Spring Forward to a Perfect Fit
It’s the end of March in New England and currently 35 degrees on this sunny afternoon. Clearly it feels like winter no matter what the calendar says. Although in my mind, I’ve switch out of survival winter mode. So the frigid temps outside are mentally exhausting.
I clearly live for warmer weather. I much prefer to shop for sandals that winter jackets. To be clear, I grew up in New England. I have no excuse for detesting the cold. Although I am happy to blame my Latina blood lines for my constant sun cravings.
So with Spring on the calendar, I’m starting to fill my wardrobe with Spring pieces (even if I can’t wear them just yet). One of the pieces I’m looking for to fill a hole in my closet is some lightweight pants. After a winter full of leggings and jeans, I’m ready to try to something else.
However, not all pants are made the same. And I find that for my body type, pants can be difficult to find in the right fit and size. I don’t fill out the curvy fit but anything not labeled curvy can sometimes be a little too snug (where the middle ground?). I’m definitely a petite in terms of length but sometimes the non petite options fit better and all I need is a hem. I like trying new styles to see if I find something that fits better than the last thing I settle for which is why I was excited to try the new Vuori Ripstop pant.
I love the Vuori joggers and have more than one pair in my closet. I ordered the Ripstop pants in the same size as my joggers, which turned out to be a fair comparison in sizes. What I found when I tried on these new pants, is that the overall fit was as expected but the waist seemed snug. There is an elastic waist component to the Ripstop pants, but they also have a zipper and button closure. For some reason the waist fit just wasn’t right. Even when I looked at it in the mirror it looked “wrong”. I unbuttoned the pants and then re-buttoned them a couple of times, only to realize that the button was the issue.
I laid out the pants with the zipper up, and unbuttoned. In doing so, the button should line up precisely where the buttonhole is. On this pair of pants, that was not the case. The button was instead placed outside of the buttonhole making it such that when you close the button, the pants pull to make the waist smaller than it should be. This makes the waist too tight and creates a sort of pull on the front of these pants which do not allow them to lay flat.
I’m unsure if this is a design flaw or if it just happened on the one pair that was shipped to me. In theory it’s an easy fix to move the button (something any seamstress could take care of to ensure better fit). However, there is also a design detail at the waist where the button is placed. I think his could be easily removed as well but haven’t tried.
I’m sharing this with you for a couple of reasons. First, it’s important for you to be critical of fit. I’m sure there are plenty of women who would have tried these on and never realized that there was a design flaw, but rather thought the pants just weren’t for them or that their body was the problem. (We tend to be far to critical of our own bodies.) Most of the retail clothing we purchase is created in bulk batches and there are bound to be some flaws in production. It’s important for you to always search for items that provide the right fit for you. Second, when you encounter fit that doesn’t work for you, consider whether it can be easily adjusted to fit you perfectly. Sometimes the overall fit is just wrong on our body type. But sometimes, a minor adjustment (shortening the length or moving a button) can help an item to fit better overall and therefore work better for you. It’s going to be difficult to find an item that fits perfectly when you try it on for the first time but if you can recognize how to make that item work for you, you’ll have a better chance at creating a wardrobe that looks like it was made just for you.
