Where To Buy Clothes (Especially Pants!) When You’re Tall

Thank goodness for Gap and Old Navy!

Even though fashion models are tall, shopping isn’t always easy for everyday tall gals. (I know: I’m 5′ 10″.) We often have to deal with pitifully-short sleeves—and pants that make us look like we’re preparing for a flood. And if we have smaller waists, things can get even harder.

Inspired by an awesome post from Tracey at notsuperhuman.com that mentioned the horrors of pants shopping—I’m posting my favorite places to easily find tall clothes. (There’s hope!)

Check out these nine great brands and sites. Their clothes fit well and are super cute, too.

TallCouture.com Great for designer lovers. You can find everything from extra-long designer denim—search inseams from 34 inches to 38 inches—to specially-proportioned tops and dresses.

Gap Inc.: Women’s “tall” collections at OldNavy.com, Gap.com, and BananaRepublic.com. If you visit one site, you’ll see a button for the others—they’re all linked. There you’ll find the online-exclusive collections that include pants with extra-long inseams (they can get up to 35 inches for long sizes and up to 37 inches for extra-long sizes). You’ll also find shirts, sweaters, dresses, and even jackets that are made to fit your taller body (the arm holes and waist lines are lower and sleeves are longer, for instance). These sites are amazing—my (tall) clothes in the photo above are from there. If you don’t already know about these sites, head over ASAP.* (But after you finish here of course!)

BCBG Max Azria. Pants are often long and the styles are fab. (Hint: If boutique prices scare you, check out the outlets—in malls and online. I once saw a really cute black cocktail dress at an outlet for $49. It’s now in my closet!) And BCBG’s long-sleeve shirts actually look normal on me, as opposed to some others that make me look like I’m wearing children’s clothes.

Zara. Pants here tend to run longer than they would at say, H&M. (Though I’ve found great dresses, skirts, and tops at both places.) The shirts and jackets may not always be super long at Zara, but I’ve often found them to fit pretty well. (These clothes are based on European sizing, though, so you may want to try on a few sizes to get the right fit.)

7 For All Mankind In general, I think jeans from designer brands (and online Gap brands, of course) are best for taller ladies with long legs. This brand is just my favorite. (Bonus: They sell other kinds of clothes.) You can get really nice styles and washes at online sites (including TallCouture.com). Or buy right off the rack for jeans that are long (and just right for flats) or extra long (to wear with heels).

For long pants, also try New York & Company and VictoriasSecret.com. You’ll find some great basics. Plus, you can often find things on sale.

And you can always try my trick for making “borderline” pants work: If pants are almost long enough, but not quite, have the hems taken down. This can often get you at least a ½ inch of extra length. You can do the same thing with some jacket sleeves. And a good seamstress (ask your local drycleaner) can even add more fabric to make inseams and some jacket sleeves longer. Note: This will not work if the clothes you’re trying on look like they belong to Steve Urkel!

I hope these sites, brands, and stores work for you. Happy shopping. 🙂

Do you ever struggle with buying pants or tops? And, by the way, if you know a tall girl who’s feeling frustrated, please let her know about these options. She may thank you for it!

*Here’s a tip for petite readers (hello, all!): If you’re having trouble, check out the petite collections on these Gap sites and at New York & Company and VictoriasSecret.com. Same cute styles, just different proportions for you.

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8 thoughts on “Where To Buy Clothes (Especially Pants!) When You’re Tall

  1. Just a heads up- American Eagle has long pants in many sizes and styles! They often have sales on pants as well, so I often buy from there!

    1. I know this post is older, but I thought I could offer some in-store suggestions…

      I shop in store at Maurices and JCPenney.

      Maurices jeans stretch a LOT so keep that in mind. They have different cuts for curvy, and also have a plus line that comes in tall. If they don’t have the talls in your store, you can order them. But at least this way you get to try the waist for fit. Once I tried on a regular pair in store and then ordered them in “extra tall” and they were actually TOO LONG so I had to return them and get “tall.” That was actually a rather exciting day. 😉 I haven’t found dress pants there yet.

      JCPenney is where I buy dress pants. They do not carry tall in store but you can order the Liz Claiborne suits in tall from the catalog and they ship to the store or to your house, often for free. Again, I try on the standard length for size then order the tall. Because they only had a couple cuts to choose from, I did have to have these tailored in the waist. (I bought a larger size to accommodate my hips.) I bought the pencil skirt and the suit jacket from the same line in tall also, but again I did have the suit jacket taken in at the waist. (I bought larger to accommodate my shoulders…are you seeing a theme here? 😉 )

  2. Hi! May I join your “club”; I am also a tall woman who find it hard finding long enough clothes (and also large size shoes..) I think the offers of spezial sizes in the physical shops is quite poor. This makes the shopping very time-consuming! Actually, I got a bit frustrated by this fact, and decided to start a website with recommendations of online shops selling clothes to tall , short and plus sized people and shoes in large, small and wide sizes, i.e. a site for all of us who are not shaped in a “standard size”. I hope the site can be of help. Please feel welcome to http://www.sizes4you.com.

  3. I have the opposite problem–all the pants I buy are too long, and it gets annoying to have to hem them after a while (not to mention, finding the perfect length that works with heels and flats). I like Banana Republic because not only do they have short and tall legs covered 🙂

    1. So many frustrations when pants shopping, if you’re on the tall side or the petite side. Fun, huh? 😉 But it’s great that stores like Banana “get it”–glad you chimed in.

  4. I totally agree with you on BCBG…I am tall, nearly 5’8″ and used to have the worst time finding pants that fit but I can never go wrong at BCBG! Also, I have good luck with Paige Jeans fitting me perfectly, with no alterations needed. Funny enough, GAP pants do not fit me well at all!

    Great site Leslie. You are gorgeous by the way!

    1. Ameena, you’re SO kind to say that and to drop by–thank you!

      BCBG is just amazing, and I’m glad you mentioned Paige denim. Fit can be tricky even when pants are long enough, but knowing what works really helps!

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