Real Tall Talks: Don’t Call Me Big

Do you ever go through times where you just hit a wall or a slump? Pretty much for no clear cut reason? That’s how it feels trying to make myself write something.. well anything really for the blog. I’ve learned much about myself in the last year and I know I can get stuck in my head and paralyzed with inaction. Enneagram 4 stuff, anyone relate? A couple of weeks ago we even crowdsourced to y’all on Instagram to see if there was anything you wanted or needed covered. There were minimal responses, so I’m wondering if this slump is just 2020 bashing us all over the head repeatedly. 

So don’t get me wrong because I feel very grateful for all I have. We try to be a source of positivity on the internet, as we know it tends towards snarky, mean, and belittling more often than not. That certainly doesn’t mean we don’t have our share of bad days or downer attitudes. Like we’ve said many times before, we strive to keep it real – hence the name of the blog!

When I was starting to write last week I wanted to talk about the definition of tall. I had a whole post dreamt up in which I dismantled the synonymous use of the word big in place of tall. It might be one of my biggest pet peeves… pun intended. You can probably envision my fury combined with utter dejection when I googled the definition of tall, only to find that big was in the first row of synonyms.

I’ve long abhorred the word big when used in my general direction. It was a learned feeling that my Mom taught me as she admonished people who erred by saying it to our family. Feelings of shame would flood my system as I was browsing the junior rack at TJ Maxx, only to discover I fit much more easily into the women’s racks.

“Did you mean tall?” she’d inquire as politely as she could muster, as some misguided soul would blurt, “Wow! You’re so big!” 

At fourteen years old, hearing those proclamations combined with being unable to “fit in” to the age-appropriate clothing was devastating. I’d look around at other teenage girls and wonder why they got to be cute and small while I was labeled big. In fact, I discovered most everything about me was big, comparatively. My shoulders, my thighs, even my head was considered “big.” When I went to pick out my marching band uniform I couldn’t find a hat large enough to fit my head. 

I’ll speak for myself but also know that a lot of women don’t have ANY appreciation for the word big. So while I’m sharing my tall girl-specific viewpoint of experiences, we might have more experiences than normal as people feel they can make unsolicited comments to us on the regular.

If you’re average height/build you might have never heard the word big directed at you. It might be so far fetched that someone is calling you big that you don’t even take it personally or even wonder why I’m making such a big deal out of it. 

Basically I’m writing this today, to stick up for younger me (and hopefully you if you still need to hear it). If you have an issue with people saying things about your body to you regularly, it might be difficult for you to disassociate with what people think of you. I can tell you I struggle with that myself and have made significant strides. But as long as I have my memory, my younger self is in there ready to feel shame at being other than a “normal” girl and I feel like a lot of tall women have had similar experiences at some point in their lives.

All of that to say: you do not have to take their comments as law. Second of all, feel free to re-educate them. Let them know you don’t appreciate their comments and ask how it would feel if something about their body was commented on by strangers every time they left the house. 

Caitlin and I are here to continue to encourage you to embrace yourself. That means dealing with the messier stuff that comes along with it, like feelings and reactions we have from interacting with others. Let us know in the comments if you have any trigger words or comments!

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Tall Maxi Dress Season

Unofficially Summer has been kicked off by Memorial Day weekend. We hope you had a great weekend celebrating. Did you have altered plans this year? Ours was close to normal. Caitlin went up north (normal) and I stuck around town but was supposed to be camping. It got auto canceled because the state parks aren’t open until now. 

Luckily all this time at home, I’ve gotten all of my new plants/vegetables planted already. I even probably killed the first round of vegetables because I planted them early May, a little overzealous. The second round is starting to look lush, and I’m appreciative of being able to slow down and make our yard a little oasis more than ever this year. One of the small perks of life being put on pause. On the other hand, the house projects are starting to pile up as I’m home constantly finding improvements.. Haha. I’m sure I’m not alone in all of that, as someone who tends to be on the go pre-pandemic times. 

I’m finally taking the time to really make our home reflect me, which I never had prior to this. It might help that we’re about to start a huge home renovation project and finally will have my dream closet! Can’t wait to share the before and afters on all of that. Within months I will have all of my clothes in the same closet instead of spread across the house. Y’all know we have plenty of clothes. 

With having everything in one place, it will continue to help me create/evolve into a cohesive wardrobe as well. Why am I sharing all of the behind the scenes of not tall fashion? Because it helps introduce this Amalli Talli Baja maxi dress! One of the very best parts about Amalli Talli, is their vision for their clothing to help create a cohesive wardrobe. I think deep down, all of us strive towards having that magical wardrobe we can pack into a suitcase and look chic on vacation. Much easier said than done, don’t you agree?

It is so difficult to produce pieces for tall women as a small business. You’re covering the whole population that is vastly different in shape, age, and style. Sounds like a crazy order to fill, doesn’t it? Amalli Talli manages over and over to produce the ideal piece that will have you looking spot-on style-wise and simultaneously classic. You need this Baja maxi dress in your closet. It is such a high-quality piece. 

The Baja maxi creates a stunning silhouette and is also extremely forgiving. Part of that is due to the liner, that causes it to skim over trouble spots you might worry about normally. Feel comfortable and confident wearing this, because it is made thoughtfully so you won’t have to give it any worry. Plus, it’s a blank canvas. You can add a belt or big jewelry or both to dress it up. You can throw the most incredible jean over it for a casual vibe. You already know I’m talking about the Hollis jean jacket also from Amalli. Just an aside, but if you haven’t grabbed this jacket yet you are MISSING OUT. We cannot emphasize that enough. 

Back to the Baja maxi dress, I’m wearing it in a medium. I tried it on in large as well. It skimmed the floor in a large but I preferred to have it fit a bit slimmer because I don’t have a large chest. Of course they have both small talls and tall tall’s covered because they think of everything! So if you’re more Caitlin’s height you could snatch up the Alli length. I’m wearing it in the Amy length for my 6’4 frame. Or if you want to rock some serious heels with it, maybe you’d still get the Amy length. We’ll have to shoot some pictures of Caitlin to compare!

Every girl needs a good black maxi dress in her closet. It will cover you for so many occasions, I can’t think of a more versatile dress. It goes back to cost per wear, and you will definitely get enough use out of it to merit the cost. Plus we are super excited to be able to share a code for 15% off with you all again THEREALTALL15! This code is a one-time use, so be smart when you choose to use it. We will be sharing more of their incredible pieces over this week and next, so stay tuned for more!

Outfit Details

Link to Amalli Talli’s Website. Don’t forget to enter THEREALTALL15 for 15% off! *Active only through June 5th*

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Height Goddess, The Shirt Says it All

The running joke now is, we’re forgetting how tall we are now because we can’t go outside for anyone to tell us. I’ll pause for the chuckles or groans. 

It does have a ring of truth though, especially for our family. We’re all well above average height, so we feel pretty normal when we’re spending time together. It’s only when you compare us to another family or group of people, and realize just how different we are. If we didn’t notice, we have all the other people who’d like to announce it to us typically prior to a normal greeting. As appealing as it is to be treated like an oddity (enter sarcasm), we daydream about sailing through the day uninterrupted by that one question that’s on everyone’s lips.

“How tall are you?!” Followed closely by, “You HAVE to play sports: basketball or volleyball?” Uh, let’s just be clear about that, you don’t HAVE to do anything just because God blessed you with height. It honestly makes me relieved that I can say, yes I did because it cuts off the conversation and I fulfilled their expectation. The other (naughty) part of me wants to ask, why do I have to play basketball or volleyball and start a controversial discussion with a stranger. The inner me knows I’d be wasting my breath, so I mostly hold my tongue.

Caitlin and I have long talked about how great it would be to have t-shirts that could speak for us. Cue Height Goddess making the graphic t-shirts and sweatshirts of our dreams! Maybe you’ve always felt tongue tied in the moments a stranger approaches you. You wished you could come up with some witty retort. No need any more! Height Goddess will speak so you don’t have to. Hopefully it convey the desire to avoid the redundant conversations in the first place.

It makes me think about several instances that I try to forget. The first being one year at Bastille Days. We were waiting for my husband to get beers outside a tent. As we’re looking around enjoying ourselves a group of boomer men were openly staring. I wondered why for a brief moment, until I realized their group’s “tall guy” was standing behind me trying to compare our heights. I wish that was the only instance of that occurring but it’s just one in dozens. Basically festivals are ground zero for tall comments, as it also always happens at Summerfest whether you’re just wandering the grounds or “blocking” someone’s view during a concert.

Cutting right to truth, is the “Life is short, but I’m not” available in both a sweatshirt and a tshirt version. Well cut to fit our long limbs, it’s a cheeky take on recognizing the positives. Life may be short, but we still don’t need people stating the obvious every day! These t-shirts and sweatshirts are amazingly soft and high quality fabric. Plus no worrying about having to size up to get the length/fit right.

The other perfect graphic is “Yes, I know I’m tall.” Take the words right out of their mouths and add a graphic t-shirt to your closet that will go with everything. You can wear it tied up like Caitlin did with jeans, or you can tuck it into a skirt for an edgier look. Really, the possibilities are endless and you know we love graphic t-shirts for their versatility. 

The sweatshirts come in black and olive, which you know is one of our favorite colors! Olive is practically a neutral at this point, so it only feels right. Lameka, the founder of Height Goddess has been creating stunning clothing options for tall women since 2007! It is not easy to stick around as a tall small business, but she has stood the test of time. She also has some stunning tall maxi dresses cut in classic silhouettes that you’ll be able to keep in your rotation forever. 

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Height Goddess yet, you’re missing out. Every tall girl needs to grab one of these tshirts and help spread the word that we know EXACTLY who we are. We are tall and proud! Big thanks to Lameka for sending us these shirts and sweatshirts to try out and share with y’all. Expect to see them on repeat.

Shop all of her designs, here!

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Real Tall Finds Friday: Vol 4

This weeks Real Tall Finds is a mixture again of deals and what we actually bought over the last week, as well as what we wore! Sometimes you find items and they end up inspiring you to buy other items to create that magical cohesive wardrobe we’re all aspiring towards. That was exactly what happened when I got the most magical culottes from Long Tall Sally and happened upon the most perfect snakeskin print turtleneck! As we love to trade clothes, Caitlin wore the outfit to work after me and promptly realized she needed her own turtleneck, which led to us sharing a mainline win find with y’all! Kismet, if I’ve ever heard it.


https://rstyle.me/+ZJp1OO3XTbyAmwVueNy7xg

https://rstyle.me/+RfIe7fd1Mr7sPoPk21YOpw

Post coming soon on this romantic sweater that’s currently under $40 that would pair perfectly with that skirt! It does have more of a cropped fit, but bought in a size medium so might be longer if you size up!

https://rstyle.me/+_lElND02974_RybbJhYxTw

Black: https://rstyle.me/+Bh7B7AKp5snEIzDn7jjZIA (40% off!!)

Snakeskin: https://rstyle.me/+reRx1jq3Yn0uBjNUbe95Ig (we both own this one, it’s mainline but the sleeves are a dream and it wears with a weightless feel(+)

Green Thyme Animal Splash Print: https://rstyle.me/+lGuEOCuCzPwajNsgpVZAVA

Dress Culottes Shoes

Black Gray

Caitlin got this in both Snakeskin and Black (they are waterproof and very weather resistant!!)

That’s all of our finds for now, as usual let us know if you are on the hunt for anything specific and we can help you find it!

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What’s Black, White, and Makes you feel like a Million Bucks?

After the last two weeks of four day work weeks, we’re feeling this week stretch out to the fullest. It’s always that simultaneous feeling when you’re looking forward to something, that the week goes by so quickly and so slowly! Does anyone else feel like that? We’ve been anticipating Farm Aid all week long. There have been so many messages back and forth about logistics. What we’re eating, when we’re going, what we’re wearing… you get the picture. 

In typical fashion, there is rain in the forecast. So the discussion of what to wear is tempered with, should I buy this inexpensive raincoat and wear rain boots? Should we all buy the same raincoat and match? Our Mom will be shuddering to read that last sentence, haha. She cringes anytime we wear matching stuff. We get a kick out of it because she used to love to have us wear matching items. Now we like to do it for pictures because it shows you how it fits on different heights (and we think its funny). I know that’s what we always appreciate when we’re shopping, is seeing it on different shapes and sizes to get a better picture of how it will actually look.

Plus we have very similar style preferences, so we end up buying a lot of the same things. In some cases, if we know we won’t be wearing it regularly, we tell each other that we’ll just share. Then we can pass the item back and forth and double the use! That’s one of the best parts about having a sister/Mom who are pretty much the same size as you.

The list of items we like to pass around is top-heavy with dresses. Dresses, especially for special events aren’t going to see a lot of wear. I’m always happy to let them take a look at my options for weddings because I like to see the cost per wear drop. Vice versa, I’ve borrowed dresses from both of them many times to avoid spending needless money. 

Work dresses often get much better mileage being mixed in with the rest of the wardrobe, but it’s still another great item we can share. But the bottom line is if we admire something in each other’s closet, then we’re always glad to share. What I’m getting at, is that I can’t wait to borrow this stunning dress of Caitlin’s. 

Once she “spotted” it (like we’ll ever stop with the puns), she was immediately impressed with the cut. It wasn’t sleeveless, AND it didn’t have any cutouts on the back or stomach to disqualify it for a professional setting. The midi-length was perfect as usual, plus despite it being animal print she already cut her teeth on this snakeskin dress if you missed seeing it here.

So obviously she snapped it up, and then once she received it she was smitten. It fits like a dream! The draping across the stomach is artfully done to emphasize the waist while also concealing any areas you might be self-conscious about. Plus the twirl-ability is clearly off the charts! Caitlin has been in full-on dress mode recently, because why wear pants when you can be free, comfortable AND chic? You can wear this during the summer and easily transition it to the Fall and Winter by adding a jacket or blazer and eventually tights and/or boots. Black and white are seasonless and we’re here for everything about this dress!

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