The Case for Buying an Outfit

In the past, I typically haven’t sought out full outfits. I’ve often admired seeing the mannequins put together in stores. Plus browsing online, the model’s outfits online have certainly caught my eye many times. So why have I not typically bought more of said outfits that I’ve enjoyed? I think it’s partially rooted in the past of budget and wanting certain bits and pieces instead of feeling like the outfit was the number one choice. It also had a lot to do with filling holes in my wardrobe. It seemed frivolous to me to be able to purchase an entire outfit at once when I needed several tops for work or just a pair of pants.

I’m sure this is the case with a lot of people. Our wardrobe leaves gaps and spaces at different points. Sometimes it feels like half of my sweaters have rips or holes in them at the same time. There’s also weight change or body shifts to deal with. You could lose a bunch of weight or may be pregnant, or just end up gaining weight. Clearly, there is a number of reasons to be forced to look for new clothing. Of course, some of us don’t have to be forced into looking for new clothing… ahem, the ladies running this blog. But especially if it’s not your jam, we’re happy to help!

Recently Caitlin has spied some killer outfits and either snatched them up in whole or at least taken the time to recreate them. I’ve loved each of them, and it inspired me with this Summer look. This wasn’t the outfit the model wore, but the high paper-bag waisted shorts and this crop top were begging to be paired. I was drawn more to the rust color of the tank top, but I really liked the vertical stripes on the shorts and that it wasn’t your typical bright summery look.

We’ve all seen the grunge-y oversized denim jackets floating around the past few years. While there are lots of great brand new options in stores, there are also endless treasures to be found in a thrift, secondhand, or consignment shop. That’s where I found this Levi jacket, or to be exact, Caitlin found it for me! That way you can save a bit of money, and have it be authentically distressed. Plus we’re lucky as tall women because we can easily grab a men’s denim jacket and have it fit us really nicely. As a matter of fact, I’m sure this one is a men’s. I couldn’t love the fit any more!

Probably the funniest thing to me about buying this as a whole outfit is that I feel more limited now in mixing and matching. Obviously, a lot has to do with the colors in the shorts, but I get in that mindset if I “buy an outfit” that those items belong together. Which is completely silly, but maybe a way for my brain to take a break as I’m gazing through my closet? Hard to say for sure, but I plan to push myself out of that and see what else I can come up with. We always want to reiterate that we’re not buying items here for you to see and then returning them. (Unless they are ill-fitting and we need to alert our tall fam to save the time and energy in a useless purchase)

Ultimately, we want to be authentic to ourselves while still providing value to you! So if you’re looking for a particular item and you haven’t heard us talk about it or cover it, please ask us. It’s not just lip service. Shopping should be fun and painless. It obviously hasn’t always been that way for us, but let us help the trajectory be a positive one. You don’t have to settle for too-short sleeves or pulling in the shoulders or whatever other issues are bothering you! This is your tall community, we got you!

So tell us below, if we haven’t covered something you’ve been looking for! Also, sound off on whether you like buying full outfits or single items and why.

Outfit Details

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Cathedral Square Market is my Rain-boo

Happy fifth of July, which can basically still be considered a holiday this year, considering it falls on a Friday and barely anyone is working. If you do have to work, sorry! We feel your pain and have been there for many years in the past. Luckily this year, our family has congregated up north at the Lake, where we belong. We’re just grateful to live in a free country. To be able to celebrate that right, with our family and friends is special and we don’t take it for granted!

So while we’re out on the sparkling blue water, holding cold drinks and listening to some perfectly chosen summer jams; we’re going to throw it back on the blog to our visit to the Cathedral Square Market. If you missed that post, check it out here. We gave you the full rundown on all the amazing small businesses we encountered and showed you Caitlin’s adorable tall sundress. Rest assured, we will be going back. We didn’t get a chance to participate in the free yoga class because we were a bit overdressed. Next time, we’ll head back, in appropriate clothing and prioritize getting a good sweat on. 

Honestly though, how could I have possibly passed up the opportunity to wear this gorgeous rainbow dress? This was another grab from Long Tall Sally, duh! The kaleidoscope of colors, topped with a shimmery hue obviously had to be mine. Like we mentioned with the last couple of Long Tall Sally dresses, the midi length is our go-to of summer… and life.  Plus it’s made for tall women, so it’s not like buying a midi dress from a mainline store and calling it midi but it truly is a knee length dress. 

I’m considering wearing this to our Grandma’s 90th birthday party next week. She is a color-loving lady, but her absolute favorite is a vibrant yellow. That’s the beauty of this dress and most dresses I keep in my closet; they’re versatile. The word versatile doesn’t mean you can’t choose color either. I find myself hesitant to grab louder colors, wondering if I’ll be able to wear them in enough to merit the cost. The bottom line is, if you love something enough you’ll figure out a million different times and ways to wear it! You’ll be finding yourself making excuses, like “Oh, but I didn’t see them yesterday.” Girl, we get it and we are with you! Caitlin recently did this by wearing her striped culottes to our Skiin event and then promptly wearing them again the next day. The funny part is she saw a friend from the night before at Ulta, oops! She was on team re-wear too, thankfully.

This dress is ideal to wear around. It’s made of a clingy material but doesn’t point to any particular areas that I would find distressing. Plus, it comes with a belt. If it didn’t, I definitely would have to scrounge one up. I still might remove the matching belt and find something else to remix it with. Just another way you can make your dresses go further in your closet. Plus, I can see myself wearing a jean jacket or leather jacket, or even a duster! 

For this Summer day, I went with some simple sandals. These are also from Long Tall Sally. I’ve worn them around all Spring and Summer and show no signs of slowing. The suede fabric is deliciously comfortable. Plus the small heel gives me enough of a lift without compromising my comfort whatsoever. I finished it with my straw bag that was perfectly sized to corral all of my market goodies. I will note, the straw of the bag did not mix well with the dress. Caitlin noticed it started to rub the dress in one spot. So just beware of that with any straw bags you’re carrying this summer! She has had the same issue with her Rattan circle bag so it must be common-proceed with caution on this trend!

Although we didn’t want to bore you with reiterating our love for East Towns Cathedral Square Market before we head back again we are excited that after this weekend Up North we will be able to give you a full report on Nourish Natural Products Bug Spray! And if you’re lucky enough to make it this Saturday, have a popsicle or two for us!

We’ll just leave you with that and let you get back to enjoying the holiday weekend! Hoping your cookouts, fireworks, water activities, binge-watching, or whatever you’re up to makes for a rejuvenating enjoyable time!

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Alaina Lynne

Eeeeek! I can honestly never contain my excitement when I start writing a blog post with new to us (and you on the blog) retailers. I have too many thoughts and remarks that start to swirl through my head that I can’t possibly get out quick enough. So without further ado please meet Alaina Lynne Boutique! We stumbled upon the Instagram page and were quickly drawn to the classic trendy pieces.

We started interacting on Instagram simply because we liked the goods. Not too long after the lovely owner, Jennifer, shot us a sweet note to let us know that she was part of the tall girl tribe standing at 6’. We always love when people send simple notes like this because it instantly connects us. It helps initiates a more personal “internet friendship”.  We learned that the boutique is online but they do pop up shops around Maryland, DC, and Virginia. So if you are in those areas, you should feel lucky! If you’re wondering about the name; it’s a combination of both Jennifer’s middle name as well as her sisters. We also love a good sister duo. It also helps that like us, Jennifer can appreciate sarcasm. Are we long-distance best friends? Seems like we are well on our way.

One of their main goals is to provide women with a versatile wardrobe. Ummm could this align more with our goal for y’all? We always like to reiterate that we don’t just post things to post them. We obviously post often about certain big-box retailers but with smaller boutiques and niche companies, we do our homework. We ask questions like what are your values, goals, why are you doing what you do? Do you think us posting your items aligns with all of the said questions? If any of the answers are no or we don’t think the items will benefit you; you will straight up never see them. No questions asked. Unless it’s a tall fail. We share those solely for that reason.

Let’s get back to it. Alaina Lynne is definitely not strictly for taller women. However, since we are blessed that the owner is tall herself there are so many tall friendly items! And if you are worried about which items these are, send a DM to their Instagram page and she will happily guide you through fit, sizing recommendations, Etc. To be honest, it was like having a personal shopper. Jennifer picked our pieces and recommended which size to do in each based on our typical sizes and everything fits like a dream.

The first item that we are featuring is this Knot Your Average Button Up which we are certain you NEED. This top is going to be on the heavy rotation this summer. Not only is the style as cute as can be, but the color combo is also perfect for summer. This top paired so nicely with both white denim and regular denim. I for one cannot wait to pair it with shorts too!

From the first time I slipped into this top to try it on to the many times I have worn it already, I cannot get over the comfort. It is light, breathes easy, and hangs exactly as I want it. Both Jenilee and I always struggle with finding tops that are truly comfortable in the shoulders but this one more than fits the bill. We recommend this top for most frames. If you have broader shoulders like us: girl, what are you waiting for?

I loved being able to share this company with all of you today and hope you enjoy giving their site or Instagram a look. Let us know what you think and what items are your favorites! Stay tuned for a look into one of our other favorite Alaina Lynne items early next week. Not sure which item we like more!

Happy Friday Eve Fam! Stop back tomorrow for a bit more on London! Here is the link to the striped top!

Outfit Details

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It’s Wedding Season

It’s wedding season! You know that around these parts we tend to preach reusing and recycling our wardrobes as often as possible but one item we struggle to re-wear is dresses as a wedding guest. I don’t know if it is because it’s typically more formal, its photographed, or what, but we always want a new one! This doesn’t always mean we can just go out and blow the big bucks on a new dress which brings me to this pink one. This dress came in 8 colors, pink being my last choice. Guess which one went on clearance? You bet, the pink one.

So I bought it. I don’t know if I am completely contradicting myself here after saying only buy things that spark joy, that make you feel like your best self, etc. But y’all sometimes the budget friendly option wins. And in this case it worked in my favor. I got so many compliments on this dress (well mainly my look as a whole due to my shoes), and at the end of the day I am finally okay with the fact that it was pink.

I wanted to elaborate a little bit on a story some of you may have read on our Instagram stories a few weeks ago. I went to a close family friends wedding a few weeks back with my parents which is where I wore this pink dress. We road tripped up in the morning, enjoyed the lovely ceremony, checked in to our hotel and got ready to turn it up at the reception.  Cue us arriving at the cocktail party and bumping into the lovely photographer.

This man approached my mom and I (while we were in the middle of a conversation) with some of the other guests and first starts chatting with my mom, which I didn’t catch and by the time I tuned in he looks at me and says “Why are you wearing heels?” I can’t tell you how off guard this caught me. Thankfully my gut reaction in this scene was to respond kindly with “Because they make my outfit, don’t you think?”

Now here I am going to share the shoes with you so you can see how stinking cute they are. I first purchased these heels in nude a few years back and they are the FIRST pair of high heels I felt confident in, in my life. So much so that I bought them in black and then after Jenilee sent me this multi floral pattern I knew they would be mine too. She got them for me for my birthday this year and I was over the moon. If I were to paraphrase it I would see these are the shoes that made me feel high.  

Now I won’t give full credit to the shoes because this was also mixed in with my sister, my mom, and all of you helping me get here. But the point is 27 years into my life-I got there. And in one second this stranger (Who was being PAID to be at the wedding) broke it down. Now he proceeded to say that we intimidate him. My mom kindly and in my opinion sadly responded with why do you say that? You’re making me feel self conscience now about my body and something that I can’t control. So you’re telling me that just by me standing here in my presence i am intimidating you? At this point this man was just blubbering on trying to find different words.

Eventually under my breath I muttered eat it shorty and walked away. Now that isn’t my finest moment but sometimes when someone is so rude and hurtful you just can’t help but say your peace and walk away. We shared this story with a few other guests who were equally as appalled and it turns out he had made some other comments to other guests that were equally as out of line.

After posting the bare bone details of this story on our Instagram I cannot tell you how many messages we received with kind words, messages, and some other similar stories in response. It was honestly incredible. And also sad that so many others have been shamed for wearing heels as well. But all in all we want to say to you -wear the heels. Wear the confidence. And be the best version of you that you can possibly be!

And to end it on a happier not check out the roundup of our favorite dresses for this wedding season!

Photo credit: Bonnie DeLap

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Work Pants That Work

One question we get asked frequently is for help with work pants. Combined we have been working in business casual, business professional and casual settings for over 10 years so we have had plenty of experience shopping around. However, at this point I think I am ready to fully endorse Express as my go to work pant. I have tried  Old Navy, Asos, Gap, Banana Republic, etc. I don’t want you to misconstrue this as me saying I dislike these ones, they just aren’t my favorite. Let me dive into this a little more to hopefully eliminate confusion.

Old Navy was the first place I went when I got my “Big Girl Job” and I was smitten with their pixie pants. I loved that they were more modern and let’s say young. As a 22 year old entering the workforce I wasn’t wild about wearing slacks every day. These were great for a while until they quickly become misshapen, stretched out and very worn looking. At this point I decided I was done purchasing pixies from them. I do have some traditional slacks from them that have held up much better. At 5’11 I will say they are even a little bit long on me with flats.

I have numerous pairs of culottes from Asos but to be honest that is all I have tried from them. I love them all and can’t stop buying them in multiple colors! I did size up with the first pair I ever ordered thinking “Those won’t fit how they are supposed to on my athletic legs.” Then I had to have them taken in. Stay true to size with Asos and they should fit like a dream. I will also mention that the quality here has been top notch to me. There is no pilling, no wear, no stretching. I have to add in how much we both love our Asos skirts, I can’t get enough of the midi styles they offer!

I tried a few pairs of pixie pants from Gap as well (they are a sister company to Old Navy for those that don’t know). And they appear to hold up much better. My gingham pants from this post are Gap and show little to no signs of wear.  I also have a pair of leopard ones which only show a little bit of color fading on the seam. Overall they are better than Old Navy and I would still consider pixies from Gap.

Now when it comes to Banana Republic i’m going to be in honest in saying that I have only accepted work pants from here in the form of hand-me-downs. I never have issues doing this to be clear, it’s just how I ended up with them. I have some khakis as well as some skinny cords and love them both! They have been great for me even after my mom wore them for years!

Now onto the main event, Express. I have always had a few pairs of Express slacks on rotation. I just love the fit and most of the time, the quality as well. I started with just typical black flare slacks. One pair I have had and worn regularly on rotation for 6 years and it the quality hasn’t lessened. The other the hems have both come out multiple times which is slightly frustrating.

Jenilee ordered some columnist pants in Marigold and Olive last year and unfortunately they both ended up being awkwardly short on her so I did what we do best. I immediately bought them from her. Her sad loss was my huge win. These became my new favorite pants. If only it were more acceptable to wear marigold every single week. I ended up adding a pair of black columnists to the collection soon after.

For each pair of them I own I will say I sized up 1, because I pretty much had to! I also have these two pairs of paper bag work pants that I wear as often as possible as well. Again-I sized up one. My roommate who is in the regular length has also had issues with workwear sizing at Express ranging between three sizes. So maybe it’s just who they are? So all in all I would say if you’re 5’10-6’1 you’re probably going to have great success with the pants from Express. If you are 6’2 and above maybe try the full length as ankle pants!

We have had some messages asking if we disclose our sizes. The answer is always yes. We may not write it outright in a post; however, if you are wondering we are also more than happy to disclose what size we got (compared to our typical sizes). We’ll also include recommendations from other retailers. Please never be afraid to ask for help with anything we love hearing from you and trying to help!

I really hope this helped some of y’all with navigating through the work pant problems we have all faced. I want to point out that since I am only 5’11 I understand that this may not help all of you who are truly what we would consider “tall.” We refer to me as being a small tall for a reason, which is that I don’t always struggle as much as others. For example, I myself, would never claim to be a true tall blogger if I wasn’t part of a duo with Jenilee. She brings so much value to this blog as well as all of you! I know I play my part and have taken such joy in hearing from some followers who say they are my exact build but we urge you to take into consideration whose advice you are taking as “tall bloggers.” We both feel blessed to be able to work as a team to double our knowledge, advice, and outlooks! With that being said, if you want to essentially see this exact type of post written by Jenilee – drop a line below! And then enjoy the heck out of your weekends!

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