Beauty Tips for Ministers
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Lanky Peeps
March 13, 2009 on 10:37 am | In Men's Clothing, Plus Sizes, Women's Clothing | 11 CommentsPookies, please help A., who writes with this urgent question,
I am a plus size tall (5′10′) gal who is really frustrated that stores just don’t seem to carry tall sizes. I pass through aisles and aisles of petite clothing to find a store clerk who informs me they just don’t carry talls in their store. Why is that? It seems counter-intuitive to me since if a pair of pants is too long, there’s always the option of getting it hemmed, but we amazons have no options when faced with a pair of Erkel-like pants landing 4 inches above our ankles.
I know petites have clothing woes too, and I’m all sympathy. But I’m tired of having cold ankles because I can’t find pants long enough!
Any suggestions?
A! As I wrote to you off-line, I suspect this is all a matter of finding certain designers or manufacturers who tend to cut their clothing more generously. Men can always go to the Big & Tall stores (and guys, if you do go there, can you tell us if the clothes are decent, or ghastly, or what? And if the latter, where do YOU go to find long-enough shirts and slacks?) but alas, PeaceBang has yet to see a store called Long-Limbed Babe.
She has noticed, however that plus-sized store Ashley Stewart seems to cut their clothes for Women of Grand Stature, which is why she never finds anything that fits her there. Lands End plus-sizes also tend to be cut longer, if memory serves, and Lane Bryant definitely stocks a Tall pants category. If you can’t find your size that day in the store, they’ll ship it to you for free — which is a nifty customer service option that saves you the trouble of hunting it down online yourself. Ulla Popken is another company that comes to mind since every time I tried on clothing in their store (there aren’t many, but I used to live near one), I joked that it’s too bad I’m not a Scandanavian Amazon, because all of their garments seemed to be designed for them. Seriously — their skirts weren’t just too long on me, they dragged on the floor. Ulla is expensive stuff and I also don’t love the shapelessness of the designs (I have the same complaint with J.Jill), but like everyone else, they have SALES!
Readers, what say you? What have you found that works?
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I´m also tall (1.78 m) and know these problems.
Lucily enough there are more and more “long” sizes avaliable in Germany. You have to keep your eyes open but it works.
Ask for it, I´m sure if there is a customer´s request shops will react.
Comment by Chavale — March 13, 2009 #
I’m a long-time reader, but this is the first time I’ve been inspired to weigh in on anything–I have this exact issue! I’m 5′ 10″ and sort of on the line between what most stores consider “average” and “plus”–size 12-14.
I continue to be frustrated by not being able to try things on in the store–I have found very few places, other than Tall Girl, which allow me to do this. (Tall Girl is great, though–if you have one near you, I highly recommend! I actually have some trouble with things being too long, which is an excellent problem to have.)
The Gap has some styles available in-store in long sizes, but lots more online. If you’re willing to shop virtually, there are many more choices–I’ve had a lot of good luck with J. Jill, Eddie Bauer and even Old Navy for somewhat current styles that also actually fit.
Good luck!
Comment by Jennifer — March 13, 2009 #
Lands End tall sizes have longer sleeves (which is my need) and longer pant legs in their tall sizes. Not the most exciting line of clothing, but good for some basics (such as the turtlenecks I wear in this colder climate).
Comment by Renee — March 15, 2009 #
Coldwater Creek offers talls. Most of their skirts are so long… that I can’t wear them. They mostly offer separates… but I struggle with wearing some of their styles with a clerical shirt (I’m not a big clerical blouse fan).
Comment by Beach Walkin — March 15, 2009 #
This is exactly my issue, but I’m even talaler–6′2″.
Coldwater Creek recently began offering some nice slacks in longs. I found the 20L to fit me perfectly and be long enough.
Look for Ralph Lauren plus size pants with a cuff–you can let this down for beaucoups of length! I’ve also had luck with Jones New York plus sizes, but find the lengths are variable and so I have to inspect the hems and try them on.
Comment by Quotidian Grace — March 15, 2009 #
In the UK we have Long Tall Sally
http://www.longtallsally.com/
who also ship overseas.
Comment by Cal — March 16, 2009 #
At 6′ tall, I’m feeling your pain on this one!
Best jeans I have found: Avenue.com
The inseam is 36″, which even allows for a mid-high heel for me. (And do NOT get me started on “I’m tall so I must wear flats all the time!”)
Okay, the Avenue jeans are very, very affordable, which is a good thing, because the best trousers I have found are Lafayette 148. I can find them at Nordstroms very often, but usually end up buying them on eBay. They are INVESTMENT pieces, on my budget, but they last and they fit…
I have never found anything at Coldwater Creek or J.Jill to fit, even though they say they are tall, and are my size. I’ve tried everything!
Comment by Dawn+ — March 19, 2009 #
I’m also plus size 5′10″. I buy pants on the internet. The Lane Bryant group of women’s stores has tall sizes. So does QVC.
Comment by revtoots — March 20, 2009 #
My sister in law (mid forties) who is tall and big boned likes Eddie Bauer clothes. Tall sizes are only available through the catalog.
My friend Debbie (mid fifties) who is tall and big boned likes Chico’s clothes, in fact she is a salesperson in one of the stores.
I hope that helps.
Comment by DWilliams — March 26, 2009 #
I’m 6′3″ and when it comes to clothes shopping I’ve always envyed my mom and sister who are “only” 5′10″.
I agree that it’s all about trying a variety of companies until you finally find one that works for you. A. is right, there aren’t a lot of stores that carry their tall lines in the store. But there are a lot that wave shipping if you order from the store and have simple returns to the store for items that don’t work. I tend to order one or to staple items when I try a new brand (a classic cut pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt to test inseam length, sleeve length, and torso cut/length.)
Right now I’m in a good groove with Eddie Bauer. I’m with Dawn+ on Coldwater Creek and J.Jill,I’ve had several ppl recommend them, but they’ve never worked for me.
I’ve come across a few stores over time that cater to tall women. Tall Girl, which Jennifer mentioned. I’ve never been impressed with the quality of thier clothes, or their prices, but it’s great when you need something right now. They also tend to carry things for younger people and things for working women. All of the other tall shops that I’ve ever found have been dowdy and expensive. (So dowdy that I considered capitalizing that
There are also a couple of websites, like tallmoms.com where women report on tall finds they come across.
Comment by Kris — April 7, 2009 #
at 6′3″ and a variety of weights over the last 5 years, my favorites:
pants:
1) JCrew (they go up to size 16, and just extended their inseam to 36″ which is a tad too long for me, but I’m not complaining!) – also for suiting and some shirts and dresses
2) Gap (Long and Leans look good on anyone!)
3) Banana Republic and even stores like Aeropostale are joining the revolution, but I haven’t had too much luck…
shirts/blazers:
1) Eddie Bauer
And, let me throw a new (if kind of strange) store in the mix: Newport News. Their styles range from Bohemian to downright 80s, but they have some nice basics and have talls in pants, shirts, dresses, etc.
Comment by katie — April 8, 2009 #