I went to the mall to return the pants for my hubby to BR and I don't know how but I ended up at the Express. I wanted to check out their culottes but they were all sold out so I decided to try on the pants.
I am really warming up to cropped pants now and this is what I wanted to try. I grabbed several pairs in interesting colors and patterns. These mini check red/black pattern caught my eye as I wanted to add dark red/burgundy pants to my fall wardrobe so I grabbed them too even though they are not cropped but baby bootcut.
Well, they fitted the best from the bunch (even the front pockets stayed flat on me) and I was really smitten with the fit and pattern. They are full length but not long enough for bootcut style for me in the regular. I decided that I can make them into cropped flares of just the right length to wear with my booties.
I was so excited...but it did not last long. I decided to put them on one last time to assess the fit better and when I turned to look at the back my heart dropped!
I have attached the blown up stock picture for you to see the back - what I experienced in the dressing room is VERY evident in the stock picture as well - at least for my eye. The fit was good but the fabric was bunching into these micro-folds which were moving around the back of my legs with every movement. This was a deal-breaker for me! Too bad because everything else was perfect and these would make cool cropped flares.
I suspect it is because the fabric was too thin and too stretchy - not a good combination. Other pants with the same elastane content did not do it but their fabric was more substantial.
Sign...I left the store with $80 still in my wallet and with a broken heart. It may seem to picky for some but I know that these folds will bug me and I will not wear the pants as much as I should.
However my visit to the store was not for nothing. I have discovered 2 things:
1. I really want to get cropped flares in a fun color or pattern for fall and winter but they are hard to find. I am going to look into bootcut or flared full length pants and make them into cropped flares!
2. I really have some shape change as a result of a weight loss: before Editor pants from Express were my best fit and now Columnists fit much better.
Just felt like sharing this story with my YLF sisters - nobody else in my real life can understand the "broken" heart thing over these pants! :-)
ETA: I have added a comparison of 2 Express pants from the back and I circled the folds I was referring to in the red pair. You can see some folds / wrinkles under the butt or knees in the camel pair but this is not what I am talking about - they are normal. See how wrinkles go on diagonal on the legs of the red? This is what I saw in the mirror too and they were moving around the legs with every my movement. None of the other pairs I tried did that at all.
