by Joelle Steele
I am 6’ tall. I was already 5’8” when I was in the 7th grade. My niece and several of my cousins are also tall. We know what it’s like to be a taller than average woman. I personally know what a miserable experience it is to shop for clothes that fit. I am also overweight, so when I say I have a hard time finding clothes that fit, everyone assumes I just need to shop at stores that cater to large women. But I’m actually not that large. In fact, large is never the problem. It’s being tall that’s the problem. It’s length that’s the problem.
I have never in my life had a blouse, shirt, jacket, sweater, dress, skirt, or pants that were long enough. Women’s tall sizes are a joke. I can’t tell you how many times I have looked at clothes in catalogs, online, and in stores and found nothing that’s long enough. And it’s not just pants. (And speaking of pants, the idea that “5’7” and over” is a tall size is truly laughable.)
What about body length? What about sleeve length? Do women’s clothing manufacturers think tall women are just short women with extra long legs? Even bras are a hard fit for me because the straps – even the elastic ones – are never long enough. Why is it that men’s clothing manufacturers manage to make things in variable lengths, but womens clothing manufacturers don’t even try to? If nothing else, couldn’t they make clothes with bigger hems so that there would be something to let out?
The world is filled with women of all sizes and dimensions. Surely clothing manufacturers could do a better job of making clothes for the ever-increasing sizes in height and weight of women, and for our various dimensions. I don’t like to sew, can’t afford to have someone sew for me, and I’m tired of always having to buy men’s cotton turtlenecks in white or black because that’s the only way I can get sleeves that are long enough. Ditto men’s sweaters and shirts.
I see all these cute clothes in catalogs that don’t carry tall sizes and wish I could wear them. And I see cute clothes in catalogs in tall sizes, and wish I could wear them too.