The Height of Fashion: Tall Shopping Tips

Arianne Cohen, 6'3", celebrates tall women in her book.

For years, we’ve shopped the men’s and boys’ departments, worn our sleeves rolled up, and made do with separates from “regular” size women’s stores, hunting for pants with generous or unfinished hems to cover our giraffelike legs. In the past, if you counted yourself among the less than 1 percent of the female population over 5′10″, your options were limited. Thank goodness that’s changed!

While stores such as Eddie Bauer and Victoria’s Secret offer a few items in tall sizes and many jeans makers, including Joe’s Jeans, Hudson, 7 For All Mankind and True Religion offer 36-inch inseams, we’ve found several retailers that service the vertically blessed exclusively: Design Elevations, Long Elegant Legs, Simply Tall, Tall Couture and Tall Girl Shop. For the tall and sporty, Vertical Athletics sells pants with inseams up to 37.5 inches.

“Since I started shopping only at tall stores my wardrobe is much nicer,” says 6-foot-3-inch Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life on High (Bloomsbury, 2009). “I have a very small wardrobe, but it all fits.” Cohen sticks to classic basics — she finds that frilly, girlish styles, big prints or head-to-toe white (unless you’re a bride) don’t work for tall women. “It’s really important to find things that flatter the hip and the waist,” she notes, emphasizing the necessity of a good tailor to ensure proper fit. She mentions a few designers whose clothes tend to flatter the tall figure: Nanette Lepore, Tracy Reese and, for eveningwear, Carmen Marc Valvo. And she enthusiastically recommends British-based Long Tall Sally, which offers U.S. pricing and shipping.

Shoe shopping can be just as challenging for talls who wear size 10 or larger, especially in narrow or wide widths, but Nordstrom and its discount offshoot Nordstrom Rack are a lifesaver for women like Cohen. “I love the Rack,” she raves. “You have to check regularly because whatever is there tends to go quickly. I got some amazing size-14 cowboy boots. They’re cute and handmade. I think they were $110.”

More and more manufacturers are making shoes in larger sizes and a range of widths, including Donald J Pliner, J.Renée, Stuart Weitzman and Via Spiga. BarefootTess.com carries up to size 15, and Claro Shoes sells sizes up to 14, M to WW. Marmi, a personal fave, has 30 shops nationwide and, like Nordstrom, can order your size from another store if it’s out of stock.

Do you wear a hard-to-find size? Tell us where you shop for clothes and shoes, and which brands and designers fit you best!

Tags: 7 FOR ALL MANKIND, Arianne Cohen, author, Carmen Marc Valvo, Claro Shoes, Clothing, Design Elevations, Donald J Pliner, Eddie Bauer, Fashion, Hospitality/Recreation, Hudson Global Resources S.A.S., Jeans, Joe’s Jeans, Long Elegant Legs, LONG TALL SALLY, Nanette Lepore, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Inc., Simply Tall, Stuart Weitzman, Tall Couture, The Tall Girl Shop Ltd, Tracy Reese, True Religion, True Religion Apparel Inc., United States, USD, Vertical Athletics, Victoria’s Secret