Clothes for short, long-waisted men...........help a Mama out!!!

[jaybirdsmommy]

My oldest son is built like me - in other words he is short, chunky, and very long-waisted. He wears athletic shorts year round with the occasional pair of sweat pants in cold weather. He just got hired for his first real job and will need to wear real pants. I think he's tried on about 100 pairs and with his long waist.........let's just say coverage is an issue (trying very hard not to make a plumber joke here). Where can he find mens pants with higher waists so he doesn't risk mooning the customers when he bends over? It doesn't help that he's 19 and would really like to dress like other 19 year olds, not the older styles that would probably fit him better. You'd think we'd have this figured out by now, but like I said - he hasn't worn real pants in about 10 years. HELP!!!!

 

[Stratman50th]

That would be me. My uniform was Dockers and a Polo shirt and it fit ok. If I needed, and it didn't happen often, nice pants on occasion I would go to Men's warehouse. Now in my older years I only wear cargo shorts. I know, not what you were looking for but I have short legs so I get the Croft and Barrow from Kohls because they have a short leg that doesn't come down below my knees.

 

[TAX GUY]

I've seen commercials for Duluth Trading Company that offer clothing options to help with exactly the situation you mentioned. Maybe give their site a look and see if they offer anything that would help him?

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I've seen commercials for Duluth Trading Company that offer clothing options to help with exactly the situation you mentioned. Maybe give their site a look and see if they offer anything that would help him?

I'm a bad mom, I actually snorted when I went to Duluth's website and put in his size and this was the first item that came up:



Thankfully there were a couple of other options after that one. There's a store not too far from us so we may take a drive over there next weekend and see how they fit in person. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[NotUrsula]

What you want is a style described as having a "long rise". Have him try Dickies khakis; they usually have a longer rise than most casual styles, as they are meant to be uniform pants. You can usually get them in black, navy, khaki and sometimes olive green. Walmart carries them. You may have to hem them if he has a really short inseam; I don't think they come in lengths shorter than 30.

They come in several cuts, and the ones that are going to fit his rise properly are probably not going to fit like most young men's fashion brands. However, his shape doesn't fit most fashion brands that are meant to ride on the upper hip, so along with the grown-up job, he also may need to come to a grown-up acceptance that some of us are just cursed with a body shape that fashion doesn't cater to.

When he's in a position to need a real suit, he should go to a full-service tailor first and get advice on what size he should buy off the rack that can be taken back to the tailor for alteration. (In-store tailors seldom do this kind of extensive alteration on a suit, unless it is a really high-end store like Neiman-Marcus. The tailor will probably charge him somewhere around $100 to tailor an off the rack suit.)

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

What you want is a style described as having a "long rise". Have him try Dickies khakis; they usually have a longer rise than most casual styles, as they are meant to be uniform pants. You can usually get them in black, navy, khaki and sometimes olive green. Walmart carries them. You may have to hem them if he has a really short inseam; I don't think they come in lengths shorter than 30.

They come in several cuts, and the ones that are going to fit his rise properly are probably not going to fit like most young men's fashion brands. However, his shape doesn't fit most fashion brands that are meant to ride on the upper hip, so along with the grown-up job, he also may need to come to a grown-up acceptance that some of us are just cursed with a body shape that fashion doesn't cater to.

When he's in a position to need a real suit, he should go to a full-service tailor first and get advice on what size he should buy off the rack that can be taken back to the tailor for alteration. (In-store tailors seldom do this kind of extensive alteration on a suit, unless it is a really high-end store like Neiman-Marcus. The tailor will probably charge him somewhere around $100 to tailor an off the rack suit.)

Thanks, I'll have him try on some Dickies as well. A 30" inseam is usually just about right. I'm a pro at hemming, but I think I need to learn how to take in the legs to remove some of the bagginess.

I bought him a suit and some other pieces at Men's Wearhouse for his graduation last year. They had to alter almost everything about the pants to get a proper fit for him and even then they were a little too baggy in the legs and short in the waist. I honestly think if he ever has a job where he needs to dress up regularly he'll have to get his pants custom made. He did fine with an off the rack jacket in a long size - just had to have the sleeves taken up a bit.

 

[MICKIMINI]

What about golf pants? My son is a physical therapist and has a very active job. Once he found stretchy golf pants, he will never go back to Dockers. A long white tee shirt may give coverage under a shirt.

It may take some shopping to find a brand, but once you do you can generally order online.

Good luck!

 

[Southernmiss]

Dh is short and has used a good seamstress to hem his pants for years.

He also has ordered from Lands End where they will make pants to your measurements.

 

[unrequited23]

My DH has a 30" inseam but is just shy of 6'. I recently discovered that Tall shirts fit him the best since he has such a long torso. Since they are longer they provide more coverage. Also, any pants/jeans that are described as having an athletic fit or tapered leg might help with the billowing fabric from mid-thigh down.

 

[NotUrsula]

Thanks, I'll have him try on some Dickies as well. A 30" inseam is usually just about right. I'm a pro at hemming, but I think I need to learn how to take in the legs to remove some of the bagginess.

I bought him a suit and some other pieces at Men's Wearhouse for his graduation last year. They had to alter almost everything about the pants to get a proper fit for him and even then they were a little too baggy in the legs and short in the waist. I honestly think if he ever has a job where he needs to dress up regularly he'll have to get his pants custom made. He did fine with an off the rack jacket in a long size - just had to have the sleeves taken up a bit.

A good tailor would probably advise him to buy suit pants in long-size as well, because they tend to be made with a higher rise. With the extra rise length, cutting down the rest of it to fit properly would be easier.

My DH is long-torsoed as well (he is 7 inches taller than me, but we have the same inseam length). He's 6'. He has to wear suits for work, and said it was a total change in fit when I made him go to the tailor to be measured first and advised on what size to buy.

I sew, but I don't have the proper equipment to tailor men's suits, so I have him take those to someone who does. I can fix casual clothes for him, though. If you think you will have to take the pants in at the sides to reduce the seat, try to avoid styles with vertical front pockets that align with the side seam; to take those in you have to entirely remove, reconstruct and re-sew the pockets. The easiest to take in are those with so-called "Western" front pockets, the ones cut sort of like jeans, but with a bit of a right angle at the edge of the scoop nearest the zipper.

 

[jimmymc]

Try some big and tall stores, then have a tailor hem the legs. They should have some dark, casual flat front pants that won't stand out as "old person" styles.

 

[danielshooley]

I'm a dad and I know how hard it is to find clothes that fit right for my son, who’s pretty picky and has a unique shape. We've tried lots of places but couldn't find the perfect fit. Then we thought about trying replica clothes, which actually turned out to be a great idea.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Another Men’s Warehouse recommendation

 

[danielshooley]

I'm a dad and I know how hard it is to find clothes that fit right for my son, who’s pretty picky and has a unique shape. We've tried lots of places but couldn't find the perfect fit. Then we thought about trying replica clothes, which actually turned out to be a great idea.

We checked out some stuff on https://dbreps.net/best-fake-designer-websites/ and got him Adidas track pants and a Nike hoodie. They were just right for his long waist and he really liked how they looked. Finally, we found something that works well for both his style and his fit.