The Dizzy Heights Of Fashion
Growing up I always had trouble finding clothes which fit me properly. At 14 years old and already 5ft 10” it was always a problem getting school trousers which were long enough or getting shirts which had wide enough shoulders and long enough arms. More often than not my mother was forced to buy boys school clothes for me which worked, but wasn’t ideal.
Nowadays the situation is completely different. There’s a plethora of shops dedicated to catering for us tall beauties allowing us to not only be clothed in items which fit, but also allow us to stay on point with trend and fashion.
All too often it’s mistakenly assumed that tall women have the most trouble with leg lengths. This is a fallacy. Quite a few high street retailers now cater for leg lengths up to a 34” which is great, but when it comes to buying tops, dresses and skirts they fall at the first hurdle. Tall women are proportioned completely differently – our shoulders are wider, our arms are longer, our bust sits slightly lower because of our longer torso which also means our waists are lower. All of these factors mean that ‘normal’ clothes just don’t suit us.
Over the years I’ve tried and tested clothes from a vast range of shops which cater for us vertically enhanced women and have developed my style around their commonly recurring trends:
- Tall Floral Chiffon Dress by New Look – New Look do an excellent tall range for the budget fashionista. I get most of my jeans and fashion tops from here because they don’t break the bank and have a good turnaround of styles.
- Tall Boat Intarsia Sweater by Topshop – The Topshop Tall range is one of the most diverse and they stock some really gorgeous and slightly more quirky pieces. I love their knitwear, and their prices are very reasonable for the quality.
- Spot Tiered Bodycon Dress by Long Tall Sally – 1950’s classic. Long Tall Sally is the longest running shop dedicated to clothing for tall women and their reputation is second to none. Their style is beautifully classic and their tailoring is superb.
i have a daughter who is almost 6ft and she is only 15, we have a lot of trouble finding tops ect to fit her,so this website would be very good for her thanks.
No problem, I know how distraught my mother used to get trying to get girls shirts to fit me (bust darts on tailored shirts are a NIGHTMARE!).
Please can you send me some more information on getting more cloths shops for tall girls
Thanks for the comment Chetna, if you get in touch with me via about.me/carrieannewalton I’ll be happy to help you out with some more suggestions!
Hi there, i am 35 and 6ft 1in and i am now REALLY struggling to find shops that are stocking a ‘TALL’ range. Dorothy Perkins and New Look are now phasing out their ‘TALL’ range, making it only avaliable online, which makes you unable to try it on. Not all Topshop’s cater for ‘TALL’, so i am now slowly running out of options…..HELP !!!!!!
I spoke to someone in New Look the other day who said that the Tall range wasn’t being phased OUT, however it’s getting phased INto the general shop floor. So the Tall clothes will still be available, just not in their own section, they’ll be incorporated in amongst the rest of the shop.
This, to me seems stupid because I want to be able to just go straight to the section containing clothes I KNOW fit me rather than rifle through the whole shop looking for odds and ends of Tall stuff.
My daughter is 10 and in year 5 primary school and is a fraction off 5 ft tall she wears 14 year old trousers which seem to be o.k but she was told off for wearing mini skirts at school when in fact they were full length skirts of the same age.To get a skirt which was long enough was then huge around her waist and even looked ridiculous with a belt. My daughter wants to wear skirts!! The skirts I buy are not minis, thay just look that way on my daughter. what can I do??
My mother used to make all of my skirts, but luckily she was a seamstress by trade so it made the job a lot easier.
I had a similar trouble when I first started working as the longest skirt I could get was 18″. 18″!! That’s a belt on a 5ft 10″er!!
Hmm…
BHS do a range of school clothes for tall girls, perhaps they might fit?
http://www.bhs.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/bhsstore/234715/1
Hmm… I have the opposite trouble – I am 6’3″ with a 37-38″ inside leg, so find trousers are infinitely more troublesome than tops, especially given the current trend of long tops with long sleeves. What’s especially frustrating is that Long Tall Sally only do a very small selection of trousers (and usually the most boring ones) in the 38″ length – so most trousers end up being ankle swingers! Not cool.
6ft 3, wow, how fantastic Jen! *slight twinge of jealousy*
A 38″ inside leg is a true rarity though isn’t it, even in mens clothing (where men are traditionally taller than women, not being sexist).
Have a look at http://xtralength.com/ it’s an Australian company but they’ll deliver to the UK and all of their trousers are offered in a 38″ inside leg. Not exactly New Look cheap but maybe worth trying for some investment trousers.
If that’s not an option then how about http://www.tallwomen.org/clothes/ which is a comprehensive list of retailers who offer tall ranges.
Heyy BIGJEN! Unfortunately i am very slim and so i cannot comment on you being bigger than me. however you would look amazing in anything just like me!Sexy is witten all over you, good luck in finding the perfect outfit, oh yes, it can be anything! Men will look at you and think wow, ‘look at that sexy lass!’