A Short (But Essential!) Shopping Guide for Tall Women

As with most bodies, the specifics of how mine is put together can render finding clothes that fit difficult. Being tall (six-footer here!) presents its own very specific challenges. Challenges that, if you were born tall, as I and executive editor Mallory Rice were, will cause you to spend a lot of time amassing bits of information that making shopping for clothes that fit a little bit easier. At this point in our lives, you could say we’ve become somewhat begrudging experts on the matter.

So, together, with the help of market strategist Elizabeth Tamkin (who is 5’3″ but long on empathy), we’ve put together a guide featuring the best brands and some clever styling tricks to help out our fellow talls.

Both Mallory and myself are wearing jackets with pre-cropped sleeves, totally eliminating an “Oops my wrists are shooting too far out of this jacket moment.” We’re also both in Rodebjer pants, which run super long.  Mallory is wearing Rodebjer pants, Jodi kimono jacket, Adieu shoes, Everlane shirt; Nora is wearing Rodebjer pants, sweatshirt and blazer, G.H. Bass & Co. Weejuns loafers and SEE Eyewear glasses

I’m old enough to remember the dark days when tall sections were few and far between and you had to go to the mall to find them. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, god bless online shopping! Being able to buy good basics that I know will fit me from dedicated tall sections has freed up my energy to take more fashion risks. I can buy shirts or sweaters or blazers I like that may be a little short and figure out how to make them work when I know I can pair them with pants that fit. I can wear crops now, because they feel like a choice and not just what I’m stuck with. Amazing how a $40 pair of jeans can come with a shift in perspective, isn’t it?

Brands With Good Tall Sections:

ASOS

Topshop

Gap

Old Navy

J.Crew

Loft

Eloquii

Ann Taylor

Long Tall Sally

Levi’s

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If you have found yourself with an oversized blazer that is a bit too oversized and want to create a little more shape, these dress clips help create a waist in a cinch (get it).Mallory is wearing Rodebjer pants, Jodi kimono jacket, Adieu shoes, Everlane shirt; Nora is wearing Rodebjer pants, sweatshirt and blazer, G.H. Bass & Co. Weejuns loafers and SEE Eyewear glasses

If you desire to venture outside of the tall section, another good strategy is to spend time trying on lots of different brands you like, then put together a list of the ones that speak to your style and tend to run long. These could be more affordable brands (i.e., & Other Stories sleeves tend to run long, we don’t know why, but the why doesn’t really matter, does it?) or more expensive labels that you can either choose to invest in full-price or, do like Mallory, and stake them out in thrift stores and online resale sites like The RealReal.

On Nora: A quick and extremely comfortable fix for finding everyday pants for the leggy is to sub long length (and sturdy) athletic leggings for pants. Layering a blazer over a blazer and scrunching the sleeves helps disguise any short arm situations.
On Mallory: Wearing bracelets make a pushed up sleeve look more eye-catching and stylish rather than utilitarian. Wearing heels with the crop draw attention to the ankles and make the proportions appear more intentional. Nora is wearing Tibi windowpane blazer over Tibi striped blazer, Lululemon leggings, Aerosoles clogs, Boden men's shirt, SEE Eyewear glasses; Mallory is wearing L.F. Markey jumpsuit, Maryam Nassir Zadeh shoes, Roxanne Assoulin bracelets to cuff sleeves

Brands That Run Long:

Stella McCartney

Ganni

Theory

Blk Dnm

AG

Rachel Comey

Victoria Beckham

Tibi

Rodebjer

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And now the necessary but often forgotten portion of shopping while tall: athleticwear! Full disclosure neither Mallory nor myself played any of the tall people sports, but we are still passionate about finding clothes that fit when we exercise. (Mallory is on a personal tennis clothes journey and I like to wear athleticwear to the airport, so it’s not *just* about yoga class.) Something nice about tall-specific leggings is that they tend to be cut a little higher on your hips, so you can downward dog in comfort.

Athleticwear That Will. Fit. You.

Athleta leggings

Lululemon

DKNY Athletics

Old Navy

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A few other tips before we go:

– If you love a pair of jeans that aren’t long enough, no sweat! Wear tallish boots to hide the flood or add fun socks.

– Opt for a skinny roll rather than a cuff on your jeans to create the illusion that you’ve got fabric to spare.

– Pants with a slit at the bottom are your friend.

So there you have it! A few of our favorite brands, tips and tricks for dressing while altitude-ly blessed. Please, please, please share your favorite tall-friendly brands and styling secrets in the comments. See you blocking other people’s views at concerts!

Styled by Elizabeth Tamkin; Photos by Sabrina Santiago.

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