The world is getting taller, it transpires.
New research has proven that, thanks to a better quality of life (and nutrition) the last 100 years have seen a shift in average heights for a few key communities around the world.
According to the study, heralded at the European Science Open Forum, many continental European countries have an average height of a couple of inches higher than it was a century ago.
Sidenote: If you're looking for tall men, the Netherlands should be your holiday destination of choice, with a new average height of 182.5cm.
With that in mind, here are a few things you probably only know if you're tall:
Being tall is great. Reaching for things is never an issue and you're the envy of all the average height people who can't see passed the guy with big hair at gigs.
But with long legs comes the burden of having to clothe them, which let me tell you, is no easy feat.
Apart from being constantly reminded that 'gosh, you're tall' whenever we meet new people (because obviously we had no idea until you so kindly pointed it out), the most frustrating thing is struggling to find clothes that fit our gangling limbs well.
Sure, tall sections at clothes store are far more frequently stumbled upon than they used to be, but that definitely doesn't mean that the struggle ends there. Here are the things you only know if you're a tall girl trying to shop in the tall girl section:
You enter the shop in denial
The shopping trip always at least starts off hopeful. You'll stride across to the denim section in high hopes for a selection of jeans of varying lengths. You may even pick up a pair and strut over to the fitting rooms really excited about the super cool new skinnies you're definitely going to buy. Until you try them on and they stop at your calves, making you look like you've tried to revive your old 'pedal pushers'.
The tall section feels like a myth
Because it's never easy to find. You spend half an hour just trying to locate a rail with that precious four-letter word hanging from it. And on a REALLY bad day, when all hope is lost, you'll eventually a sales assistant to direct you to the clothes for the vertically blessed, only to be told that they don't have any. Or worse – to look online.
You might think you're going deaf
Call me crazy, but I'm sure that it's SO much quieter in the tall section. That upbeat in-store music seems to fade as you get closer and closer to the clutter of tall clothes hidden in the corner of the store. The corner that they forgot to put a speaker in.
Some stores don't quite understand the needs of the tall
In my mind, it's pretty obvious that the biggest issue for tall girls is bottoms. A pair of jeans that don't bare half a calf, a jumpsuit that doesn't give you a wedgie, a dress that doesn't make you nervous about wearing it in front of your mother – all in high demand. But for some reason, super long shirts and floor length coats are the majority of what's on offer.
The bottoms limit your style
I'm just going to put it out there; it would be nice to wear something other than skinny jeans. Boyfriend jeans with an inside leg of more than 28 inches just don't exist. If you're lucky, you might find a bootcut. But flares or a wide leg, they're few and far between.
Sorry petites, but you have it pretty good
Exact copies of the styles designed for the lucky average height people fill the petite sections, and their clothes seems to be so much more frequently updated than for us talls. And you'd think that because tall clothes have quite literally more to them, they'd be easier to find. But alas, no. It's the petite section that's always right in front of you when you're desperately trying to find a dress that doesn't fit like a top.
You become a compulsive shopper
Whenever you do eventually find that item that fits perfectly in all the right places, you buy them all. Every single one. Too often do you rip that pair of perfect trousers and return to the store from which they came, only to find that when you ask the sales assistant if there are any in the back, that they've been discontinued: 'But we've got a regular length pair in stock if you'd like to try those?'
Words: Jazmin Kopotsha
