Dresses for Tall Women

My venture into the world of tall ladies was serendipity at work. I was attending a social media workshop, adding to my arsenal of digital information, as we small business owners do, and happened to have the good fortune to be sat next to Luise.

Standing at 6ft 2″ tall, colour co-ordinated in varying shades of grey, I loved her sophisticated casual look, funky scarf, cropped pants, accompanied with linen top; finished off with a pair of Converse trainers. I spoke to her about fashion styling, in particular her look; imagine my surprise when Luise said she was nonplussed about fashion because of the problems tall women of her height and stature face when it comes to clothing.

“What was she talking about?”

I was under the impression that as the fashion industry has made a point of celebrating these Amazonian women, (according to magazine images anyone under 5ft 9″ is invisible), clothing in all forms especially dresses would be easily accessible. The saying ‘welcome to my world’ or in Luise’s case the world of tall ladies; dresses are more than adding a few extra inches, in fabric length to the hemline of a dress.

I’ve made customised evening dresses for ladies of 5ft 9″, not once thinking that anyone taller would encounter fitting issues with ready-to-wear clothing, there are fashion outlets that cater for tall women; the template of one size and style fits and suits all, doesn’t really cut it with tall ladies. It’s more than needing to allow for extra yardage of fabric; it’s also design, style lines and fit. You’ve got to bear in mind there is no hiding when you are head and shoulders above those around you, the whole surface area that is your body, is a walking billboard. In talking with Luise, I felt I was having a David Attenborough moment, only my discovery was of these gorgeous women, who don’t fit or conform to ‘an average’ anything.

Dress Lengths

Adding more fabric inches onto the length of a dress, when the waistline is in the wrong place looks as though you are wearing a dress that comes to an abrupt halt under the bustline; the gentle flow that is supposed to be happening in that area, streamlining the body, is simply not there!

Sleeves

Sleeves, well this was a huge eye opener, not just because of length, but more importantly the sleeve cap, (that’s the area around the top of the sleeve), too short a sleeve cap causes the sleeve to twist and strain, being out of proportion, especially if quite muscular in that area. One of Luise’s biggest bug-bears was the length of sleeves, some of which were three quarter length and not out of choice, but fit.

These were just a few of my tall ladies discoveries. I’ll be sharing with you in future writings my journey of fashion learning with tall ladies. The thrill of designing a coat dress for Luise, the surprising insights, in terms of fit, function, and design.

Stay tuned…

To talk with me about having a garment made to your measurements email info@coralturner.com and I will make an appointment for a consultation at my studio Thames Side Studios, or alternatively call 07895 334577 https://coralturner.com/dressmaking-services-london-couture-sewing/