Here’s one for you: Why aren’t trousers sold in various lengths here? This weekend I had to turn up 4 pairs of trousers as they are sold only in super long length. Someone told me that there must be too many variations in sizes here for them just to make short medium and long – as they do in England. I’m not convinced.
I bought some trousers in the Benetton sale last year and spent nearly as much getting them turned up.

Is there an explanation? To keep the sartas in business? Or are there shops which I don't know about which sell different lengths...

It seems to me that the 'moda' here is for men to wear their trouser legs all 'bunched up and baggy' around their ankles these days. When did you last see a man wearing a well cut suit here with the trousers cut to 1" above the heel? The art of shortening trousers does indeed seem to be a 'lost one' unfortunately ...

That's because once upon a time:
1) suits were for rich people
2) poors had one or two suits but they were "the right fit"
3) now everyone can afford a suit but are not willing to add a pence for the leg to be adjusted. Or mommy does it or they keep it "as it is"

If you go to sartoria or high fashion places the leg is never seamed for you to be adjusted. I usually go to Ermenegildo Zegna's and the staff is always adjusting leg lenghts.

My dad is really big for Italian standard and loves to have tailored suits so when he wears suits they are perfect for him. Me, when I graduated or worked as a promoter, opted for the cheapest solution: an industrial made suit who is not perfect of my body, and I know it.

I’m talking here about winter style trousers, quite formal but not too much, not suit trousers, mens and womens. I don’t want them trailing on the floor whether they be casual or not. Does that sound old?
I just can’t believe that every pair of trousers you buy have to be turned up.

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Originally posted by Delina:
I’m talking here about winter style trousers, quite formal but not too much, not suit trousers, mens and womens. I don’t want them trailing on the floor whether they be casual or not. Does that sound old?
I just can’t believe that every pair of trousers you buy have to be turned up.

No, I think it sounds reasonable. I hate the trailing trousers thing. First they get filthy, then tattered, and then they're ruined.

I get why the trousers in expensive shops aren't hemmed, because quality clothes are meant to fit well. But I too think it's odd that it's the same in the cheap shops. Actually, I think the lengths are the most outrageous in the cheaper places. I bought a pair of corduroys in mötivi once and I must have cut off about 10cm even BEFORE hemming them. And I am not short.

I have a sewing machine, so I can do it myself. There's a woman in town who charges 5 Euro to hem a pair. It doesn't seem like much but it adds up. (Maybe I should start my own hemming business!) Is it more expensive in Naples?

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Originally posted by Pola:
If you go to sartoria or high fashion places the leg is never seamed for you to be adjusted. I usually go to Ermenegildo Zegna's and the staff is always adjusting leg lenghts.

yet, the trousers legs (and the sleeves) aren't just tubes. A good trouser or sleeve (but this is valid for skirts as well) is also wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, often narrowing according to specific rations varying from area to area, so a tube.shaped trouser is supposed to be straight from the knee down and to widen slightly from the knee up, for instance. Obviously, adding or subtracting a few centimeters from the whole does not change much, but when a short but wide-hipped woman has to buy a size 48 whose leg is usually designed for a very tall woman as well, she has to cut off some 10 or 15 (4-6 inches) centimeters from the leg. This makes the designed knee fall not just a centimeter or two down the leg, which is hardly noticeable, but a whole 5-8 centimeters (2-3 inches), making the trouser look differently.

Professoressa, I sometimes do them by hand myself or take them to the tailor person if I want them doing by machine as would be the case with jeans or cords. The place I used to go to I think was 5euro, but then I went once and I think he charged me more, maybe 7 so I didn’t go back. It just seems wrong when I get a pair of trousers in the sale for 15-20 euro and pay 5 to sort them out. So I did 4 pair myself this weekend.
Do they sell trousers with set lengths in America? Or one length fits all?

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she has to cut off some 10 or 15 (4-6 inches) centimeters from the leg.

Yeah, imagine if you bought a pair of boot leg style trousers and had to cut 15cm off. That would be most of the boot leg gone and you'd be left with a straight legged pair

In the US the trousers tend to be hemmed, unless you're shopping a bit more upscale. In chain stores they sometimes have two lengths: a standard one and a long one, you can tell because they put an L after the size. I've usually done fine with the standard length, because for an American, I'm about average height. But sometimes I like my trousers a bit long (never trailing) and so I have bought long. I'm guessing that some shops will also have shorter lengths for petites but from what I've heard the choices for smaller women have really been declining lately, so I don't know.

Some catalog/on-line merchants, like L.L. Bean, let you specify the inseam and then when you get your trousers in the mail they are already hemmed to perfect length. I like that.

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Originally posted by Delina:

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she has to cut off some 10 or 15 (4-6 inches) centimeters from the leg.

Yeah, imagine if you bought a pair of boot leg style trousers and had to cut 15cm off. That would be most of the boot leg gone and you'd be left with a straight legged pair

That's kind of what happend with my cords. They had pretty wide flares and I had to cut them right below where the leg began to flare out more widely. So when I hemmed them they looked really odd, because they looked a bit straight-leg and then at the bottom had a bit of flare. I should have known better than to buy them at all, but I really liked the color.

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Obviously, adding or subtracting a few centimeters from the whole does not change much, but when a short but wide-hipped woman has to buy a size 48 whose leg is usually designed for a very tall woman as well, she has to cut off some 10 or 15 (4-6 inches) centimeters from the leg.

Just for this, places like the Gap in America also sell "ankle" length, which are shorter.

In America, I usually buy pants at The Limited because they offer a wide variety of trousers in short (I'm really short). But the thing I love the most about that store is they do free hemming. Yes, the pants are quite expensive. But I love them and I feel it is worth it to try them on and not have to go through the process of hemming myself or finding a sarta. Here it's totally another story. This is why I mostly buy my pants in the States though.

I bought a truckload of pants and jeans in the US when I was there last month as all the pants are too short for me here! In the US I always went to the Gap (for jeans and casual trousers) as most of their pants come in short, medium, long and extra long. The Limited was also good as well as (sometimes) Banana Republic. Here, I've never seen pants that come in long so I can only get ones which are too short. It's ok if you need to get trousers hemmed as they are too long but you can't add length!

Gee, I thought for a moment that this was the Tom Cruise thread cross-posted.

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It's ok if you need to get trousers hemmed as they are too long but you can't add length!

15 years ago we did! Just cut the leg in half (or one leg below the knee and the other leg on the thigh), add a decimeter of some other fabric between the pieces(preferably flower printed ) and sew it back together again. Voilà - an extra decimeter of jeans leg.

This was also done in the side seams for added width.

The strangest part of this was that we all thought it looked good.

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Originally posted by Delina:
I just can’t believe that every pair of trousers you buy have to be turned up.

Are you sure it's not you who have extraordinarily short legs?

I'm also having this problem & at 5'7 I don't think I am particularly short, in fact I tower over most Italians,but I'm getting sicj of having to turn every pair I buy up. Incidently, my BF is Italian & I'm having to do his trousers too. What's going on ??????

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Originally posted by Annika:
Are you sure it's not you who have extraordinarily short legs?

I have had huge arguments with shopkeepers about this subject. They just don't see the point in ordering different lengths as well as sizes. I'm in England at the moment and yesterday was very happy to buy a pair of jeans with a 32" leg which fit perfectly and can be worn straight away!

Yep, so not only do Marks and Spencer fit my Anglo-Saxon shoulders, but they normally do 3 leg lengths S M L and the long does me fine straight off the shelf. In Italy I just do window shopping...and don't get me started on shoes again :-)

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Do they sell trousers with set lengths in America? Or one length fits all?

The jeans usually come with legs in different lengths (30-38 inches?).

I have had my trousers here made to measure at sarti in Umbertide. Depends on the fabric chosen, but tailored pants using your fabric are €44, the pair I had made using their wool were €66. You have to be definite about the fit you want. Skirts are, justifiably, much less expensive.

That's very cheap for made to measure trousers Judith. I always thought made to measure were more pricey.

I think everybody thinks so, but as you can see, they are wrong. I went prepared to pay anything, because I am so short and have no rear end, and therefore never get pants that fit. These are not the most luxurious trousers in the world, but they are very nice and I used a lot of fabrics I brought with me, wools and cashmeres. I also supplied funky printed linings which is like cook's treat.
When I wanted a Chanel style jacket, however, I had to use a pricier sarta, not a company, because they make what they make and all the jackets are blazerish.