When my brother measured me Sunday night, I was a little
disappointed that I wasn’t six-feet tall and only 5’11”. It’s a little unusual
for a girl to think this way, but I find myself a part of a secretive,
hidden-in-plain-sight club. We are the Amazonian princesses, the giraffes, the
light posts and the skyscrapers. We’ve heard every nickname in the book; sorry,
but you’re not being funny or original.
Problems:
Tall girls are the exact same as every other girl, except we face
some exclusive problems.
The worst problem is pants. When you’re short and your pants are
too long, you can just roll them up. When you’re tall and your pants are too
short, you look foolish or like you’re wearing capris all year round.
I need a 34” inseam for my pants, which means I’m lucky in the
tall girl world. Kelsey Meagher, 6’, is a psychology student at Lakehead
University. She rocks a 36” inseam and has more difficulty than I.
“I spend so much time trying to
find pants that hit me well length wise,” she says. “I am unable to buy cheap
jeans or yoga pants. I have to invest in expensive pants in order for them to
fit. Tights are also a huge problem for me as my inseam is a 36”. Most stores
only sell up to a 34”.”
A good place to buy pants in Ottawa is Long Tall Sally. They carry up to a 38”, but they’re a little pricey. Their prices can range from being on sale at $49 to regular price of $79.
I personally buy my pants at Old
Navy, as I’m only a 34” inseam and their tall pants do the trick.
Daphka Kene, 5’10”, is a
communications student at Carleton. She says her biggest problem with clothing
is that she has to “rock flood pants because 99.99 per cent of stores don't
carry longer lengths.”
Another frequent problem is being reminded by strangers that you’re different.
“The comments are harmless,” said Kene. “But it's just such so frustrating when people point out the obvious, I mean you wouldn't walk up to an Asian and [say] "whoa, you're Asian". I know I'm tall for a girl!”
Stacey Poapst, 6’3”, is an advertising and marketing communications student at Algonquin College. Poapst plays varsity basketball at Algonquin, so her height is a big advantage for the game. Her biggest tall-girl-problem is public transportation.
“Really, the world is built for people between 5’ and 5’8”. If you're anywhere over that, it's a little bit more painful to get around.”
I can’t even tell you how many times I come home with bruised knees or shins from hitting them on buses, tables, chairs, anything at shin or knee height.
The biggest problem I have with public transportation is hitting my head. If I sit in the back where there are steps, I often forget that the ceiling also doesn’t go up, so when getting up off the bus I tend to knock my noggin.
A big problem for most tall girls is short boys, and sometimes even the tall ones too.
In my experience, and Kene’s as
well, boys can be intimidated by the height.
Most tall-girl-problems are: not being able to sit comfortably in cars, buses, trains, airplanes, your feet always hanging off your bed when you sleep, not being able to buy long sleeve shirts that fit (I always end up with an XL just so the arms are long enough, when I’m a medium) and for some, ducking in doorways.
Perks:
Even though being tall has its problems, it’s also extremely useful for many things.
You can almost always reach things on the top shelf, you can be seen by people if they’re looking for you in a crowd, you can usually see better at concerts or events on a stage, you’re able to walk/run faster than others.
Meagher enjoys that she can reach things in stores that are hung up high without having to get a sale associate.
Poapst likes that everyone looks up to you. Literally.
“You can command a room with physical presence if you need to,” she says.
Kene adores that she doesn’t have to wear heels. I agree. There’s nothing better than seeing every girl trying to be your height and you’re just naturally there.
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