A call out to tall women!!! Are you tired of having to spend more to get clothes that fit?
Sheyi Lou
I bet you’re wondering why I started this blog??? Honestly? Desperation!
When I was a kid, I didn't suddenly have a growth spurt! I was always tall for my age. I have always found it hard to get clothes that fit on the High Street ... – but it’s getting worse!
P.S not supposed to be that cropped!
Don't get me wrong, I've noticed that there are more retailers coming out with tall ranges, e.g. ASOS, Topshop Tall, Next, New look etc. But apart from Topshop, there is one thing all of these retailers have in common. You have to buy online to get clothes from a tall range. I don't know about you but I'm tired of having to buy clothes online and having to send them back because it’s short on fabric! It gets depressing!
When I find a line that says it caters for tall women, my hopes are built up! I order. I wait 2-3 days only to find that once again these clothes do not fit!
I’m a lover of the High Street! When I go into a High Street store, I get instant satisfaction – well… Sort of! On the High Street, choice of clothing is a pipe dream – it does not exist! I am happy with my figure but there just doesn't seem to be clothes that flatter my build! If I thought it was a weight thing, I could go to the gym, but my height? That’s irreversible. Between me and you, if I had a choice I would still want to be tall, because when things fit, it fits well!
Recently, I've started to notice that when I go into expensive shops like All Saints, I’ve found dresses and tops that seem to fit perfectly... The only thing is that they’re pricy! I’m a graphic designer, but this does not mean I’m made of money!
I went into another pricy store and had the same novel experience… clothes that fit! Now I'm not saying all expensive designer stores have clothes that fit the taller frame, but the question did come to mind; how much do I have to spend to get clothes that fit me?
Long Tall Sally and the lovely clothes provided by TTYA seem to be quite steep in comparison to Topshop. Now why is that? If I thought clothes were more expensive because they used better quality of fabric – that would be fine – but no, the material is the same!
Why are clothes for tall women more expensive? Do retailers have to use more material? Is that why the prices of these clothes are high! Who knows? But shopping around, I realised that if I was earning a higher income, I probably wouldn't be having as many problems with clothes. Maybe designer wear cater for models and high street retailers for the masses. But who caters for those tall women who can’t afford tailor made clothing or designer wear?
It’s a myth that if you're tall, you automatically earn more money, are affluent or rich! Well I'm sure there are many like myself that are not rich or don’t want to spend all of their income on clothes! Where does that leave us? This is why I started the community campaign Stand Tall as there clearly isn't enough tall clothing in High Street stores. Most of us are forced to shop online and we’re mostly disappointed!
Wouldn’t it be nice to walk into a store and know that they do cater for Tall Women – with the same variety of clothes provided for the average person. Tall women should have the luxury of choice and of trying things on in store like everybody else. Maybe then shopping will be fun, instead of frustrating and dull! I've lost count the amount of times I walked past somebody and thought 'wow, what a nice dress', ‘what a nice jacket' but knew that I wouldn't be able to fit in it.
I‘m making it my mission to get High Street retailers to stock more tall womenswear in store but I need your help to raise awareness of this issue! I believe there are many tall women like me that are going through the same fashion struggles! I'll also be blogging about the good tall items that are out there in the High Street to support tall women in their journey of finding clothes that are flattering!
If you’ve gone through similar experiences or have been inspired by this blog, I'd love to hear from you. Please also #standtallselfie on Twitter and Facebook!