Tales from the Dressing Room.....the "SHORTS" Edition

I'm finding that the older I get and the more I sew, the less I like to shop for clothes. I do enjoy a good clearance sale like anyone else but to go and spend hours looking for clothes just wrecks my nerves---especially when I could possibly go home and sew it. But I have reignited my enjoyment of the instant gratification and curiosity satisfaction that comes from going into a dressing room and trying on lots of clothes to gain a sense of what does or doesn't look good on me. This ALWAYS provides me with helpful information that I can use in my own sewing plans.

Well a couple of weeks ago I attempted to sew up a pair of shorts but really didn't like the particular style on me. So I thought I'd embark on a journey to Marshall's to try on several pairs to see what looked good on my body type. Now mind you I totally forgot about last year's post. The info gained from it was helpful but I felt like I needed further investigation. So I grabbed a handful of shorts and headed to the dressing room. Here's my findings.......

Pair #1  The Cuffed Cargo shorts

(I was pleasantly surprised with this pair. These were actually cute and didn't make my legs look like twigs. I wouldn't want to wear this out to the mall so to speak (a little too short for my taste) but it would be cute on the beach over a bathing suit.)

Pair #2  The "I'm someone's-mama-and-

I-wouldn't-be-caught-dead-in-these-itsy-bitsy" shorts! LOL!

(These shorts were TOO short! I think the inseam was like 3"! Can you say Scandalous!!!)

Pair #3 The At the Knee shorts

(I liked these at first but after second thought I'm not a fan. The length is all wrong and pretty much just cuts my legs in half).

Pair # 4  The CAPRI--- in between a short and a pant

(I know alot of you gals aren't fans of capris but I love them. I realize they don't work well on all figure types but they do on mine. The key for me is the longer they are the more narrow the capri leg needs to be. I've never been a fan of the obvious culottes look.)

As a result of my sleuthing I've come to the following conclusions:

1. I can actually do "short shorts"--as in pair #1--- not the hoochie #2 version! LOL! Again, I don't really want to wear them out and about but at least I've dispelled the myth that really short shorts wouldn't work on me.

2. Knee length shorts aren't very flattering on my figure. They need to either be longer or shorter. Tapered at the knees is a weird look for me.

3. Capris, as I've always known, works wonderfully on my figure type. I especially now like the one's tapered at the hem. They make a slim girl like me look curvy!!!

Out of all 4 of the shorts I tried on  Pair #4--the capris--- ended up being a winner and for $7.50 a steal as well!!! So now I know, if I sew any shorts for the Summer then I'll opt for capris. We've got a few more months until it starts getting chilly around here so I'll see if I can squeeze a pair in.

Ok, that was fun!!! I've definitely got another trip to the department store to investigate another article of clothing planned real soon. Stay tuned..........................