YOU ARE NOT SHORT.

Your pants are long.

Working in alterations, I cannot tell you how many people have come in and said,

“I am short, so…my clothes never fit and that’s why I’m here.” 

Woah! Let’s take a step back and do some reframing here. The assumption is that if my body, which is beautifully and wonderfully made, does not fit perfectly into a standardized, mass produced, impersonal piece of clothing created to fit an “average” size of a diverse population, then the only logical explanation must be that “I am too short, my arms are too long, my chest is too flat, my hips are too wide” and every other explanation I have heard as a seamstress.

Hey, I get it. Social media, talented marketers, and the culture around us convince us everyday we are supposed to fit into certain molds and it is easy to feel flawed when we do not quite measure up. It is so easy to let ourselves get swept into these narratives that there is an “ideal” weight, shape, color, size, etc. and regardless of how close you match up, you still view yourself as not quite where you want to be. The goal of many advertisements is to target and increase your discontentment. If you are made aware of how dissatisfied you are with your current life, you are more easily persuaded to “buy in” to whatever is being sold.

I am not suggesting that if you choose to embrace the wonderful ways in which you physically inhabit the world, that you will not have trouble finding clothes that fit right. Truth be told, with the current system of mass production, you should expect to find clothes that need help to get that perfect fit! Rather, I am proposing that we approach the process and the mirror with totally different lenses.

“This dress does not adequately take into account my healthy curves.”

”These pants are too narrow for my athletic thighs.”

”These pants are too long for my particular height.”

Fill in the short/long, wide/narrow, etc. for yourself and let’s approach the mirror with confidence and compassion. As tailors and designers we get to celebrate the uniqueness and reality of how you are formed by customizing your clothes to fit your real body!

We get to approach each project as its own creative endeavor with the goal of helping you feel your best in what you wear to navigate your everyday or your most special occasions.

WE FIT REAL CLOTHES ON REAL BODIES BECAUSE OUR BODIES MATTER.

We are committed to making fashion an accessible & dignifying experience.

Written by Emily Perez

Emily fitting a pair of pants that are too long.