Trip hazard? Just leave the Zara Death Trousers for tall people

With a wide-leg palazzo silhouette, featuring an elasticated waist and billowing fabric that makes the wearer look as though they’re floating on a cloud of air, Zara’s viral design quickly became a must-have purchase.

That was until influencers began dubbing them the ‘Zara death pants’.

It's a term first coined in the US following claims the garment wraps itself around the limbs and appendages of influencers and mere mortals alike.

Imagine these trousers like some sort of boa constrictor, leaving the owner with an assortment of fashion-induced injuries, including broken limbs and deep lacerations.

One scroll through TikTok reveals clips of influencers faceplanting driveways, wrapped in bandages and strapped into knee braces. All in the name of fashion.

It’s safe to say these must-have £25 ‘death trousers’ are now trending for all the wrong reasons.

So, I’m here to offer influencers a simple solution - buy some trousers that fit.

Yes, it really is that simple. Leave the oversized trousers on the hanger, negate the danger, and leave the extra-long, oversized trousers for someone who can benefit from the extra material.

Taking to social media, one TikToker suggests wrapping hairbands around your ankles in a bid to contain the bellowing or wearing high heels. Both are perfectly sensible solutions, otherwise known as customisation served up with a side of common sense.

You see, as a woman whose height borders on 6-foot and requires either a 34- or 36-inch inseam, finding adequately long trousers on the high street (or even online, for that matter) has become something of an uphill battle.

Just last week, I found myself ordering six pairs of trousers from six different brands - only one pair of which was remotely long enough. One order - M&S ‘tall’ full-length linen trousers - arrived as ankle-grazers. Meanwhile, Next’s ‘tall’ range looked as though I could go wading out to sea without the faintest fear of my clothes getting wet.

The price tag attached to the only pair of trousers that did fit left my bank account weeping - and forced me to decide whether a pair of trousers was really worth missing a rent payment for.

Admittedly, the advent of social media has eased my battle somewhat, with corners of the internet like ‘TallTok’ and tags linked to ‘tall girl problems’ catapulting my plight into the mainstream. Users regularly suggest ‘tall’ brands that actually cater to tall humans, while swapping tips and hacks that could benefit our niche corner of the market - like purchasing turn-up styles, only to unpick the stitching to utilise the length.

But still, finding a fit that actually, er, fits, has become increasingly like hunting for a needle in a haystack.

Zara, the home of the ‘death trousers’, remains one of the few high street stores that actually cater to those 5’10” and above. Take one glance towards the store’s denim section and you’ll spot tall females gathering like parched wildebeest at a watering hole.

The ‘death trousers’ are far more than a to-die-for wardrobe staple - they’re a rare case of adequate-fitting trousers for the tall. Without these design anomalies, others like me will continue to face a future blighted by frozen ankles. Take some pity on us, why don’t you? Watch as we play our tiny violins, unpick our hems, and jump for joy at the prospect of warmth below the knee.

So, if despite all of this, you still opt for trousers far too large for your frame by length, before pointing the finger of blame at the manufacturer, take a long, hard look in the mirror. That is, unless you managed to trip and smash into it on the way down.

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Danielle DeWolfe is Senior Digital News Editor at LBC.

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