Thread: Flare pants for the short and chubby dancer

HI Everyone,

Can someone point me to a supplier, please? I am 5'3 and about a size 18, with a 31" inseam. I really would like a pair of black flare pants, but they all seem to be made way too long...you know, for a taller dancer. Hemming them is a possibility, however I think I would lose a lot of the flair.

Does anyone have an idea where I can buy a pair in my size that are not terribly expensive?

Many thanks :cr:
Donna anne

I buy my Sharif Wear flair pants through Shimmysista.com, they carry some styles up to 4X. They are about 10 dollars more than from Sharif Wear directly, but Sharif Wear doesn't carry the larger sizes on their web site.

I'm 5'3 they are way to long for me as well, but I just trim them off where I need them and have never had to hem the edge.

Good shopping

Thanks so much gilbygil. I am going to check them out now :)

Not sure what your budget is, but you could check out L. Rose Designs - Online Catalog. Good luck! I know the pain of short inseams.

Definately try Tribal Belly Dance Bellydance Costumes ATS Fusion !

She's makes great pants, very comfy, reasonably priced, and fast!

These may be a good choice. I have a pair and they are VERY stretchy and they are shorter than most pants.

Tribal bellydance flare pants black S/M or L/XL by nakarastyle[]=tags&includes[]=title

I had two different friends that I've helped out with these problems. My troupe is doing a number where we're all wearing flare pants. We bought Melodia Sashes for this. My over 6' tall friend needed a wider hip so I took off the waistband, added triangular gores cut from the sash material. I added a bit to the waistband in the back & reattached it. It almost looks like she has pockets now;) My shorter friend had to get 35" inseam because that's all that was available in sale so we added channels to the inside of the leg with a cloth ribbon and rouched them to bring up the length.

Elizabeth of Evergreen Tribal Arts makes some wonderful pants, custom fit to your measurements. Sadly, there are no pics on her website but if you email her at ClothingPage I'm sure she'll be in touch with you very shortly!

Her pants are comfy, flattering, and come in a pretty nice array of fabrics and textures.

There was a designer at the LV intensive that made awesome flares (from s-2xl), and you could get custom lengths too. I think their name was Ro.

I'll see if I still have their business card.

Melodias are $$$ but I know that they do pretty much every inseam length...

Originally Posted by hollyraqxanc

Not sure what your budget is, but you could check out L. Rose Designs - Online Catalog. Good luck! I know the pain of short inseams.

L. Rose is from heaven!! They should be able to suit your size exactly.

WOW Thank you SO much Everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I have lots of places to look now.
This is why I love this board :))))
Donna anne

Try desertdancer.com Pants like Melodia's without the same price tag.

Originally Posted by mihri

Elizabeth of Evergreen Tribal Arts makes some wonderful pants, custom fit to your measurements. Sadly, there are no pics on her website but if you email her at ClothingPage I'm sure she'll be in touch with you very shortly!

Her pants are comfy, flattering, and come in a pretty nice array of fabrics and textures.

I got a pair from her at TribalCon and I love them! I think they were around $45 plus shipping. They aren't slit like the melos and desert dancer pants. The are four rectangular panels that form the legs with four gores sewn in from knee to ankle to make the awesome bell shape. I got XL35's (the same size I get my melos) and they are very generously cut, I'd say the inseam is closer to 36 or 37 (which is awesome when you have thighs!) They also have awesome colors and patterns :-)

And here's Melodia's ebay store, for reference and pants inspiration:

eBay Store - Melodia Designs: pants, tribal, bellydance

I think that the Evergreen Arts mentioned in this thread sells under Ashner by Elizabeth. Their pants are fantastic. If you are looking for the Melodia look without the cost, try EK Clothing, Beledi Boutique, or Tribe Nawaar.

Melodias, at least in my experience, aren't worth the money. Mine came with a hole in the seam and they shrunk the first time I washed them (cold water, hang to dry). I tried to contact Melodia about the hole in the seam and never received a reply.

Any of the above would be a far better choice at a better price.

Originally Posted by caralovescostumes

Melodias are $$$ but I know that they do pretty much every inseam length...

That may be true in theory, but it has not been my experience in practice. Melodia Costumes seems to have a consistent problem with keeping the short inseams in stock, and rarely seems to stock them at all.

At one time I had an online conversation with Melodia's assistant, who claimed that the short ones don't sell, and that they don't have the room to store all the unsold short Melodias after they do a run of them, so they don't make them as often as they do the long ones.

I certainly believe that they don't make them as often, but I don't believe that their standard short-legged stock goes unsold if it's displayed prominently on their website, ebay, or a vending stall. I can believe that the petite-length capris they had in stock several seasons back didn't move...it wasn't the classic Melodia look, and it's not as flattering to most short dancers as the classic style.

I've only worn them four times, but I like my shimmy sistahs pants. I just eyeballed the excess length, subtracted 1/2 inch (b/c the fabric rolls a little) and chopped them suckers off. All is well! The apron and ties roll a little to match!

I am 5'6" with a 50" hip. They scared me when I got them out of the package they looked so little, but the woman at shimmysistahs emailed back and forth with me several times, was wonderful to me, and all is well.

*sigh*

American dancers seemto have a lot more choice in buying tribal pants. I had an absolute nightmare trying to find size 18 pants here in the UK. In the end I had to borrow a pair off a skinnier dancer and make my own pattern!

I'm no 18 (more like 22) and none of the pants were my size except shimmy sistas. And they did have one size larger than the pr I got.