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Dress Me

Personal

Okay, so I really need to buy casual pants that aren’t jeans (and for God’s sake, not cargo pants) - unfortunately, I have a 34” inseam, and virtually every store around here that sells any sort of dress or dress casual pants stops at about 30 or 32 inches.  Given that it’s not 1958 and I’m not headed to a sock hop, I’m not particularly enthused about doing the floodwater look.  Do any of you either afflicted with such devastatingly handsome tallness and/or related to or involved with those of a similarly tall persuasion have any shopping tips or preferred locations where one would find such lower-body coverings? 

 

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Posted by Jesse Taylor on 06:08 PM • (58) Comments

Try Land’s End on line. They will hook you up. Check their overstock section as well.

Comment #1: Max Renn  on  12/06  at  06:17 PM

Penny’s shows men’s 34” inseam pants too.

P.S. ... mrowr! :D

Comment #2: alyssa  on  12/06  at  06:18 PM

Seriously, on line is the way to go.  Most stores that sell casual pants that aren’t a fortune don’t carry a very wide range of sizes in their land-based stores anymore.  Short of going to a Big ‘n’ Tall, online is the way to go.

Comment #3: Caren-Sun-blocking Creator of Animorphic Pancakes  on  12/06  at  06:25 PM

Depending on where you are, I’d give Plato’s Closet a shot, and maybe a factory outlet. I am similarly afflicted, being 34-34, which is hardly amusing, but I’ve been fine with Gap, Old Navy, and even J. Crew (though their euroslut pants are not helpful for those of us who have leg muscle)

Comment #4: McDevite  on  12/06  at  06:28 PM

I’ll second the Penny’s suggestion.  I’m a 34 too and I liked these so much I bought a half dozen in various colors a few months ago.  Comfy, decent quality, no pleats or stupid Dockers-type expansion waistband thing, and they’re perpetually on sale for 15 to 25 bucks.

Comment #5: SeanH  on  12/06  at  06:33 PM

Holy shit! The first time I’ve ever had something to add!  The Gap and its offshoots sell tall-person stuff online, but there is the slave-labour issue to consider…

Okay, I just noticed I was beaten to the punch.  Well, fuck it all.

Comment #6: Mr. Morgan  on  12/06  at  06:36 PM

I like cargo pants, and I’m not ashamed.

Comment #7: Jim  on  12/06  at  06:37 PM

Dillard’s generally has the most expansive big ‘n tall selection of most mall anchor stores, though I am unsure as to how close one might be to your location.  Macy’s works well, too - but you would probably need to go the dress slacks/tailor route, not the off the rack Docker’s route.

Comment #8: Swedgin  on  12/06  at  06:41 PM

Oh, and Stacy and Clinton say cargo pants are OK for us barrel-chested types.

Comment #9: Swedgin  on  12/06  at  06:42 PM

Shop the tall section at Banana Republic.

Alternatively - try (only half kidding) shopping in The Netherlands where the world’s tallest people live -  the sizes that fit tall people are widely available here.

Comment #10: Margaret  on  12/06  at  06:45 PM

Dickies sells 34, or if you (or a friend) feel comfortable hemming a pair of pants they also sell a 37/39” inseam unhemmed on many styles.

Comment #11: Onymous  on  12/06  at  06:48 PM

Damn, you gave up the secret.  So much for my attempts to lure people into thinking that I’m under 5 feet tall.

Comment #12: Amanda Marcotte  on  12/06  at  06:49 PM

I’ve had pretty good luck at Eddie Bauer and Mark Shale.

Comment #13: Church Secretary  on  12/06  at  06:51 PM

Old Navy men’s pants seem to run about a full two inches larger than their reported sizes, and they’re usually cheap to boot. Try ‘em on, though.

Comment #14: Chet  on  12/06  at  06:54 PM

Sorry, details.  If you know your measurements exactly, you can order at Eddie Bauer’s website; they’ll cut your trousers to order and ship them to you fairly quickly.  I don’t know so much about Mark Shale, as I’ve only shopped at their outlet store.  I did find one or two things that fit that weren’t hideous, though.  (My inseam is the same as yours, Mr. Taylor, if that helps.)

Comment #15: Church Secretary  on  12/06  at  07:00 PM

I will chime in with the gap/banana republic suggestion. My ex was equally tall and had good luck at these places.

Comment #16: Bethany  on  12/06  at  07:08 PM

I’ve got a source for assless chaps, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Comment #17: Rugged in Montana  on  12/06  at  07:26 PM

Do what I do.  Shop at a truly upscale place, like Phipps Plaza in Atlanta.  Write down the brand names that has a *general* appeal to your aesthetic, and then check out eBay.  There are so many clothes vendors on eBay giving out truly excellent clothes for moderately cheap, if you are willing to buy clothes sight somewhat unseen (hence the reliance on brand names).  Myself, I love clothes by E Zegna, Toscano, Jhane Barnes, and St. Croix, and I regularly check eBay to see if anything fantastic has shown up.  Make sure you know your measurements for everything.

Comment #18: shah8  on  12/06  at  07:33 PM

Banana tends to carry extremely fine slacks in tall sizes, and in a range of waists. My partner is very tall, he shops there, and, well… smile

Comment #19: serena kitt  on  12/06  at  07:36 PM

Rugged,

I have a source for assed chaps: the secret is to ask for “pants”.

Comment #20: jon  on  12/06  at  07:54 PM

I’m a 34” or 35” and know your pain!  Online and catalog can be good, but you can also find a surprising range of stuff at remainder places—TJ Maxx, Filene’s Basement, etc.

Comment #21: Yusifu  on  12/06  at  08:35 PM

Trouble finding 34/34? Owch.  Those aren’t hard to find down here, but sadly my size (36/36) is.  And to make it worse, it’s too small for the Big and Tall places.  Online for <favorite chain here> is the way to go, or as someone else said already, eBay.

Comment #22: Tom in AZ  on  12/06  at  08:43 PM

Order on-line. I’ve had great luck with both Lands’ End and Eddie Bauer.

On-line is definitely the way to go for odd or less-well-stocked sizes. I have slightly side shoes and it can be a pain to find shoes in my size in stock, but my brother has flippers and we can NEVER find his shoes in a store. (So we buy them online. Yes, I think we do buy him most or all of his shoes and clothing on-line for Christmas.)

Apropos of almost nothing, now that we’ve moved out of the area, I really miss the Lands’ End overstock stores they had in Madison. For obvious reasons they weren’t consistent, but you could find some really great stuff there.

Comment #23: befuggled  on  12/06  at  08:50 PM

banana republic or h&m;

Comment #24: chareth  on  12/06  at  08:52 PM

Banana Republic and the Ralph Lauren online store (seriously). 

The RL online can be affordable if you look at the clearance sale items. The bigger, taller men’s sizes have had a decent clearance selection whenever I’ve been spousal present shopping.  Their website also explains the different cuts of the various lines / styles very well AND they actually seem to sew them the way they describe, so if measure yourself right everything should fit well.

Comment #25: Southern Sans Crazy  on  12/06  at  09:20 PM

Depends on whether you’re willing to spend $55 for a good pair of pants, but My Suit Shop does custom-tailored stuff ranging from suits to casual shirts and pants, although they require an assload of measurements that you’d probably need some help getting.  I haven’t gotten around to ordering anything from them yet, but I’ve purchased ill-fitting designer crap that’s more expensive than their stuff, and if I ever need suits of any kind that’s probably where I’ll go first, just because off-the-rack doesn’t seem to be made with me in mind, even though they advertise like it.

Comment #26: Kyra  on  12/06  at  10:04 PM

Just to be a little annoying…Penny’s ran that hideous “doghouse” ad below, so I"m on a personal boycott against them.

Mark Shale happens to be right outside the Santa’s photo set up at 900 N. Michigan.  The older 2 were perfect, but the 1 y/o thought she should be able to run up the down escalator, and screamed bloody murder when denied.  (There was no line, but Santa was <strike>on a break </strike>feeding the reindeer for 10 mins.)  The salesman at MS brought out Mark Shale purified bottled water for not only the kids, but for frazzled mom, too.

So…while I’ve not purchased slacks there, the sales staff was kind.  Oh, and 1 y/o shaped up the moment she saw Santa, and happily perched on his lap for 10 mins.

Comment #27: Caren-Sun-blocking Creator of Animorphic Pancakes  on  12/06  at  10:04 PM

The Netherlands might be far away, but Western Michigan was settled by the Dutch.  My mom and I always go clothes shopping when we visit the family in Grand Rapids and Holland because there are so many more large sizes on the rack than in other parts of the country.  I assume the same is true for tall men’s sizes.  Don’t how far eastward in Michigan that effect extends, though.

Comment #28: Storm at Sea  on  12/06  at  10:14 PM

I must agree that Land’s End is my fave good-geek clothing mart. Hi-Q, attentive to customers’ needs, all the good stuff. And I’m a 34 inch inseam, tall, scarecrow.

    I call LE, and they greet me by name. I ask for pants, or shirts, “like those last ones I bought”. They respond “Still 34-34 and medium-tall?” Yup I say and the very well made stuff arrives in a few days.

    Land’s End Jesse. Land’s end all the way.
Martin

Comment #29: Martin  on  12/06  at  10:20 PM

My husband’s always had good luck with Eddie Bauer as well, both in their stores and online.  Lands End is also good.

Comment #30: evil_fizz  on  12/06  at  10:26 PM

I have a 34” inseam and I haven’t had any trouble at all finding pants at that length.  Where are you looking?

Comment #31: jimmy  on  12/06  at  10:57 PM

go to HSN.com (seriously) and look for Diane Gilman (DG2)...her talls have 34 in. inseams) ... but watch the sizing .. .she makes jeans and slacks for baby boomers and adds about 3 inches to the waist ......

I’ve been buying her jeans for 2 years now.  Love them.  Haven’t tried her slacks yet.

(machine washable)

Comment #32: amy  on  12/06  at  11:01 PM

Corduroys from L L Bean.  Order “tall,” not “medium tall.”  34 inseam.  Good service.  Quality clothes.

Comment #33: monoglot  on  12/06  at  11:27 PM

kingsizedirect.com It’s big and tall.  Good prices and size selection.

Comment #34: Spooky Skeptic  on  12/07  at  12:44 AM

My husband is also a 34” inseem, 40” waist.  So far we’ve only had luck at Casual Male XL for him, which is a grand pisser because we can’t afford to shop there.  Good luck.

Comment #35: Godless Heathen  on  12/07  at  12:52 AM

I’m a 31x34 and second the recommendations to shop online. It’ll save you time big-time. Major department store sites (or Gap/BR) are best since you’re looking for standard sort of non-jeans business casual sort of stuff. You can certainly find 34” inseams in-store but of course the choices are even more limited than what you’ll find online. No need to do the big-and-tall specialty thing unless your waist size is out of the 31-36” range.

I just don’t get the rarity of 34” inseams. I’m 6’2” and that height range just isn’t anything like rare.

Comment #36: seventwentyfour  on  12/07  at  03:46 AM

That… doesn’t sound that tall for a guy’s pants. Are you long torso’ed? I’m female, only 5’6”, but I my height is in my legs, so that may throw off my idea of normal proportions.

Comment #37: Samantha Vimes  on  12/07  at  03:56 AM

I have a source for assed chaps: the secret is to ask for “pants”

Wait…..you mean you cover your ass?  You LIEbrals are real barbarians, it’s no wonder you can’t get anyone to vote for your candidates.

Comment #38: Rugged in Montana  on  12/07  at  05:34 AM

Seventwentyfour - my philosophy is that there are a bunch of people buying too-long pants just to piss us off.

Comment #39: Jesse Taylor  on  12/07  at  06:38 AM

I got most of my 34 pants from Land’s End online, as yes it is ridiculously difficult finding any in stores. Lately though… of all places… Costco carries some cheap-but-nice microfiber pants in a splendiferous variety of sizes. Even then, it takes a long while of sorting through the pile of 80 pants to find the right size.

Comment #40: Shoe  on  12/07  at  06:52 AM

I’m 30” at the waist, 32” inseam.  I wouldn’t have thought it would be a low-demand market, but it is low supply.  The 30” waists are basically on the adult / kids border, while the 32” inseam is too long to make the kids option work. 

Maybe I should just eat more.

Comment #41: Neil the Ethical Werewolf  on  12/07  at  09:52 AM

Same problem here. I needed some for work last year as I’d lost quite a bit of weight and everything looked extra baggy. I came across some in a Dickies outlet store. They wear well, look nice, and are not cargo pants. Lots of colors and styles to look for.

Comment #42: bd  on  12/07  at  10:52 AM

Wow 34 inch?  Are you a model?

I am only a 32 inch @ 6ft - 0.

:O)

Comment #43: R2K  on  12/07  at  10:54 AM

@Margaret if you’re serious about the Dutch shopping… V&D;is probably the best Dutch department store.  www.vd.nl but I don’t think they have an english version of the website.  “Heren” is the word for men.  grin

Comment #44: alli  on  12/07  at  01:17 PM

My husband is wondering why you have a problem??

Lands End hems to order, and LL Bean carries 34” inseam.  I think that Lands End stuff is at Sears now?

Target has some taller things, you just have to hunt for them.

Comment #45: Ms Kate  on  12/07  at  01:33 PM

I second the Dickies recommendation. You run the risk of looking like a plumber/electrician/construction worker/crude stereotype of Hispanic gang member portrayed on the hit series “21 Jump Street,” but they’re very affordable and very high quality, they come in fun colors, and they now offer “lower rise” pants for their hip gentlemen customers.

Yeah, and to all you tall people out there: I have a tiny violin with your name on it. Nobody makes 27” inseams, either.

Comment #46: Rebecca C.  on  12/07  at  03:22 PM

27” inseam?  Ha!  As a small businessman (4’6”) I’m forced to look for pantal devices with a 22” inseam.  I blame Obama and his Maoist administration.

Comment #47: Rugged in Montana  on  12/07  at  04:43 PM

34”?  Eh, I wish I had your problems, Jesse.  I’m a guy with a 29” inseam, and it is not always easy to find pants that fit—30” leaves the hem dragging on the ground, and I’m not proficient nor patient enough with needle and thread to correct this.  Still, we all have our crosses to bear.

I’d go with what everyone else has written here, and check on-line.  Good luck!

Comment #48: Captain Bathrobe  on  12/07  at  05:38 PM

27” inseam?  Ha!  As a small businessman (4’6”) I’m forced to look for pantal devices with a 22” inseam.  I blame Obama and his Maoist administration.

But how do you keep your, erhm, rugged bits from showing out the bottom of your pants leg?

Comment #49: Captain Bathrobe  on  12/07  at  05:41 PM

But how do you keep your, erhm, rugged bits from showing out the bottom of your pants leg?

I throw them over my shoulder and tuck the end into my back pocket.

Comment #50: Rugged in Montana  on  12/07  at  05:50 PM

any sort of dress or dress casual pants stops at about 30 or 32 inches

32”??  Where do you live, Munchkin Land?

Anyway, you want dress pants, go to Nordstrom’s.  Get quality wool, it’s the way to go.

Comment #51: Eric, Rejector of Memez  on  12/07  at  06:32 PM

Eric, not everywhere gots Nordstroms ... we in the backwaters of MA just got ours very recently.

I’m hoping that the failed Filene building renovation (now a partial historic building with a big hole where a 1950s addition was attached) turns into one!  Then I can go on my lunch break rather than having a road trip to suburbovia.

Comment #52: Ms Kate  on  12/07  at  08:51 PM

I wear a 34” (sometimes 33”) inseam, dress in good quality classic men’s styles, and never ever ever have a problem finding pants that are long enough. I almost always find plenty to choose from right on the rack at places like the Brooks Bros mall-type stores, Nordstrom’s, Polo factory stores, etc., without any trouble.

Of course, if you want something nice, you’ll probably be best off getting unfinished-hem wool flannel (or gabardine; I don’t know whether you’re in cold-weather or warmish-weather territory) and have them altered to fit you correctly. BB or any of the upscale dept stores can hook you up.

Comment #53: John from Concord  on  12/07  at  11:20 PM

Captain, my husband wears a 29” 29” and it’s near impossible to find pants for him too.

And I also have a problem, as I’m a woman with a 34” inseam who isn’t skinny or terribly overweight, but with big hips.  I wear a lot of skirts.

Maybe you could try a kilt, Jesse?

Comment #54: ks  on  12/07  at  11:34 PM

I’m unusually shaped in the other direction, and I’ve always had good luck with LL Bean (plus a good seamstress).  Online shopping is great once you figure out something that works for you.

I never would have imagined that a 34” inseam is that hard to find, because I know it’s damn near impossible to find anything less than 30”.  Is the entire range of male inseams just two inches?

Comment #55: The J Train  on  12/08  at  09:27 AM

Yeah, and to all you tall people out there: I have a tiny violin with your name on it. Nobody makes 27” inseams, either.

I’m not tall, but I’m leggy for my height.  I know damn well that it is far easier to make a pair of 31” inseam pants into 29.5” inseam pants, but nearly impossible to turn 32” inseams into 34” inseams.

Well, possible if you have enough of a underturn to add a piece to to hem them, but I don’t get why you are whining here - just hem the damn things!  I just spent less an hour doing six pairs of pants for myself and my sons, so it ain’t rocket science.

Comment #56: Ms Kate  on  12/08  at  11:32 AM

Try Dockers for women. They have “L” sizes that go this long. (Just barely, but it’s worth a try.) I’ve found them at Kohls and Macys and sometimes on line.

I have a 35 inch inseam and it’s very hard to find women’s pants this long, even on line. I generally buy mens’ 36 inch Dockers or whatever Target has.

Comment #57: Dawn O'Leary  on  12/08  at  01:45 PM

New York & Co. sells pants in petite, regular, and tall.

Comment #58: lizriz  on  12/09  at  04:39 PM
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