Start with one pair in the size you think you wear. If that size doesn't fit, great -- you have the size up and size down right there to try on. As you discard a pair of pants because they don't fit or you don't like them, simply hang the garment outside of the door of your dressing room either on the doorknob or a hook if it is there. This way the sales associate knows that you are letting them go and can see it while she is walking by. The sales associate may knock on the door and ask you if you want him or her to take the items that you have chosen to hang on the door. Just tell them yes and that you will be continuing to leaving the discards outside so she will know to take them without disturbing you.

This will also keep the sales associate at close range if in fact you do need her to run and get something for you. Also, by immediately casting out the ill-fitting pieces your head can get cleared up and focused on what you still have left to try on. I will tell you many times when I am working with a client and we have a dressing room full of clothing I often feel like an air traffic controller trying to manage the comings and goings of all the merchandise. It is easy to get confused.

After you have tried on all of your pants then you can move on to the fun stuff like skirts, knits, jackets, etc. These pieces are always a lot less draining to try on.

Get Your Butt in That Dressing Room and Stay There
One of the things many of my clients have told me is that if I wasn't with them they would have run out of the dressing room in despair way earlier than I let them. And it makes sense. I mean, who doesn't feel discouraged after trying on a few pants that you can't get over your thighs? But trust me, get your butt in that dressing room and don't come out until you have gone through everything.

Let's get serious for a moment about pants. I have worked with clients of all shapes and sizes. Even my most fit clients who work out regularly have looked bad in a pair of pants. So it is time to start turning the tables on the pants and recognize that it isn't your body that isn't right for the pants, it's the pants that aren't right your body. Everyone's body requires a different fit in their pants. And if my clients who have amazingly fit bodies can look dumpy and overweight in a certain pair of pants, then I rest my case.

Believe me, I know how horrible it is to look bad in a pair of pants. Second to trying on bathing suits, pant fittings can be a devastating experience on the psyche, but the only way to finally find your best fitting pant is to eliminate the ones that don't work. On average I bring in at least ten to fifteen pairs of pants into a dressing room with a client, and we go through all of them before we find the best ones. Yes, it gets frustrating, and yes, my clients usually at some point feel hopeless about it. But when we do finally find the right pants it is a great moment, but we had to wade through the bad ones before we found the good ones. This is why I encourage you to not be run out of that dressing room by a few ill-fitting pairs of pants. Keep yourself in that dressing room until you have tried on every pair you have brought in.

Find Your Label and Stick with It
The reason I mentioned earlier that this pant exercise is particularly helpful at a department store is because it helps you find a label of pants that fit you. So many times while in the dressing room with a client I have said to them, OK, you are an Ellen Tracy fit. Or, OK, we definitely always want to go with Anne Klein for your pants.