I’ve blogged before about high street tall ranges. I didn’t realise it was a situation that could get worse, but somehow, it has.
I’m not an especially tall person. Most of my friends are a similar height or taller than me and yet more and more stores are losing their longer length items.
I asked on Twitter which stores do or did a tall range and got the following list:
- Topshop
- Dorothy Perkins
- Next
- New Look
- Long Tall Sally
- Evans
Topshop is great if you fit into their sizes – which unfortunately, I don’t (and haven’t for quite a while) Even when I could squeeze my bum into their Baxter jeans, it was the only thing I would buy from there, since everything else seemed to be high prices and low quality.
Dorothy Perkins is one of my favourite shops to go to, but the Cabot Circus store at least doesn’t seem to have had a tall section for a few months. I asked on Twitter about it, but was told the tall range had just been incorporated into the rest of the store.
Next isn’t a store that I go to very often – I still see it as expensive and for older people: I know that my view of the store is the same as it was 10, 15 years ago, and that they are becoming more fashion forward, but whenever I go into the store, I never see anything that I would actually wear.
New Look used to be my other staple for clothes, but I popped into the Cabot Circus store recently after they had a reshuffle of departments, and the tall section had disappeared. Their quality varies as well, but their prices have been slowly increasing as they become more of a big name. (I still remember how cheap they were over 10 years ago, when I’d go shopping with my Mum and we’d always go to New Look so we could both get something new!)
Long Tall Sally isn’t strictly a high street store, but it is probably the only place that will cater to those super tall girls any more. Topshop always did a 36″ leg in jeans, and started to do a 38″ one last time I looked, but for anything longer, you probably have to go to a specialist store – which isn’t the best way to make a girl feel good about themselves!
Evans apparently had a tall range, which to me makes sense, since most of the “plus sized” women I know are also very tall, but seems to have disappeared as well. This seems like a huge missed opportunity for Evans, but since they are pretty much the only plus sized retailer on the high street, it doesn’t seem to affect them greatly!
I emailed Dorothy Perkins, New Look and Evans to ask where their tall ranges had gone, and received the following responses:
Dorothy Perkins:
Actually, DP never replied to me. Kinda rude actually.
New Look:
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding our Tall Range.
We are always grateful to receive feedback and appreciate you taking the time to bring you concerns to our attention. I can confirm that your query has been forwarded to the Buying Team for their future consideration.
Unfortunately, if a particular range doesn’t sell well in a particular store it will be removed. I can confirm that all of our ranges are available online and via our new Click & Collect service
Evans:
Unfortunately, we do not stock Tall range currently. However, I have passed to our Buyers for their information.
ASOS:
I’m afraid it isn’t possible for us to advise whether or not a certain size will fit you or whether a certain brand comes up big, small or true to size as everyone’s perception can be different.
Also, brands and styles of clothing do not fit people of different sizes and frames in the same way.
I would suggest that you order the size you think will fit best and if it doesn’t suit you, you can return it and re-order it in a different size or return it to us for a refund.
Just in case you need it, our size guides can show you how to measure yourself to avoid ordering an incorrect size. You can click the links for women or men.
So basically, of all the stores asked, only ASOS said that they sort of catered to those who were as tall as the model shown. The other stores say they have passed the info on to their buyers – but honestly, if they thought that no one was buying the stock before, then why would they bother to bring the ranges back in store.
It almost feels like going back to the dark ages of high school, when I had trousers that would be sold as 7/8th length these days, but were in reality just too short.
I think what has annoyed me most about it the whole getting-rid-of-tall-ranges (Dorothy Perkins & New Look, I’m looking at you) is that they’ve done it on the sly. They haven’t released a statement to the public saying that they’re withdrawing certain ranges and collections due to unpopularity, thye’ve just kind of… gone ahead and done it. I went into New Look on Oxford Street last week and the sign at the bottom of the escalator told me I needed to be on the third floor for the Tall range, so up I went. I got to the third floor, had a look around and couldn’t see it anywhere. It’s also been missing from the store in Grimsby too – the one I usually shop in when I’m at home. I first noticed after Christmas but I just put it down to the sales and the fact that everything was everywhere anyway, but no. It’s gone forever.
It’s so annoying, I’m too tall for ‘regular’ or even ‘long’ jeans/trousers in most shops (my legs are 34′, most only go up to 33′ I think) yet places like Long Tall Sally, not only are they ridiculously expensive (which is understandable – I’m not complaining) but they also cater for those who have legs a lot longer than mine. I AM STUCK IN THE MIDDLE.
It’s all well and good saying that online stores will still stock Tall ranges but when the selection to choose from isn’t usually much more than a horrible pair of 90’s-esque jeans and a plain, round neck t-shirt that comes in a variety of disgusting colours, whats a (tall) girl to do?
I’m so gutted New Look have got rid of their Tall range, when I asked in store about it I was told it had been ‘integrated’ into the rest of the shop but as far as I can see this is only the case with trouser lengths. Dresses will still be far too short, even the Tall dresses were verging on obscene for me and I’m only 5’10”.
I’ve looked at their website and there are only 25 items in the Tall range, worryingly 12 of these are in the sale so they might disappear too soon!
It is helpful that ASOS give the height of the models on their site and New Look have started to do this too but that only really helps in not ordering clothes that won’t fit and not finding clothes that do!
Great post though Hayles, let me know if you find anywhere with a solution to our leggy problems!!!
Good article Hayles, those Tall ranges of the past have mysteriously disappeared overnight, maybe due to economic times (although I have to say I have not known anyone shrink in height in the recession!) I have to say it’s not all about the legs though. Some tall people have short legs and long bodies (yes that’s me!!!) I can never find standard tops that cover all of my midriff, I do not want to flash it, it is not the same as it was in 1999!! I have to get the ones that are supposedly for leggings. I don’t know what I will do when leggings go out of fashion again. Keep up the campaign, it’s a good one.
…and yet they all have petite ranges.
Short clothing is just as bad, I’m afraid. Nothing in Topshop, New Look, H&M. At least we can take jeans up though I guess…
I have a long body and short legs, so somehow whatever I wear looks wrong! I’ve noticed that tops seem to be getting a little bit longer in general than they used to be – but some shops in particular always seem to be too short for comfort (I hate showing my belly!).
I’m so glad you posted this, it annoys me so much! I’m 5’10” with long legs and finding jeans and trouserIshtar don’t flap around my ankles is an absolute nightmare. Tops are not too much of a problem for me bought the same top online from Topshop last month, one from the Tall range and one from the regular range to see which would fit better and the only difference was that the arms on the Tall one were ever so slightly longer. The body of the top was exactly the same and it makes me wonder how they decide what makes something ‘tall’.
I’m guessing that the reason all these ranges have disappeared is because nobody was buying them as they werent very good in the first place (adding a few cms onto the arm length is a joke) so they took the easy route and got rid of them rather than fix them.
As the writer of a tall person blog I really enjoyed tis post- not least because I have tot dip into tall ranges, and was really annoyed when DP tall range section disappeared. I have long used Topshop for their taller jeans. I wish more shops would cater for me!!
I don’t wear trousers any more so it’s not really an issue, but I used to have the opposite-but-sort-of-the-same problem with the complete lack of petite ranges. For ages a lot of shops used to do regular length and tall length but no petite length. And then, of course, everyone would say ‘Well, you can take them up!’ but 1) it’s pretty hard to take trousers up and have them look nice and 2) taking 3 inches off the end of a pair of bootleg basically takes all the boot out of the leg.
My advice: give up trousers.
I’m 6ft 1in and size 8, so I suppose I’m lucky that Topshop caters pretty well for me…and always has done. Although recently a lot of their jeans have been altered to ‘ankle grazers’, which is annoying because now I’m hard pressed to find a fashionable pair of skinny jeans that are full length (36 in). I’m in my early 20’s, so Long Tall Sally is too old fashioned and ‘safe’ for me. Newlook try with tall clothing, but their general quality is very poor, they provide inexpensive clothing that looks cheap. Also, I’ve never found their tall range in store, its the same problem with Dorothy Perkins and Next. Don’t know what Topshop’s playing at, they could make a killing if they simply made their jeans more wearable for all shapes of woman, not just the skinny ones. I mean surely they’ve realised the general human population is becoming more and more obese.
It’s ridiculous that I get stared at in the high street because its ‘not normal’ to be slim or tall it seems. Its more normal to be fat these days…
So agree with what everyone else has written on here. I’m only 5ft 10 but have a long body and 34 inch inside legs and here’s the clincher, a big bust, making it virtually impossible to find anything that fits. Long Tall Sally come closest but they are so old fashioned and about three seasons behind the trends, the colours are vile, as are the fabrics and none of their dresses fit me in any case. I’m now 50 so my Top shop and new look days are over but I still want to look stylish. Just can’t understand why every store has a petite range but has discontinued the tall. Makes me so angry.
How funny, I was thinking of this old post at the weekend when someone tweeted about Dorothy Perkins bringing their Petites range back into stores, but not the Tall range.
Have you looked at Pepperberry for tops?
(And you’re not too old for those shops! My mum and I used to shop at New Look together all the time!)