Tall Dress Sizes

[Genevieve G]

Does anyone have experience with tall vs. non-tall dresses? I know talls typically fit 5'7" to 5"11" but if I wear a size 18 and just get a size 18 regular, will that look ridiculously short? (I'm 6' without heels). There just seems to be a lack of selection size 18 tall.

Hugs,

Tina

[Julia Cross]

Hi Tina,

Size doesn't necessarily mean length, usually there is little difference. Your pic doesn't look like you require an 18, more like a 12 or 14. How much do you weigh?

I am 6'3", and wear between 14 and 16 as I weigh 220lbs. I used to wear 12 to 14.

If the dress specifically says tall, then it will fit better, and stay away from petit as it is for much shorter women.

Julia

[Genevieve G]

Hi, Julia.

I weigh about 175. The outfit in my avatar is a 16. Maybe I've washed it so much that it's shrunk, but I was using that as my guide as well as the different sizing guides I've seen.

Tina

[Julia Cross]

WOW, great figure, you should easily fit in a size 12. Here in Canada anyhow, and iassume in the US.

Here's a thought, go to Sears or another department store where you can return everything, no questions asked. Buy the dress you like in a 12 and try it on at home and go from there.

julia

[Genevieve G]

That's a good idea. I've never really paid too much attention to return policies, but I'll have to from now on.

Tina

[Gunda]

Hi,
I empathize with you tall girls. I am 6'3'' tall and 140 lbs. I can fit into dresses size ten and up. It is a bit of a problem finding close that will fit lengthwise though I usually look for dresses that have hems dragging or nearly dragging on the ground. That gives me a ballpark idea whether they'll fit or not.

Best,
Gunda

[Lissa Stevens]

Try this link. www.tallwomensclothes.com. They have very tall clothes. Pants with a 36 in inseam if that gives you any idea. I'm sure all the other clothes are like this too. I have not purchased from them but they look good.

[Butterfly Bill]

Here's a thought, go to Sears or another department store where you can return everything, no questions asked. Buy the dress you like in a 12 and try it on at home and go from there.
Better yet, try them on in the store. (Go to the fitting room on the men's side) They won't stop you from maybe buying something from them and making them money.

[GypsyKaren]

Hi Tina

I'm surely not tall, can't help you there. One thing I've learned is that a lot of times you can't go by the sizes on labels, every manufacturer uses different guidelines, and they can vary quite widely. For instance, I usually wear a 12 in jeans, but my Levis are a 6, and I just fit into an 8 petite dress, but a 14 was to small, and so on.

The best thing you can do is just keep trying things on and see what fits. Butterfly (she's so cool!) is right, go to a department store that also has a mens dressing room, I do it all the time.

GypsyKaren

[Jillian_Faith]

Hi Tina: I am 6' and weigh just a litte more than you and can wear between a 13/14 - 15/16 regular usually or tall. When I was at your weight I could wear 11/12 - 13/14. The dress that I am wearing in my Avatar is a Juniors 13/14. It falls about an inch above my knees, I am somewhat fimiliar with Columbus and have purchaced items from Meijers, Kohls, shops at the Malls, and the Pennys Outlet there in Columbus using this size range just fine. For the more major department stores you may be able to go with a 13/14 size but would go for the 15/16 at specialty or discount stores. I don't usually have a problem with length. As far as selection in my experence I also have found that stores that have a Ladies Tall selection they tend to be larges sizes. Of course petite items are too short for me and usually smaller sizes.

If I get something that dosen't fit right after I get it home I take the items back, though, more often because I didn't like the look when I got it home. I little trick I use to check out something that I think may be close is that I found that a skirt that fits me well turns out that the distance along the waist matched to the distance from my thumb and my elbow that way I can just match the item that I am looking at to that distance if I have some doubts.

Enjoy shopping for your special lady.

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

JC Penney is actually is pretty good about carrying extended sizes, although plus talls, are limited.

Best bet is to do some online searching for tall women's clothing, since there are specialty retailers for this market.

Women's sizes are notoriously variable, so always check the size chart for a particular retailer -- almost all online retailers have a size chart. You can also buy things in more than one size and return the one that doesn't fit. GGs do it all the time for similar reasons.

[Colleen]

My wife is 5ft 11in she shops at Talbots and Liz Clayborn she gets a better cut in both slacks and dresses.There is also a store called
www.Luxuriouslytall.com They have a nice classic selection Good Luck

[Genevieve G]

Thanks for the info everyone. Those are great suggestions & I really, really appreciate it. Hopefully, I'll be able to check some of this out tonight! That's all I've been thinking about for the last few days!

Luv,

Tina

[Jesse69]

Tina - you might be a size 12 to 14. When I was 175 lbs @ 5' 3.75" I was a size 12.

The clothes selection sucked when I was a size 16. Now I fit size 4 to 8 and have a great selection of clothes.

Gunda - you're incredibly light for your height. Would be great to see a pic of you in the Picture Section.