Seeing the title of this article, you might be thinking giant pants. Could this be a story of a person who lost hundreds of pounds, who is now faced with the dilemma of what to do with their oversized slacks?

Well, think again, this is a true story about a middle-aged woman’s search for dress pants at the local mall. Me!

Shopping! What a gloriously adrenaline infused experience, when woman go on the hunt for that perfect garment.

However, I am not just any ordinary middle-aged woman. Oh no! I am only 3 foot 2 inches tall! Yes, I am a little person, a dwarf. Finding pants when you have a 16-inch inseam when most adult size woman’s pants can be 30 inches or more is disheartening at best.

That’s what I get for eating too much chocolate and never dieting; I do the most logical thing, I just get a bigger size. Oh, to be in a children’s size 10 pants again! Very little alterations needed.

My day started on a good note. I had just purchased a black minivan with an automatic ramp that I could get into with my new silver powered wheelchair. I use this chair for long distances as well as crutches for shorter walks.

The chair is ideal for shopping for two reasons; one, I can go fast and two; people can hear me coming because I have a horn! Yes! Black Beauty and the Silver Bullet are going to make my shopping life easier. So I thought.

After arriving at the mall, I gave myself a pep talk; I was ready to take on the world of the pants department.

I wheeled into the store full speed, not knowing that I would be embarking on a trek of great proportions. There was no going back! My credit card was at the ready! And I was on the hunt. Get out of my way! I have a horn and I know how to use it!

The pants department was right in front of me! Pants everywhere! Of course, they were way above my head, since most clothes racks today are 9-foot high. You know the ones you need to use a 6-foot hook to reach that perfect item

Luckily, Silver Bullet has a hydraulic lift that can raise me up to 4 foot 2 inches! This is ideal if you are looking on average clothes racks. Unfortunately, not high enough for the 9-foot ones.

Thank goodness, there were pants on the lower racks. This is where crutches come in handy; you can use them to push things off a shelf or a rack. I have become proficient in lifting items off the racks by balancing them on my crutches. I still have to work on getting things off shelves.

I finally grabbed a pair of pants with my crutches. Unfortunately, as I was pulling them off the rack I accidentally hit my wheelchair control lever and backed into the racks behind me. knocking down numerous pairs of pants. I proceeded to run over the pants a few more times.

The pants I ran over did not have tire marks, so I just picked them up and shoved them under the rack and continued my quest for more pants.

Suddenly I heard a noise coming from the back of my chair. When I looked back to see what the swishing sound was, I noticed I was also dragging a parade of pants. Thankfully, a helpful shopper stopped and removed the attached pile of pants, also shoving them under a nearby rack!

Oh no my purse! My crutches where are they? I must have lost them in the rack fiasco! Now I had to retrace my steps and find them with the hopes that my stuff was still there. I sure could have used a GPS tracking devise. I backtracked and luckily found both my purse and crutches untouched.

Now I had to figure out where could I put the pants so they wouldn‘t drag on the ground? The only logical place was around my neck! I was determined to get these pants; they were on sale for crying out loud! There were more pants on sale, and I was going to get as many as I could carry.

I ended up with seven pairs of pants, draped around my neck, over my shoulders and on my lap, while still holding my purse and crutches. There has to be a category in some record keeping book for the most pants carried at one time by a 3 foot 2 inch tall person. If not, I think I should start one.

I knew I had to find a better way to store my stuff because it was just a matter of time that a renegade pant leg was going to be caught in the spokes of my wheelchair and I would probably choke myself.

I went to the nearest cashier for help. I asked if she could give me a bag to put the pants in. She gave me a huge cloth and mesh bag that was bigger than me. I told her thank you, kept the pants around my neck and went off to the women’s dressing room.

The decisive moment was near; will any of these pants fit? Will I be lucky enough to get a handicap accessible dressing room? The exhilaration I felt earlier in the day was now dissipating fast.

The disabled dressing room was now a storage room, so I had to use a standard one.

Do not ask me how I did it, I actually managed to get my wheelchair in the room, and close the door. This maneuver occurred without destroying store property.

I only hit the wall once, OK, twice, but there were no dents! This made me proud since I cannot even parallel park if my life depended on it. The laws of physics did not apply in that dressing room that day!

Now, there was no going back! The time had come to try on the pants. For average size people trying on pants is easy, slip one leg on at a time and voila! Not so when your three foot 2 inches tall! A whopping 38 inches, gee! All of my pants were taller than me!

Necessity is the mother of invention, and little people should get the Nobel Prize in figuring out how to do every day tasks in unordinary ways. We can get from point A to B but sometimes we have to take the long way to point C to get back to B.

However, doing things in an unconventional way is second nature to dwarves, since we have always lived in an environment designed for average size people.

The fun now begins! I get out of my chair, stand up with my crutches, and plop all the pants down on the bench. Since the bench was too high for me, I had to do the proverbial heave hoe and hop up.

Now the big decision, should I roll up each pant leg to make it easier to put them on? Or, leave them long? I did neither; I just put them on and bunched them up until I could see my feet.

The first pair didn’t fit, which was not that disappointing since they were the ones that the color was not to my liking.

However, I did manage to have six pair fit. It was going to be a good day after all! Six out of 7 pairs of pants is an above average conquest for me. It’s like scoring a perfect 10! All of the elements in the universe came together to form a cosmic perfect fit.

After finally getting dressed and ready to leave, I felt like I had just completed a marathon. I had been shopping for 5 hours, I was tired but happy for completing the journey.

Oh no! I was trapped! The dressing room door was stuck. Will I be a victim of a defective door? I still had life to live, more shopping to do, and maybe, just maybe, someday I could actually learn to parallel park!

I banged on the door and yelled, “I’m stuck in the dressing room” No one was out there, I yelled and banged on the door for what seemed like an eternity, actually it was only 10 minutes, until someone finally came to liberate me.

Thank goodness! Free to shop another day, happy that my quest ended on a good note. I left the store with my prize, one that I worked hard for and was proud I could achieve.

Nothing would ever be out of my reach, except for the 9-foot clothes racks and they are no longer scary to me because size is not something to fear. Being 3 foot 2 inches tall is not a hinderance if you can deal with your challenges with an open mind.

Never be afraid to try something out of the ordinary to reach your goal.

My next expedition will be shopping for six new blouses to go with my new pants.

I hear the internet is a great way to shop, no 9-foot racks to deal with and the dressing rooms have a lot of space! Sounds like a plan!
Share your shopping adventures! Email us at nathasha@audacitymagazine.com .

After reviewing Sephora’s latest catalog,
fashion magazines and some websites devoted
to makeup, it’s clear summer is definitely
around the corner. One word summarizes the summer for me this year: Bronze.

You will love the bronze, golden blush-like colors that will undoubtedly make a huge splash this summer.

This summer will be the summer of bronze-golden colors in lipsticks and glosses. New summer shades are hinted with a slight golden shimmer to bring out the glow of
your face, just enough to make your lips look radiant yet natural. But remember too much will make you look like you’re “trying too hard.” So, remember to stay natural and as close to your natural skin tone as possible.

For a more bronzed, hip, look skip your traditional foundation and go for an illuminating bronzer lotion which will give you instant color. Using a good bronzer is like squeezing the sun out of the bottle, without the nasty sunburn! Though some prefer to sun bathe or go to the tanning salons, using a good bronzer can give you an immediate dose of color and can make you look like you just came back from a tropical vacation in the Bahamas!

For the eyes it’s obvious that long luscious eyelashes are very in right now. There are many options, just go to your local drugstore or department store and you will see the many different mascaras that swamp the isles. The new two-ended mascaras are all the rage at the moment. These types of mascaras give you two tubes in one.

In addition to giving you the benefits of traditional mascaras, these two-in-one mascaras, also have a brush which elongates brows. But if you just want to stay with a basic mascara, no worries, try a lengthening mascara which will work just as well.

As for eye shadows, stick with nudes, gold tones, pinks and light purples. The different shades of pinks and purples will give you a dash of color, which will offset your face, particularly if you use a bronzer on your face.

The one thing that I wish I was gifted with is high check bones, but with my chubby cheeks I have to make mine. Hey, if you don’t have it, make it! So don’t be afraid to

be bold, daring, and creative.

This season it’s also about peaches and corals. Just enough tint to give you a splash of flush but not too much. Don’t wear too much all at once! Grandma was right, sometimes less is more.

I hope this helps get your summer face going. Try checking out these moderately priced items.

Here are two of my favorite makeup websites: www.gloss.com and www.sephora.com. Links are located on the upper right hand corner of this page.

Here are some items that you may want to check out or may even want to consider buying to give your summer look some pizzazz.

Stila Summer 4-Pan Eye Shadow Palette price: $28

Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation in 60 Watts price: $36

Dior 5-Colour Eye Shadow in Kawai price: $49.50

Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion in Smashing Prism price: $28

Smashbox Limitless Lash Mascara in Black price: $22

Nars Blush in Penny Lane price: $22.50

Lancome Star Bronzer dispensable brush price: $30

Cargo Beach Blush in Coral Peach price: $26

Sephora Super Shimmer Lip Gloss in Sugar Coat price: $10

NOTE: These items are my personal picks for what’s sure to be hot this summer. You can shop around for items that fit the general color schemes as the some of these items, at a fraction of the price. But if you
are like me and are a makeup-aholic, then by all means splurge!

If you would like to ask a question or comment on this article write an email to nathasha@audacitymagazine.com or join the Online Forumwhere discussions take place every day.

Capri pants, cropped pants, peddle pushers, etc. are the greatest fashion invention since sliced bread for a short person. Before these types of pants were brought back from fashion extinction, I was forced to wear regular pants in children’s sizes. That was great except for fact that my whole body wasn’t child size. The length was still too long as was the waist area. I had to pull my pants all the way up to my armpits so that the crotch wouldn’t be all the way down to my knees! And the legs had to be rolled so many times that it looked like I had doughnuts around my ankles. Sure, I could cut and hem, but who has the time to do all that? All that ended with the comeback of capris.

Now, if I happen to find a pair of capris that are also low-rise, then I am in heaven! Those are the best of both worlds for a short gal like me. They are not only perfect in leg length, but I also don’t have to hike them up to my chin. Where they fit an average sized person low on their hips, they fit a person like me perfectly. It is great that I can find low-rise capris in both children’s and junior sizes.

I also noticed that another fashion item that is going to be hot this season is the cropped or short jacket. They fit an average sized person like a cropped jacket, but they fit me like a normal jacket. Now I won’t look like I am always wearing a long jacket and my pockets won’t be down near my shins.

I have found most of these items at stores ranging from Wal-Mart and Target to higher end department stores like Macy’s and Robinson’s May. Old Navy has a decent selection of pants in size “1 short” in fabrics ranging from denim to cotton.

Like with anything else, there are always some drawbacks. Some items that I find in the children’s section are juvenile-looking with bows and cartoon characters, and sometimes items found in the junior section are still too big in the waist, but at least now the hunt isn’t as difficult.

Next month, I will focus on shoes and intimate apparel. Egad! Nothing more embarrassing than being a young woman being forced to wear Barbie undies and Powerpuff Girls shoes with blinking lights!

Forget about boring note pads, binders, and pencils! Let’s talk about back to school shopping for clothes!

The places that you go shopping this fall depends on the quality, look and feel you want best for you and your kids. Now, kids of all ages want to look their best when taking that dreadful math test. And you want your money’s worth on good quality clothing.

Children, especially girls as young as six are having an opinion on what types of clothes look best on them. Disabled children don’t always have control over their physical abilities but being allowed to choose their clothes with some parental guidance gives them some control over their physical appearance.

Limited Too is an excellent store for girls from six to about fifteen years old. It is also fantastic for those of us who are extra petite. Trendy shirts and cool hip hugging jeans make this a dream store for your preteen or teen. The hip huggers make a great solution for adults who have trouble finding jeans in the adult section due to misproportioned bodies according to “normal” people. A fashionable girl who knows how to shop could very well spend hours in this place. From soft satin sleepwear to cool accessories this store makes this the best place to go “back to school” shopping. The downside is that you may very well spend more than you had hoped.

Jeans and pants range from about twenty-five dollars to about forty dollars. The average price for a piece of clothing in Limited Too is about twenty dollars. But remember your kids will look and feel like a million, which makes this store a must.

If you yet, still wary about going to a place like Limited Too and want a cheaper alternative, go to Target. Magazines everywhere are complimenting this store for their trendy looking clothing at reasonably prices. Their clothes are up to date and very fashionable. Coats and dress pants look exactly like the designer ones without the designer price.

Teenage girls are probably much harder to shop. They are at that age where the tag and name brand means a world of difference, and they are willing to work overtime adding fries to that meal just to pay for a pair of expensive jeans. The places that make their young eyes go wild are stores such as American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and the Gap. Those places have very trendy clothes that suits teenagers and young college students’ taste. But of course, they are a bit expensive but sometimes it just doesn’t matter when it comes to looking good.

If you are not into spending hours in a store that you want to go screaming out of, try the internet. Two catalogs come to mind for young people and back to school shopping. Delia’s and Alloy. They are mainly for teenagers but sometimes they have pieces that anyone at any age can wear. Both have fashionable t-shirts with cool slogans on them and pants at a good price. T-shirts and shirts range from about fifteen to twenty-five dollars and their pants are from about twenty-five to forty dollars.

Girls aren’t the only ones that know what’s in style and what looks good. Guys want to be cool just as much. I’m not going to get into heavy detail but places like the Gap, Abercrombie and Fitch, and American Eagle are the main places

they go to impress the ladies.

Whether you are a preteen, a teenager, a girl or a guy, everyone wants to look their best when going back to school. It’s been a whole summer and now it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Go out and have some fun buying everything one needs to have the best first day of school a person can have.

Forget about boring note pads, binders, and pencils! Let’s talk about back to school shopping for clothes!

The places that you go shopping this fall depends on the quality, look and feel you want best for you and your kids. Now, kids of all ages want to look their best when taking that dreadful math test. And you want your money’s worth on good quality clothing.

Children, especially girls as young as six are having an opinion on what types of clothes look best on them. Disabled children don’t always have control over their physical abilities but being allowed to choose their clothes with some parental guidance gives them some control over their physical appearance.

Limited Too is an excellent store for girls from six to about fifteen years old. It is also fantastic for those of us who are extra petite. Trendy shirts and cool hip hugging jeans make this a dream store for your preteen or teen. The hip huggers make a great solution for adults who have trouble finding jeans in the adult section due to misproportioned bodies according to “normal” people. A fashionable girl who knows how to shop could very well spend hours in this place. From soft satin sleepwear to cool accessories this store makes this the best place to go “back to school” shopping. The downside is that you may very well spend more than you had hoped.

Jeans and pants range from about twenty-five dollars to about forty dollars. The average price for a piece of clothing in Limited Too is about twenty dollars. But remember your kids will look and feel like a million, which makes this store a must.

If you yet, still wary about going to a place like Limited Too and want a cheaper alternative, go to Target. Magazines everywhere are complimenting this store for their trendy looking clothing at reasonably prices. Their clothes are up to date and very fashionable. Coats and dress pants look exactly like the designer ones without the designer price.

Teenage girls are probably much harder to shop. They are at that age where the tag and name brand means a world of difference, and they are willing to work overtime adding fries to that meal just to pay for a pair of expensive jeans. The places that make their young eyes go wild are stores such as American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and the Gap. Those places have very trendy clothes that suits teenagers and young college students’ taste. But of course, they are a bit expensive but sometimes it just doesn’t matter when it comes to looking good.

If you are not into spending hours in a store that you want to go screaming out of, try the internet. Two catalogs come to mind for young people and back to school shopping. Delia’s and Alloy. They are mainly for teenagers but sometimes they have pieces that anyone at any age can wear. Both have fashionable t-shirts with cool slogans on them and pants at a good price. T-shirts and shirts range from about fifteen to twenty-five dollars and their pants are from about twenty-five

to forty dollars.

Girls aren’t the only ones that know what’s in style and what looks good. Guys want to be cool just as much. I’m not going to get into heavy detail but places like the Gap, Abercrombie and Fitch, and American Eagle are the main places they go to impress the ladies.

Whether you are a preteen, a teenager, a girl or a guy, everyone wants to look their best when going back to school. It’s been a whole summer and now it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Go out and have some fun buying everything one needs to have the best first day of school a person can have.