The Tall Book

Arianne Cohen, 6’3” author of The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life from on High, has struggled with finding clothes that fit properly for most of her teenage and adult life. Here, Cohen offers the five top tips for tall women when it comes to shopping.

1. If it doesn’t fit perfectly, skip it.
On tall bodies, fitting errors are obvious – and the truth is that how your clothes fit is often more important than what you wear. If a tailor visit can’t make it perfect, leave it on the rack.

2. Avoid cute.
Walk right by frills, ruffles, and anything that could be described as puffy or girlish – these are not for tall women. Tall women can do elegant, sexy, well-dressed, and jaw-droppingly hot. Not girlish. Every year, 20-30% of the clothes that come down the catwalks are cute. Avoid.

3. Do a “Waist Check.”
All outfits should clearly define where your waist falls. Without definition, tall abdomens can look like a wall of body. This means buying t-shirts, blouses, jackets and dresses that come in at your waist (and not where a 5’4″ woman’s waist would be); even loose dresses and tops should give a sense of your natural curves. This is the number one mistake of tall women everywhere.

4. When in doubt, err dark. Tall women often look best in solid, darker colors, simply because bright colors sometimes make bodies look bigger than they are, as can busy prints. Splashes of color can come from your bag or accessories; lean toward subdued, tonal or black-and-white prints.

5. If you don’t feel amazing, tall and beautiful in it, don’t buy it. Really. Even if your shopping buddy tells you that you look amazing. Feel good, look good, do good.

By Arianne Cohen