Let's Talk Clothes in the Land of the Short

Okay clothes are an essential part of our culture, but have you ever considered why it is like for the vertically impaired people of the world? It's not that the short people of the world have to buy special clothes or anything like that, but clothes do present a unique challenge to the short people of the world. Shirts and tops are not as big of a problem, but pants, skirts, and bottoms, are almost impossible to find that fit just right.

You can get the item to fit on your waist and hips, but generally you will end up having your pants or skirt cover your feet. I have found that some brands such as American Eagle have provided a sort of solution to the problem of pants being too long, but if you are like me, and high end retail doesn't stand a chance against a thrift shop, the solution is a nice dream, but most likely won't help in the fight against walking on your pants. Sometimes the pants not too bad in length, and you can roll up the excess until it's not covering your feet or your shoes, and be done with it, but if you are like me, and there is usually three to six inches of excess fabric, rolling does nothing.

If the pants are too much longer rolling it only lasts for a little while be for it comes undone, and  you are right back where you started. To insure that you won't be walking all over your pants, hemming is a crucial aspect. If you don't know how to hem and you are part of the society of the short, it might be a good idea for you to learn. It's not hard to do, you just need to know what you are doing.

It's possible to do it by sewing machine or by hand, but I much prefer the machine, because it is a much faster way to hem your pants. All you need to do is
 1. Measure the excess fabric you want removed.
 2. Fold the pants and use pins to keep it in place.
 3. You can either cut off the excess before or after sewing, but I prefer to do it after, so I don't have to watch the inside of the fold as closely.
 4. Sew in a straight line all the way around the fold in the bottoms of the pants.
 5. If you haven't cut off the excess do so, and that's pretty much all you need to do.

When you're short, you tend to find that your clothes are taller than you are.

You can also do it by folding down the excess to match the already existing hem and sewing it on top, but it's all up to you and what you are more comfortable doing.

That's what you can do with pants anyway, dresses are a completely different story. They are harder to hem, because they can have layers or special fabric that must be hemmed just right, or it will fray, and turn into a giant mess.

I don't attempt to hem my own dresses, because of the difficulty associated with it. If it were as simple as doing pants, I would never have to walk on any of my dresses, but unfortunately I am no master sewer, so I usually let the experts help me with that. I typically go with my mother or grandmother, because they are both fairly talented sewers, but now that I am in college it's a little harder to work with that, because I am so far away from them.

Most cities have some sort of dress shop or clothing altering establishment, and that would be my best advice for you to go to, in order to make sure that it is done right. You don't have to go to an expert, but you will most likely regret it, because if it is done wrong people can usually tell just by looking at the garment and can see if it is straight, or if it is crooked.

If you are short, just understand that hemming the bottoms of all of your pants, skirts and dresses is a must, or you will end up walking on the bottoms and ruining the clothes. I have done it plenty to know, that unfortunately the height does not shrink as much as you would like it to and still fit you.
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