Worried about your height?

[Sandie70]

I hope this is the right place to post this as it partially pertains to what to wear. But I'll hope the moderator will be lenient.

Anyway, in my personal situation, I'm 5' 11" tall... not too tall, but not short either.

And most of my shoes increase my height by between 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches (the maximum heel height I can handle walking in).

But, when I have my heels on, I feel a little conspicuous - like the extra height makes me stand out and makes it easier for people to "read" me.

So, I have a couple of questions.

1. For those of you in the same boat as me (and maybe taller even), do you feel your height gives you away too much when you dress? Does this inhibit you from going out in public, or do you not care?

2. Any suggestions of types of flats that can be worn with evening wear instead of heels? Or do you think that's not advisable?

[suchacutie]

10 years ago, when we found Tina, I was just shy of 6' tall, and 5" heels mademail me thing about height. Now I'm 5'9", and shrinking as we all do. I'm ever less worried about height!

[Sarah-RT]

I'm 6'4" and nearly not 1 day goes by when someone has to say "wow your really tall". It's one aspect of being male I particularly like since I dwarf others on average, I can see above others and I spend my time looking down at people. En drag it is a total give away as I wish to disappear into the crowd as just another generic person but obvious I'm like a lighthouse. If I wore 6" heels I'd be pushing 7 feet and would just be ridiculous at that point.

The one time I was out, and for any future out visits it doesn't bother me, I wear flats or runners, I worry more about my voice or my man hands than my height

Sarah x

[Candice June Lee]

Looks like three of us need to hang out. Being 6'3" . This way we could wear heelz and not look out of place.
honestly my last outing was in some 3 inch wedge sandles. I probably stood out. But it seemed ok looking back. I know i was nervous off my mind.

[Jennifer H]

I think it is all in your mind.

I am 5ft 8ins tall and there are one heck of a lot of girls a lot taller than me.

Over the last 20 odd years girls as well as guys heights have gone up quite considerably, maybe 30 or 40 years ago if a person was very tall people would look and maybe think they had had their feet in rooting compound but not anymore.

I bet you look great in your heels and the thing that everyone is looking at will be your nice long legs which heels
always tend to accentuate.

Jennifer. xx

[MonctonGirl]

If when you look around in the area(s) where you go out en-femme
if you see the occasional woman who is 6ft + ...you're ok.

If you don't, you just get yourself a jacket that says
UNIVERSITY OF (wherever) WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
to give those would might otherwise "make" you a quick validation
for your height.

Hope that helps.

[ChristinaK]

I am convinced that my height, being 6'1", completely betrays me. It's one thing to be a dude and tower above most people (particularly in a hispanic community) and it's another thing if you're a foot or more above the women, trying to be feminine. I only wear flats, but wish I could wear heels.

Many women around my environment have broad shoulders, fat bellies, love handles, etc. But, NONE are 6'. Pretty much makes me smile at them when they look me in the eye, with their heads tilted way up, with a knowing glance. Oh well, my wife is 5'11" and probably experiences the same thing (although, she is quite a bit prettier than I). When she wears heels, my arm is above my shoulder to put my arm around her.

[Adriana Moretti]

I am not too worried about it...I am 5.9..which is kinda tall for a gal....but i also looked up what women were 5.9 ...and the list included Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Paris Hilton, Katie Holmes, ....and the classic pornstar Jenna Jameson....Ill take it......I stress more on the weight...cause at that height...those gals are all rails ...and i feel terrible today for eating ice cream

[kimdl93]

I'm not the tallest person here, at 6'2", but I understand the concern. I don't let it affect my choices. With casual summer outfits, I often wear low heeled sandals, because they seem more appropriate. But with dressier styles I am comfortable with heels.

Take some confidence in knowing that there are a good number of women over 5'9". I have several nieces over 6 feet tall, and they are gorgeous.

[Samantha2015]

I'm 6'1" flat footed but I would still rather wear heels than flats. Another tell is giant man feet sticking straight out like clown shoes in flats.
Higher heels make your feet appear smaller, but the drawback is adding to your height. Guess it's a win/lose situation.

[flatlander_48]

I really don't think about it. At a little over 5'-9" with 4" heels, I'm a little over 6'-1". Not a big deal to me.

I checked some data from OHSA. According to their studies, a 50th percentile female is slightly under 5'-4". A 95th percentile female is slightly under 5'-8". Correspondingly, for males the respective numbers would be slightly under 5'-9" and 6'-1".

DeeAnn

[Robin414]

Hi Sandie, short answer...not in the least! For me, it's my voice hands down, I DREAD being approached especially by guys because I can't speak and it happens so damn often I only go out where I think no one will try to start a conversation....OK back on topic...let's face it, tall women are attractive and how many short models have you seen? Must be something in the water but women are generally getting taller as well. I was out with a GG friend last night and in heals she was taller than me and I'm 6'1" flat footed (she used to be an occadional 'wanna be' model as well)😉

[Jean 103]

I'm 5'-11" also and almost always wear heels. My BFF a GG is taller then me and wears 5" heels. I have too wear my tallest heels just to keep up. LOL I love shoes and try not to wear the same pair, the girls at the bar have noticed, I've gotten comments on the shoes I was wearing as well as being told they like all the shoes I wear. I go out a lot, I don't try to blend in I wear what I like, and I like heels. I do wear a lot of wedges, they are easy to walk in and you don't have to worry so much about wear you are placing your heel.
Love Jean

[Eryn]

At 6'2" I'm at the 99th percentile for females in the US and do occasionally encounter women of my height. Almost invariably we each glance at the other's feet to check for heels and then look up and smile at each other.

Despite my height I do occasionally wear heels. Last night I wore 4" wedges out to dinner and a show. Yes, I do get looks, but any tall woman would too.

In one way, heels can be an asset to us tall gals. A pair of modest (1.5-2") heelscan actually explain ones height to a casual bystander. They see a tall girl, look at her feet, see heels, and few people actually do the math. The mere presence of heels justifies the height!

[grace7777]

I checked some data from OHSA. According to their studies, a 50th percentile female is slightly under 5'-4". A 95th percentile female is slightly under 5'-8". Correspondingly, for males the respective numbers would be slightly under 5'-9" and 6'-1".

DeeAnn

Actually the source is the CDC(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), instead of OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration).

[cheryl reeves]

im 6' and wear sandles or flats for my legs couldnt support me in heels anymore.

[Michelle_Diane]

I'm 5' 11" and when I went out dressed I always wore 2.5" - 3" heels and couldn't help but notice all the tall women around as many tall as there was on the short side. I don't think our height will out us to others. But as they say that's my 2cents worth.

[flatlander_48]

Actually the source is the CDC(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), instead of OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration).

The link was:

http://cecs.wright.edu/~dkender/hfe307/lect2.pdf

It lists the source for Anthropometric Data - structural as:

OSHA Draft Ergonomics Standard (Appendix D).

DeeAnn

[Pump1]

I'm 6'4" bare foot. I like wearing 4" heels. That makes me really tall. I've never ventured out yet but I think my beard would probably give me away. Lol. Joking aside I've seen many tall women who are beautiful. I know that I can't pass so as for know I dress in the privacy of my home... alone.

[Isabella Ross]

I think there's a few of us here who could join Dennis Rodman and create a TG basketball team. I'm 6'3" in stocking feet. And yes, it does make me self-conscious when I contemplate going out. But the advice I've received on this previously is, I think, pretty solid: you've got to own it. We all clocked once in a while...even the best of us. So perhaps the tallest of us just gets clocked easier and faster and more often. So might as well own it...

[AngelaYVR]

6' without the heels. Usually wear 3" for walking around. People are going to look, so I just make sure they have something to look at!

[Sandie70]

Angela, I think you hit the nail on the head. If you think people are going to look at you because of your height, then give them something to look at! Classic!

And Robin, you're right - there's not a lot of short models out there. Maybe putting on an attitude like you just came from a Paris fashion show will make you own it.

[grace7777]

DeeAnn,

I stand corrected and I apologize for questioning your source, and appreciate you giving the link. Now I did find data on the average female height at the CDC website.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/body-measurements.htm

On that page there is a PDF file: : Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2007-2010, tables 4, 6, 10, 12, 19, 20 [PDF - 1.7 MB]

The height for American Females is on page 14 of the report or page 20 in the pdf file.

Grace

[flatlander_48]

g:

Not a problem. OSHA references a lot of stuff, but the original publication would be needed to verify the specifics. I think they only sell their publications, so our safety folks at work would have access, but I don't. I had searched that out the information the other day as I was designing something where I needed human height and reach data.

DeeAnn

[Krisi]

At 5' 8" tall without shoes, I feel heels, even 3" heels make me stand out in the crowd so I wear flats. Besides, where and when I go out, heels are not appropriate.

Not every woman can wear heels even when they might be appropriate because of foot or leg issues so flats or really low heels would be fine.