up ebay for a lot of my in-between size pants once my old size got too baggy, and I wasn't ready to buy a new wardrobe - saved me!

ivygirl1937

AoifeFitzy wrote: »

Oh gawwwd DO I FEEL YA on pants shopping when you're 5'3". RIGHT THERE with ya.

As for H&M.. oh gawwwwd, that shop. So y'know the way that sizes kind of mean nothing, but you can normally predict what size you'll probably be in a particular shop? Like, this shop has sizes that run big but that one runs small, so you can more or less work out what you have to bring into the changing room?

I'm convinced that H&M just fire numbers at clothes at random. Possibly blindfolded. Maybe also drunk. I mean, who knows? All I know is that I've ended up buying two things on the same day that were three sizes apart and oh gawd life is too short to spend in the queue for the changing room over and over and over and over and over again...
(But like yeah they do have some nice stuff and it's not pricey. So. I rant but then I keep going back.)

First of all, you are hilarious, reading this post made my day so much better. Then I saw that you are from Ireland and thought "Well, duh, no wonder this person is awesome." (I'm not from Ireland, just all the Irish people I've met have been awesome.)

I have this problem as well, big thighs and butt, not so big waist, unfortunately I don't have a great solution as I haven't found one. I live in either dresses (for work) or leggings (basically everywhere else). Pain in the rear that it is, I'm finding it's worth the time to try things on so I don't waste money on stuff that doesn't fit and have to either pass it on or return it which takes more time than trying the blasted thing on to begin with. Only downside to buying online too. I bought four dresses recently on sale, the smallest size I ordered was too big and the biggest size I ordered was too small. I have determined all clothes makers are drunk when they put size tags on. All of them.

VintageFeline

AoifeFitzy wrote: »

MeganAM89 wrote: »

I've always had this problem.

I'm 5'3'' so automatically it's hard to find a pair of pants that aren't six inches too long. On top of that, I have hips that are like, 37 inches and a butt that's a bit bigger for my size, but my legs are normal, so when I do find pants that seem to fit, there's a gap in between my *kitten* and my waist and/or the legs are way too wide.

However, I've actually had a lot of luck with pants and leggings at Urban Planet and H&M. Have you tried going to either of those places?

Recently I've decided that I actually love flared jeans. I've find a few great pairs that fit really well and they show off all of the hard work I've been putting in.

Oh gawwwd DO I FEEL YA on pants shopping when you're 5'3". RIGHT THERE with ya.

As for H&M.. oh gawwwwd, that shop. So y'know the way that sizes kind of mean nothing, but you can normally predict what size you'll probably be in a particular shop? Like, this shop has sizes that run big but that one runs small, so you can more or less work out what you have to bring into the changing room?

I'm convinced that H&M just fire numbers at clothes at random. Possibly blindfolded. Maybe also drunk. I mean, who knows? All I know is that I've ended up buying two things on the same day that were three sizes apart and oh gawd life is too short to spend in the queue for the changing room over and over and over and over and over again...
(But like yeah they do have some nice stuff and it's not pricey. So. I rant but then I keep going back.)

H&M trousers, I am convinced, fit nobody. I have tried on trousers twice on my "weightloss journey" and on both occasions it was a lesson in how not to make trousers for grown women. Like, I could even get these things past my knees! Their tops though, fit me fine, even with my ample bosom. Makes no sense. Then there's Zara, who makes trousers for giraffes apparently.

The only reason I am in these places is because they're cheap, roll on goal weight when I can go back to vintage and niche, where I know a few brands who make for a curvier fit, huzzah!

stealthq

I don't have this problem typically, but I have experienced the inner thigh structural issue at work before, so I feel you.

Mine was with a pair of really nice, wider leg linen pants. I must have snagged them on something and the small hole just continued to grow until my left leg had zero inner thigh or crotch coverage. Awesome. I ended up doing the knees-pressed-together stealth shuffle out to my car so I could go home and change. I didn't run into anyone on the way out, but still. Embarrassing.

newheavensearth

Do local brands near you make specific curvy cut pants or jeans? They tend to be smaller in the waist and roomier on the hip and thigh. Or even a relaxed cut on the hip and thigh. I'm 5'3" with the same issues. I roll my waist bands down to keep my pants up and keep from gapping on my booty. Or else I live in jeggings.