Cropped Pants

I never understood this fashion phenomenon.  Either wear pants or shorts, but don't compromise.  (Capris are stupid too, but this is about cropped pants only.)

Back at Banana we had tons of cropped or "ankle" pants.  These are pants that, as you might guess, come to your ankle.  They're "high waters," in other words.  I tried ours on and found that the regular length was about 1/2 an inch too short for me to have them pass as regular pants.  But then they were also too long to look like crops.  So I just wound up looking like I was too tall for my pants.  And mine was a common problem.  Sometimes the shorter customers could get away with using a pair as regular straight-leg pants, but many fell into my issue of not really having the proper "petite" rise, but needing that petite length.

Now, you might say, "Duh!  Alterations!"  Yes, we did alterations.  But that takes time, requires having your pants sent off, no instant gratification, what if it's still wrong, etc.  And then there's the problem of shoes, since the length you need is going to differ if you wear heels vs. flats.  With a crop you're straddling that very fine line between "weirdly short pants" and "weirdly long crops," which can be a problem if you want to wear both kinds of shoes.

The shoe thing is a huge problem.  Sometimes with a longer crop you can wear a flat and get away with it, acting like it's just a normal pant.  But then you sit down and it hikes up to your lower calf, and you wish you'd shaved a little higher that morning.  (By the way, that was the other thing I hated--shaving my ankles to wear a pair of pants.  I know for a fact I'm not the only woman who avoids shaving anything that's not being seen.)  You might have better luck with any length when wearing heels, though if it's slightly too short then you probably end up looking like you bought pants for children or had them shrink in the wash.

I told you, it's a fine line.  The models kind of get away with it because they have long, thin legs.  If your figure is curvier (and this is not a euphemism for "fat," though it also applies if you're fat) or if you have short legs, you have to do a lot more to make your legs look longer.  Which means you don't want a lot of skin showing under your hem.  Too high of a crop can make you look shorter.  Heels will help, but not if you're 4'11" or have a wider frame.

And your shoe options suck.  I hate wearing shoes without socks.  Hate.  There is something very uncomfortable to me about the sweaty feeling of foot against shoe, and I need that barrier, whether it's a sock or tights.  I own a lot of boots, but I own some flats as well, and generally I'm wearing those flats with dresses and tights.  With crops you can't wear socks unless you're 85 and you don't give a fuck.  Fashion dictates that you wear a flat or a heel.  You might be able to do a boot, but that's going to depend on the boot and on how tapered the pant is.

I don't remember tons of people liking the crops.  I remember a lot of women complaining that they didn't want a crop.  They just wanted a pair of pants.  A lot of the shorter women tried to make the regular length crop into a straight leg pant, and many succeeded.  But very few were thrilled with that inch of pant missing.

So here's hoping that everyone gets their heads on straight and gives us our extra inch of fabric.  But I don't really have a lot of faith, considering how they keep trying to push and push and push all those damn skinny jeans on us.  (The solution to the skinny jean is a long, boxy blazer, btw.  JMO.)