Thanks to Wendy for sending me the link to this Oprah slideshow, which contains some discussion related to jean pockets. While looking around Oprah’s site, I found this quote from our beloved Stacy London:
Myth 1: Boot cut is flattering on everyone. False, Stacy says. Petite women, in particular, should avoid boot-cut jeans, and wear jeans with a straighter leg. Stacy says if you’re shorter than 5’4”, a boot cut may make your thighs look heavier by hugging the knees too tightly before flaring at the bottom. Boot-cut jeans can also make your legs look shorter.
The ideal body type for boot-cut pants is a woman taller than 5’4” who has long legs.
While I am taller than 5’4″, I do not have long legs. Proportionately, my thighs are 3 inches short for my height, although I pick up one of those inches below the knee. Stacy is also quoted in multiple places saying that people with heavy thighs should avoid bootcut, because the tightness at the knee emphasizes the thigh.
In addition, I propose that wide-legged pants make short legs look shorter. You can see me in both skinnies and wide (although they aren’t jeans) in this fashion lab from last March.
Interesting! Makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m 5’5″ with long legs and I love a boot cut. I also like a nice straight leg jean. But I hate wide leg pants on me, and frankly, I don’t find them all that attractive on most people.
If I wear wide legged pants then I need a taut top and I feel like Mr. Natural. So I don’t. The worst wide legged pants I ever saw were recently pictured in either Newport News or Spiegel or both: they had box pleats all the way down the legs! Like pleated skirts for each leg.
I was just reading Brenda Kinsel on body proportion and learned a couple of things. She has you measure 4 zones on your body. First she has you measure your face length and can include some hair height if that’s customary for you. Then you measure your shoulder width. She says the shoulder width ought to match twice your face length. Now I know why I look better with some hair height – though I haven’t worn my hair like that for eons. My shoulders are wider.
Next she has you measure from the top of your face to the top of your chest at about where your armpits are. Eeek. This is very small on me. I can remember that your daughter had that great tip for judging the modesty of a top, look at the low point in comparison to the armpits. Well now I know why almost every vee neck or wrap top is way too revealing on me even when it doesn’t look that way on the model in the photo.
The second section is from that armpit point to the break in your leg. What she means by that is actually the hip socket. The third is from there to mid knee. And then the fourth is to the floor.
I actually have a lot of room in that third thigh section. And even the calves aren’t so bad. With all that information I am always reading about short and short legged women and pants and skirt length I had completely missed the truly short top area. Kinsel says to think of these zones as rooms in a house. With a large room you can put large or lots of furniture in there. Now I see why I’m always fussing to make my scarves shorter and less full and why bolero jackets, that are usually recommended and that I like, never really look like boleros on me. They take up all the room.
Anyway, now I see why I do well with those tall pants. I have the room in the thighs. And I do fine with bootcut. It’s the flares with their side to side fullness that make me look curvy and stumpy. Bootcuts would, too, if I wore them close fitting. But I don’t. If they skim and aren’t exaggerated, they work for me.
dcrmom – you look taller than that in your pictures. It must be the long legs. Definitely boot cut should be a classic for you.
Vildy – are the 4 zones supposed to be equal?
I have been curious about Brenda Kinsel’s work for quite awhile, but I bought school books for the ladies instead of buying anything for myself the last time I thought about buying a new book. I just need to get it. I’ve never heard anything about these measurements, but I’m going to do the face one now. That’s probably why I need bangs, because I have narrow shoulders.
My shoulders are 16″ wide and my head-length is 8 1/4″. I guess that works.
If you’re *really, really* short, and you buy bootcut jeans, once you’ve taken them up they are only slightly flared. 😉 No need to ask how I know!
And … you can’t wear wide legs without substantial heels or you resemble a circus performer. And since I only rarely wear heels …
Yes, the 4 zones are supposed to be equal or within an inch or so.
The problem with Kinsel’s books is that they are very heavy on reassuring people that it’s all right to take risks, leave your rut, etc. She has a website with some free material here:
http://www.brendakinsel.com/
Hmmm. That gives me an idea, but maybe it’s too much work – tall bootcut jeans, cut off.
So, Brenda Kinsel is taking two of the eight divisions (head-lengths) at a time. That’s very useful. For me, the second one is the longest. I suppose I need to get into belts more.
Now I’m off to investigate the website. Without leaving my rut. 😉
here’s a hemming tip that works great for me, passed along from someone’s tailor.
Now this doesn’t take account of that desire (not at all understandable by me) to leave the original hem showing. But if you measure and pin any pants hem standing in your stocking feet it will work okay for both flat shoes and not-so-high heels! Genius.
One thing you can do when trying on those bootcuts is to take pins with you and test pin the hem shorter in the dressing room and see if that takes enough flare out for you. In the old days dressing rooms commonly had pins right there.