Are people getting taller?

[giramomma]

I'm a tad shorter than you and I wear petite/short clothes sometimes. I think it matters how you are proportioned, too. I have shorter legs and a longer upper body. My DS (10) has legs that aren't all that shorter than mine. His feet are also as big as mine, so I'm thinking the child is going to be tall like DH.

According to DR google, 5'4" very close to the average height of a us woman.

[8 Bit WWBG]

Oh god yes!  Sometimes when I walk around a high school, I feel tiny.  I'm "average" height, but when I see these kids that are all 6'2, I get really worried.

[Miss Tequila]

The average height for a white woman in the us is 5' 5.5" so you are a little shorter than average. I'm 5'8" and have always had issues buying pants. It is much easier to find petites than tall/long.

[zibazinski]

I'm short and getting shorter. Lost a half inch that I could not afford to lose. I wouldn't know how to buy anything other than petite or a seamstress that is on speed dial. Thank GOD petite clothes aren't hideous anymore.

[resolution]

I am 5'3 and have always worn a mix of petites and regular sizes. I think I am on the upper edge of petite though. Some of them are too short for me. Do you think they are just pushing longer pants as a style?

[alabamagal]

Longer pants so you can wear high heels?

Pants length all depends on proportion. I am tall (5'10") and regular length pants fit me just fine. My friend who is 5'9" needs long length pants. But I am long in the trunk/body.   I have trouble with shirts being too short.  Any one piece clothing (overalls) never fit me and can be quite painful to wear (just imagine where they are short)

[Deleted]

It also seems to be the fashion in men's pants to cut them way too long. If you look at fashionably-dressed men their pants look too long and the backs have to be dragging on the ground. Here's a random example.  The resolution isn't great, but you can see how they bunch around the ankles for the second and 4th guys from the left.



When DH and I were looking at pictures of William and Kate's wedding a few years ago, one guy with some royal title was wearing pants that looked like they belonged to his big brother.

[steph08]

I'm 5'4" and regulars are a tad too long (step on them as I walk) and petites are sometimes a tad too short (I like pants to cover the tops of my shoes).

I just bought Gap jeans as well and love them. But I have regulars.

[raeoflyte]

When I worked women's clothing retail (something tragic like 16 years ago...) petite was 5' 4" and under.

I do think that retailers make a lot of pants to be worn with heels now though which might be why its a recent issue since you're on the cusp of petite.

Sent from my ADR6410LVW using proboards

[swamp]

I'm 5'4" and sometimes I feel like a midget, especially when I'm giving a presentation to teens. Damn, they're big. 

I also need short length pants, but I thought its just because I have short legs. 

[Miss Tequila]

Mar 8, 2014 11:17:17 GMT -5 swamp said:

I'm 5'4" and sometimes I feel like a midget, especially when I'm giving a presentation to teens. Damn, they're big. 

I also need short length pants, but I thought its just because I have short legs. 

I've stood next to you in my 3 inch heels...you ARE a midget :-p

[alabamagal]

Mar 8, 2014 8:42:08 GMT -5 @anne81 said:

It depends on where you shop.  I'm 5'7 and when I shop at cheaper stores everything is just about right or short.  When I shop at Nordstrom the pants seem really long - I think a clerk told me their average customer height was around 5'9.

So tall people shop in more expensive places They don't allow short people there?

Of course if I was short and they told me that I would turn right around and walk out the door.

[Lizard Queen]

I think people are getting taller, but yeah, I also think they're making pants a lot longer these days.  I'm between 5'6" and 5'7" and I have to get petite pants sometimes, especially for dress pants.  Well, I guess I could get them altered, but honestly, I'd never get around to it.  Shopping petites is just easier.  I never used to have any problem with the length of pants before.  I think part of it is because I'm a couple sizes larger than I was pre-kid, but that's not all of it.  A couple years ago, I found a pair of jeans (regulars, not talls) that fit great, except they were so long--they were as long as my husband's pants.  Mind you, my husband is 6'4" and wears a 36" inseam!  He has a hard time finding pants long enough for him.

[Deleted]

I wish they would sell women's pants by waist & inseam like they do men's. I have 33" inseam which is in-between average and tall so I have to go with tall. Then it almost forces me to wear heels so they don't drag on the ground. I love the current skinny leg jeans inside low heel boots fad, so will wear that as long as possible. I had a very expensive pair of pants shrink in length so they only work in boots now. Made me mad at the time since they were the most expensive pair I bought. Actually it is still making me mad. I think I will go post an online review since this post reminded me.

[Cookies Galore]

Mar 8, 2014 8:26:37 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

It also seems to be the fashion in men's pants to cut them way too long. If you look at fashionably-dressed men their pants look too long and the backs have to be dragging on the ground. Here's a random example.  The resolution isn't great, but you can see how they bunch around the ankles for the second and 4th guys from the left.


When DH and I were looking at pictures of William and Kate's wedding a few years ago, one guy with some royal title was wearing pants that looked like they belonged to his big brother.

That's not the style at all. That's just a bunch of men wearing ill-fitting suits who don't know what a tailor is. They are no where near "fashionable"! They're abominations!
Fitted suits are the current style. Look at J. Crew (below), Joseph Gordon Levitt, the character Barney Stinson, etc.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 8, 2014 7:57:49 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

The average height for a white woman in the us is 5' 5.5" so you are a little shorter than average. I'm 5'8" and have always had issues buying pants. It is much easier to find petites than tall/long.

I'm 1/2" taller and find that my legs are too long for regular pants, but too short for talls.  I need a 32.5-33" inseam and most regulars are 30-31" and talls are 34-35".

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"It also seems to be the fashion in men's pants to cut them way too long. If you look at fashionably-dressed men their pants look too long and the backs have to be dragging on the ground.":::...

I think that is called a "full break" and in some cases its so when you sit down, your pants don't go up around your knees!  I go for cuffs and a half break, so that its about flush with where my laces would be.

The guys in meghn's picture look like their pants are a tad too short -- especially if they aren't wearing socks!  I hope they shin-scape because when they sit down, you're going to see that!

[Cookies Galore]

My husband looking fantastic in his suit. Drinking a scotch. I'm tempted to send this picture to J. Crew.

[973beachbum]

The average height and weight of women varies around the world, but in the United States in 2010 the average adult female height was 63.8 inches -- approximately 5-foot-4

pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/f/avg_ht_female.htm
www.livestrong.com/article/357769-weight-height-for-the-average-american-woman/

It is actually less than 5'4.  So you really are average.   And everybody from the CDC to pediatrics people agree with that.

I have crazy short legs but I have long wondered why if the average woman is 5'3,5 why is petite for woman who are 5'4.  I actually get something called a petite short.  The inseam then is about 25 inches.  They are still a little long but at least it isn't by a half a foot or more.

[Cookies Galore]

Mar 8, 2014 13:24:12 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

The average height and weight of women varies around the world, but in the United States in 2010 the average adult female height was 63.8 inches -- approximately 5-foot-4

pediatrics.about.com/cs/growthcharts2/f/avg_ht_female.htm
www.livestrong.com/article/357769-weight-height-for-the-average-american-woman/

It is actually less than 5'4.  So you really are average.   And everybody from the CDC to pediatrics people agree with that.

I have crazy short legs but I have long wondered why if the average woman is 5'3,5 why is petite for woman who are 5'4.  I actually get something called a petite short.  The inseam then is about 25 inches.  They are still a little long but at least it isn't by a half a foot or more.

I really need to see a picture of you. I'm 5'5" and 25" comes to my mid thigh!

Here are ankle pants with a 25" inseam, and what looks like a lower rise. www.loft.com/petite-modern-skinny-ankle-jeans-in-white-with-25-inch-inseam/301204. Regular Loft petites have a 29" inseam.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-chart.shtml

This chart is really interesting.  As you can see, the variation of females across the world varies by a foot (4'6"- 5'6").  

[973beachbum]

Mar 8, 2014 13:29:09 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Mar 8, 2014 13:24:12 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

It is actually less than 5'4.  So you really are average.   And everybody from the CDC to pediatrics people agree with that.

I have crazy short legs but I have long wondered why if the average woman is 5'3,5 why is petite for woman who are 5'4.  I actually get something called a petite short.  The inseam then is about 25 inches.  They are still a little long but at least it isn't by a half a foot or more.

I really need to see a picture of you. I'm 5'5" and 25" comes to my mid thigh!

Here are ankle pants with a 25" inseam, and what looks like a lower rise. www.loft.com/petite-modern-skinny-ankle-jeans-in-white-with-25-inch-inseam/301204. Regular Loft petites have a 29" inseam.

Most petites have a 27 inch inseam. I have been known to buy capri's and use them as pants though. They actually do come a little short but if I wear sandels I think they look fine. I can wear the ones that are 25 inch and they look fine as long as I have heels on. My feet just can't take that anymore though.

I can't believe two feet only comes to your mid thigh though.  From the waist yes, but not the inseam.  That would mean you have 4 foot long thighs.  Man would your upper body look short.

I just measured with a tape measure again just to check.   I am wearing sneakers so about an inch and a half for them, and it came to 25 inches.   

[Lizard Queen]

I wear a 29-30" inseam. It used to be considered the regular length. It's pretty annoying to have to go to the petites section to find pants. I feel dumb, because I'm so much taller than most of the people shopping over there, and I need to go to the regular section for tops.

[Cookies Galore]

Mar 8, 2014 13:47:09 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Mar 8, 2014 13:29:09 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I really need to see a picture of you. I'm 5'5" and 25" comes to my mid thigh!

Here are ankle pants with a 25" inseam, and what looks like a lower rise. www.loft.com/petite-modern-skinny-ankle-jeans-in-white-with-25-inch-inseam/301204. Regular Loft petites have a 29" inseam.

Most petites have a 27 inch inseam. I have been known to buy capri's and use them as pants though. They actually do come a little short but if I wear sandels I think they look fine. I can wear the ones that are 25 inch and they look fine as long as I have heels on. My feet just can't take that anymore though.

I can't believe two feet only comes to your mid thigh though.  From the waist yes, but not the inseam.  That would mean you have 4 foot long thighs.  Man would your upper body look short.

I just measured with a tape measure again just to check.   I am wearing sneakers so about an inch and a half for them, and it came to 25 inches.   

Ah! Makes sense!

I just measured my leg. The 25" mark was closer to upper thigh but not to the groin. I'm proportional - 32" on the bottom and 33" up top!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

A 25" inseam would hit me just under my knee.  

[973beachbum]

Mar 8, 2014 14:11:43 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

A 25" inseam would hit me just under my knee.  

My body was built to have babies.  What can I say?

[tallguy]

This chart is really interesting.

The only thing that chart proves to me is that I am nowhere near average in any country in the world.  (But I knew that.)  

[NoNamePerson]

I bought a pair of jeans (without trying them on in store - I hate trying on clothes in store) They were my size and marked S. Other jeans were makred L, etc.

Well I tried them on and decided the "S" didn't stand for short. Maybe it was for Stout.   If I had on 3" heels they would have been the right length but I don't wear 3" heels around the house or in the yard.

[NoNamePerson]

I guess I could comment on people getting taller. Go into a house built in the 50's and see how low counters in kitchen/bath are and even light switches are lower on the walls. Fast forward into the 70's and these things started increasing in height.

Off to measure to see how tall I am. They say you lose height in old age. I damn well better still be 5'4"

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I don't know that people are suddenly getting taller - a lot of the problem is the clothing manufacturers keep changing the sizing.

I have the exact opposite problem - I often can't find ladies slacks or jeans long enough in the leg.

It's much easier if they're too long, to hem them up than it is to find ones that actually are long enough in the first place. Taking up a hem an inch or two to the proper length is no big deal.