July 14th, 2008 by admin

Admit it, you sometimes get the feeling that you’re too cool for your own good, and vastly underappreciated for it (I think this happens to all of us). I’ve experienced frustration at my own positively prophetic taste at least three times in recent years.

1) When the song “Paper Planes” by M.I.A, my ringback tone since last August, suddenly became incredibly popular this past spring, after I had spent months enduring boneheaded questions like “Why does that weird Bollywood-sounding music start to play whenever I call you?”

2) When high-school gals all across the great U.S. of A. started proclaiming their love for Michael Cera following the successes of Superbad and Juno. Yes, I joined the facebook group “I’d let Michael Cera get me pregnant any day,” but I wasn’t happy about it. Where were all these screaming tweens when the brilliant “Arrested Development” was getting canceled due to low ratings?

3) When shorts went from relative obscurity to being splashed across the runways a few springs ago. Suddenly every major women’s magazine was extolling the versatility of the trend – “Wear them to the ballgame with a cute tee, or to the club with a sexy chiffon blouse!” To which my seething reply was always, “Well, yeah. Tell me something I don’t know.”

You see, back in the day when the offerings in the shorts department were essentially limited to matronly khakis from J. Crew or sloppy D.I.Y. cutoffs, I was something of a conscientuous objector, searching far and wide for the rare pair that was chic and fashion-forward. I have always considered my legs to be my best feature, and nothing highlights them quite like this classic summer staple.

Of course, once I got over the fact that the fashion industry had seemingly annexed my personal style, I was grateful to discover that, for the first time, there were so many great options available. As a tall girl, I avoid anything that is expressly labeled “hotpant,” because my thighs are so long that, even in a modest cut, I wind up flashing a lot of skin. Therefore, to maintain some sense of propriety (particularly in the daytime), you can’t go wrong in a cuffed short with an easier fit, like the loose, linen styles that have been omnipresent this summer. I have a feeling I’d wear these Theorys pretty much every day. I also like the relaxed look of Bebe’s offering in black twill.

However, if you’ve got the goods and are still set on showing a lot of leg in “hoochie shorts,” at least keep the look PG-13 by opting for a pair in, ahem, angelic white. These fun, blinged-out Matthew Williamsons are currently marked down about 50%.

July 14th, 2008 by admin

Admit it, you sometimes get the feeling that you’re too cool for your own good, and vastly underappreciated for it (I think this happens to all of us). I’ve experienced frustration at my own positively prophetic taste at least three times in recent years.

1) When the song “Paper Planes” by M.I.A, my ringback tone since last August, suddenly became incredibly popular this past spring, after I had spent months enduring boneheaded questions like “Why does that weird Bollywood-sounding music start to play whenever I call you?”

2) When high-school gals all across the great U.S. of A. started proclaiming their love for Michael Cera following the successes of Superbad and Juno. Yes, I joined the facebook group “I’d let Michael Cera get me pregnant any day,” but I wasn’t happy about it. Where were all these screaming tweens when the brilliant “Arrested Development” was getting canceled due to low ratings?

3) When shorts went from relative obscurity to being splashed across the runways a few springs ago. Suddenly every major women’s magazine was extolling the versatility of the trend – “Wear them to the ballgame with a cute tee, or to the club with a sexy chiffon blouse!” To which my seething reply was always, “Well, yeah. Tell me something I don’t know.”

You see, back in the day when the offerings in the shorts department were essentially limited to matronly khakis from J. Crew or sloppy D.I.Y. cutoffs, I was something of a conscientuous objector, searching far and wide for the rare pair that was chic and fashion-forward. I have always considered my legs to be my best feature, and nothing highlights them quite like this classic summer staple.

Of course, once I got over the fact that the fashion industry had seemingly annexed my personal style, I was grateful to discover that, for the first time, there were so many great options available. As a tall girl, I avoid anything that is expressly labeled “hotpant,” because my thighs are so long that, even in a modest cut, I wind up flashing a lot of skin. Therefore, to maintain some sense of propriety (particularly in the daytime), you can’t go wrong in a cuffed short with an easier fit, like the loose, linen styles that have been omnipresent this summer. I have a feeling I’d wear these Theorys pretty much every day. I also like the relaxed look of Bebe’s offering in black twill.

However, if you’ve got the goods and are still set on showing a lot of leg in “hoochie shorts,” at least keep the look PG-13 by opting for a pair in, ahem, angelic white. These fun, blinged-out Matthew Williamsons are currently marked down about 50%.

July 14th, 2008 by admin

For tall girls, it’s not “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” - instead, the debate constantly raging in our heads is one of heels vs. flats.

I distinctly remember the last time I wore high heels. The shoes in question were 4” stilettos upholstered in leopard-spotted faux fur and were an integral part of my “Ginger Spice” costume (which, if memory serves me well, was purchased entirely at Wet Seal), along with a Union Jack-emblazoned halter and a scandalous pleather miniskirt. I wiped out on the blacktop in the middle of the Halloween Parade, my Undergirl boyshorts on display to the world, and neither my pride nor my sense of balance has ever fully recovered.

That said, when a tall girl who passes me on the street is rocking sky-high sandals, I’m always tempted to shout out something along the lines of,”Work it, sister!” (Of course, I refrain from expressing my jubilation out of equal parts common decency/fear of sounding like a total square.) I also find it so refreshing to see female celebrities like Uma Thurman standing 6’4” in their strappy Manolos on the red carpet, or to see the lovely ladies of the WNBA off the court, enhancing their amazonian beauty in glitzy frocks and towering talons.

Role 'model' Thurman gets a boost

July 12th, 2008 by admin

Let me tell you a story … about the “Story,” a new Barefoot Tess arrival and one of my current obsessions. These understated flats from Blowfish (created by the same designer as old fave Rocket Dog) are super-duper comfortable and retail for just $59, so you can scoop them up in a few of the six available colors. I’ve been wearing my olive ones with a cute knit skirt (it looks similar to this little M Missoni number) and a black LnA tee for an easy, pulled-together summer look.

July 12th, 2008 by admin

Let me tell you a story … about the “Story,” a new Barefoot Tess arrival and one of my current obsessions. These understated flats from Blowfish (created by the same designer as old fave Rocket Dog) are super-duper comfortable and retail for just $59, so you can scoop them up in a few of the six available colors. I’ve been wearing my olive ones with a cute knit skirt (it looks similar to this little M Missoni number) and a black LnA tee for an easy, pulled-together summer look.

July 12th, 2008 by admin

Let me tell you a story … about the “Story,” a new Barefoot Tess arrival and one of my current obsessions. These understated flats from Blowfish (created by the same designer as old fave Rocket Dog) are super-duper comfortable and retail for just $59, so you can scoop them up in a few of the six available colors. I’ve been wearing my olive ones with a cute knit skirt (it looks similar to this little M Missoni number) and a black LnA tee for an easy, pulled-together summer look.

July 12th, 2008 by admin

Let me tell you a story … about the “Story,” a new Barefoot Tess arrival and one of my current obsessions. These understated flats from Blowfish (created by the same designer as old fave Rocket Dog) are super-duper comfortable and retail for just $59, so you can scoop them up in a few of the six available colors. I’ve been wearing my olive ones with a cute knit skirt (it looks similar to this little M Missoni number) and a black LnA tee for an easy, pulled-together summer look.

July 12th, 2008 by admin

I know, I know, flowers are huge right now. Surveying Dries Van Noten’s clashing blooms, Stella McCartney’s dainty liberty prints, and D&G’s patchwork floral frocks, it seems like every designer wants us to take some time to stop and smell the roses. 

Personally, I find this look a bit difficult to pull off – there’s just something incongrous about a 6-footer sporting such intentionally precious clothing. As my prep school roommate (and fellow tall girl) once said, whilst surveying a schoolroom full of pink and green, “If you’re over 5’10” and wearing Lilly Pulitzer, you’re going to look like you’ve outgrown the dress no matter how thin you are.”

That said, there are plenty of trends out there that are uniquely well-suited to the vertically-gifted. I was thrilled to come across a spate of statement necklaces (see 3.1 Philip Lim , Tory Burch) on the fall runways, mainly because I’m ready to give my arms a break and put my bangles in storage for a few seasons, but also because I know these baubles - which would swallow a more petite frame – will be perfectly in proportion on me.  I’ll be saving up for this stunning piece from tuleste market, but I also love Herve Van Der Straeten’s Drop Circle Collar. If, like Ms. Burch, you’re on a mission to resurrect the geode from its fate as a science museum attraction, look no further than this multicolored dangler from perennial favorite CC Skye.

Heavy metal from tuleste market

I suggest letting your jewelry take center stage against a backdrop of basic (but not boring) black. This simple sheath from Susana Monaco has the perfect high neckline (so no need for constant readjustments) as well as a sexy open back to complement, but not distract from, your bold gems.  Pair with a classic but geometically-interesting flat sandal, like the Mistral by Bernardo, one of my all-time favorite designers.

After all, given the choice between “sweet” and “striking,” who wouldn’t choose the latter?

July 12th, 2008 by admin

My name is Tess, and this is my blog. I know we don’t know each other very well yet, but I’m going to go out on a limb and ask you to take a (possibly painful) trip down memory lane with me.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are back in middle school. Life is tough – your best friends Janie and Amanda aren’t talking, plus you just flunked that quiz on fractions – but the Halloween mixer is tonight and you’re feeling pretty cool in a black tank and new velvet Limited Too jeans which match the orange rubber bands on your braces oh-so-perfectly. Bopping around to the smooth stylings of TLC, you begin to discreetly scan the auditorium for potential slow dance partners when you suddenly notice that – horror of all horrors – another girl has showed up wearing the exact same outfit as you!  Luckily it’s only Becca Fenstermann, and as you pass her en route to the bathroom (it’s time for the requisite body glitter touch-up) you can’t help but whisper “Where’s the flood?” while you giggle with your friends.

If this scenario sounds all too familiar – not the adolescent bitchery, but rather the “high water” faux-pas committed by the exceptionally lanky pre-teen – then I’m here to tell you that you are not alone.  I, too, spent the first 18 or so years of my life being that slightly awkward, very tall girl who slumps her shoulders in every picture, deals with boys who can’t help staring at her chest, and limps around with her feet hanging off the edges of sandals pilfered from much smaller friends. Three years ago, that last dilemma inspired me to start Barefoot Tess, this online boutique offering the most stylish of shoes in the most generous of sizes, with the help of my mother.

To be sure, girls who stack up at 6+ feet face a unique set of challenges. But as we get older and more comfortable with our bodies, we begin to understand and appreciate all the perks that come along with our height. I challenge you to find a petite girl, no matter how beautiful, who can turn every head in a crowded restaurant like her statuesque counterpart, assuming that said counterpart knows how to dress to impress.

And that’s where I come in. After two decades of following fashion religiously and (sometimes disastrously) experimenting with the runway trends on my own budget, I think I have finally figured out what works for my leggy, busty, hipless, waistless, broad-shouldered physique. Through this blog, I will endeavor to pool together the internet’s best offerings, as well as provide my readers with a forum to share their own experiences and advice on “shopping tall.”

Lastly, a hint for future reference – when someone asks you if you’ve ever thought about modeling, you’re probably doing something right.