Being taller than almost every other woman (and man) that you meet can have an impact on the way others perceive you, and it is not uncommon for people to assume that a tall woman is older than she is. Of course, this can have its advantages (especially when you are a teenage young woman trying to be viewed as an adult), but there may come a time when you would rather look more youthful.
If you are feeling that your age is beginning to show, or that your height has always made you look older than your years, here are seven steps to a more youthful appearance.

1. Stay active

Physical activity is not only essential for your physical and mental health; it also boosts the flow of blood around your body. This means that more oxygen travels through the body, keeping cells healthy and giving them what they need to regenerate, while also helping toxins leave the body. Exercise has also been found to reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety, which can cause premature wrinkles.
It is also important to eat a varied diet to ensure your skin is getting all the nutrients it needs.

2. Consider cosmetic facial treatments

If your face is already showing signs of premature aging, a cosmetic treatment such as Botox injections could help to turn back the clock. The injections cause the muscles in the face to relax which smooths out lines and wrinkles. The results are not permanent, but the treatment can be repeated.

3. Stay hydrated

Dehydration can lead to dry and wrinkled skin and can also prevent your body from flushing out toxins or functioning to its maximum potential. Drinking plenty of water each day can give the skin more elasticity and moisture, and will generally help your mind and body. Click here for more on the benefits of drinking water.

4. Clean your face every night

Before you go to bed each night, take a few minutes to clean your face, even if you do not wear make-up. At night your skin cells will try to repair and rebuild any damage done during the day, and if dirt or make-up are in your pores, this process will be hindered, and your skin cells will not regenerate.

5. Wear sunscreen

It is well known that UV rays from the sun cause significant damage to the skin’s elasticity and collagen which can lead to freckles, red skin, blotches, age spots, and even cancerous growths. This is why it is vital that you apply sunscreen every day as part of your normal skincare routine, even if you are not planning on spending much time in direct sunlight.

6. Apply night cream

A night cream will help to keep your skin plump and hydrated while also supporting cell regeneration. The skin around the eye is usually more delicate and therefore prone to wrinkling, so it is worth investing in high-quality eye cream.

7. Be gentle with your skin

When cleansing or applying products to your skin, avoid harsh chemicals and do not rub, as this can create additional skin complications. Instead, pat the skin gently and allow it to dry naturally to promote absorption of the products.

Pakistan's tallest woman, Zainab Bibi, passed away on Thursday.

Zainab was admitted to Allied Hospital Faisalabad, two months before. She was 46 years old at the time of death. She was reportedly suffering with diabetes and osteoporosis.

Zainab was 7 feet 2 inches and in 2003 was declared the world's tallest woman, earning her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In an interview to Dawn newspaper last year, she said that she was striving to make ends meet owing to her illness and lack of financial cooperation from the government. And her sister had to sell pakoras in order to make ends meet.

After that Zainab Bibi was handed over a cheque worth Rs 2 million by the government by the government of Nawaz Sharif to ease her predicament.

Her funeral ceremony will be held in her ancestral village Rajana, Toba Taik Singh.

8 Things My Very Tall Daughter Can Expect

by Ali Solomon
Posted:03/18/2015 10:26 am EDTUpdated:03/18/2015 10:59 am EDT

You can't escape your genes, my dear girl. I was 5'9" by the time I was in fourth grade. Your father tops out at around 6'3". That means you will be very, very tall. Not quite "America's Next Top Model" tall, or WNBA tall. More like "stuck in the back of every class photo" tall, or "can you reach the soup on that top shelf for me, dear?" tall. This will not be the social coup you think; like your parents, you may endure your share of taunts and nastiness, with the promise of someday you'll appreciate being tall to carry you through.

As you continue your upward trajectory, here are a few things you can expect:

1. You will experience a series of minor disappointments.

You will outgrow your tricycle after only riding it once.

You won't be able to go on kiddie rides at the amusement park.

Your gymnastics career will be short-lived.

That purple jacket you loved now ends a full three inches above your wrist.

No one will want to give you piggyback rides.

And I've looked for weeks, but those Dora the Explorer light-up sneakers you covet don't come in your size. Sorry, hon.

Sorry for it all.

2. Everyone will know you're tall.

You're not fooling anyone. You can hunch your shoulders, duck behind people or pull your knees to your chest when you sit. It changes nothing. You just become the "tall girl with the bad posture."

Unlike short girls who can wear heels, there's nothing you can do to adjust your height. I remember it well, and it's hard to embrace something you're still growing into. But if you hulk around like a velociraptor, everyone will think you have spine issues.

3. People will think you have skills you don't possess.

I remember loving the fact that I was picked first for sports teams. To be fair, I had no athletic ability whatsoever (I was the type of kid who would drop a ball and then immediately trip over it). But for that brief moment before anyone actually saw me play, my height convinced people otherwise.

If people who see your your elongated limbs assume you run fast, are graceful or have coordination, don't correct them. By the time they learn the truth, you'll already be the team captain.

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Lindsay Mack

There are plenty of style guides that promise to make you look taller, but what about the women who are already tall by any standard? They face their own sets of challenges, such as tops that fit strangely in the arms and pants that are always around ankle length. Fortunately, there are tall girl fashion hacks designed to help the women who will never need to set foot in the petite department.

Fun fact: one of my best friends is almost six feet tall, and she has to try on about a million outfits before finding ones that even begin to fit. Sometimes even the “tall” sized pants at certain department stores still look like high water pants on her. And finding skirts that are close to knee length? Forget about it. However, she can rock a bold print like nobody’s business.

As with any body type, there are benefits and drawbacks to dressing a tall frame. Some items of clothing can be particularly tricky; anything sold as a miniskirt for women of average height may be borderline indecent on a very tall lady. But a tall woman can look like an elegant goddess in a flowy maxi dress that would overwhelm her shorter peers. It’s all give and take. So here are the best fashion hacks for the 5'9" and up crowd.

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Fact One:

There are loads of tall (or extremely tall) women and teenagers like 6'11" Marvadene or 6'5" Emma out there who know what you are going through. Some girls may even be able to lend you an open ear or support of sorts. You decide what is going to happen here, alright? Fill out the form below and tell me what you're missing here (and, no, it's not all about meeting boys!) ;-)

Fact Two:

In a lot of cases all tall young women lack is confidence. If you have enough confidence you'll find how exciting being tall can be. I came across a very useful website today after discussing the confidence / shyness factor with some young UK friends of mine. Thanks to Sacha and Jo for reminding me of the confidence factor!

You could also tell me if you find anything on this website that you find unsuitable for you or other girls your age (or even younger) - I promise  to look into it and even take down the features / links concerned.

What you can / should / shouldn't do

Perhaps you want to tell your own story. Feel free to get in touch with me and tell us how you're feeling, what you feel you're lacking (in regard to support from parents, teachers, friends etc.) and what you think is great about you. Or what is it that you don't like about yourself? I bet you'll find later that being a kid / teen was half as bad as you then thought. :-)

Of course there are bad things that could happen to a tall girl. Read what my friend Tiffany had to go through instead of a enjoying a great Prom Night. This is a very sad story but Tiffany has come out of it stronger than ever before. She has found herself a cute boyfriend now and - as far as I know - the two are now happily married!

If you still don't like being tall or even hate it - don't despair. I know that it's not easy being a teenager (I've been there myself a long time ago). Talk to people you trust. Don't give in to stupid comments from class"mates" or even teachers. Being a teacher doesn't always qualify a person for being a good human being (I've found that out too - years ago).

Get rid of "friends" who have a negative attitude towards you because they aren't your friends. Make sure you feel good and do whatever it takes to assure that you feel good. You still rule!

Ashley received this via Facebook earlier

well jorge has a tall woman fetish so what makes you want to be friends with him then? Also who are you to be begging for money from multiple sites not like you are the only one in the world with money problems and also let's be honest not like you are the only one in the world with money problems other boyfriends worth their salt would not allow that he should be taking care of that not other people. You calling me a creep you are a panhandler and as far as me saying something to you not like your weren't saying something back don't think a person is going to have something said to them and them not throw it write back. and you are so pissed off because your life is miserable and you are dying from that marfan syndrome while me Iam in good health just a knee problem and not dying so i guess you are pissed off because my life like everyone elses life is way better than yours because I tried to be nice and this is how you treat people. You were just looking for an excuse to be pissed off since you are dying from marfan syndrome and it has messed you life up.

Note: The person who wrote this has at least two fake Facebook profiles.

https://www.facebook.com/garfield.johnjr
https://www.facebook.com/john.richmond.3950178

You can still contribute to Ashley's Wheelchair & Medical fund

It's lonely at the top.

By Katrina Valcourt

Published: 2019.02.14 03:55 PM

I was renewing my license at the DMV on fort Street Mall when a man motioned for me to take a seat on the bench near him.

"How tall are you?" he asked. Just under 6 feet, I said, still a little sad I never crossed that threshold. He was at least 5 inches shorter than me and seemed impressed, as if this is something I should be proud of, that I worked hard for and deserve to celebrate.

It's not on purpose, of course, though my friends in elementary school used to ask me how to get taller, or how to run faster, my only athletic attribute. We'd spend recess sprinting across the field as I coached them on taking longer strides and pumping their arms, you know, like they mean it.

In Hawai'i, I'm an anomaly, at times heads taller than my friends. It makes dating rough, especially around this time of year when everyone seems to be in a relationship. Many women prefer guys who are taller than them, but that pool gets a lot smaller when you're approaching 6 feet yourself. According to the CDC, Hawai'i has the shortest men (and women) in the nation. I'm 9 inches taller than the average Hawai'i woman and 3 inches taller than the average Hawai'i man, and that's according to self-reported data, which is most likely exaggerated. Plus, there are so many other qualities I'd want in a partner, the odds of finding someone who meets them all and can change the ceiling light are pretty slim, unless I move to Alabama or Iowa (average male height: 5 feet, 11 inches).

It's unfortunate when I see really cute Fighting Eel dresses that look great on the petite crowd but turn into HR infractions on me. Long bus or plane rides where I can't stretch out are torture, and the stall doors of the Republik bathroom barely come up to my chest when I'm standing. I literally have to duck to avoid hitting my head in the Waterfront Plaza parking garage, while my friends don't have to think twice about it.

My height is the first thing people notice about me, even though I stand out in other ways here, sometimes as the only white person in the room, the only person with hazel eyes, the only one with naturally blond strands of hair. I'm a lefty who puts butter on my rice and can't hold chopsticks properly. Aside from the few years I was most known for wearing fluorescent orange high-top sneakers every day, I'll always be described as "the tall girl" no matter where I go.

But being tall can be great. I'm easy to spot in crowds, I can see over everyone at concerts, no one mistakenly walks off with my size 10 slippers at house parties, I can grab things that fall behind the couch without having to move it. It's fun meeting other tall people and trading stories of the lowest shower heads we've had to crouch under or the shortest guys we've ever dated.

It can be discombobulating running into anyone over 5 feet, 8 inches. The tallest women in the country are in South Dakota, and they only average 5 feet, 5 inches, which is maybe around my chin. I stick out everywhere. But that doesn't mean I'm taking off my heels.

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Playing a woman discovering sexuality in the '50s makes actor Allison Janney think of — of all people — her mother. Janney's mother and father got married in their early 20s, and she doesn't believe her mother had sex with anyone else.

"I remember my mother talking to me about the birds and the bees," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "Of course, I had already known [about them], probably years before she came to me. But remembering the way she talked to me about it — it's just everything about her reminds me of Margaret Scully."

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Allison Janney: ‘I would get cast as 40-year-old women when I was still in my teens’

Janney, who didn't find success as an actor until she was in her late 30s, thinks things are looking up for women – even very tall women – in Hollywood

By Tara Brady

There is a story from Hollywood's golden age that tells us that Lana Turner, upon visiting her tailor, looked over at a dress dummy for the Irish-born Greer Garson and sniffed: "She's a very tall woman."Was Turner being euphemistic? Perhaps not. It's not easy being tall in Hollywood. Just ask Allison Janney.

"It was really hard for me to get cast in anything for a long time," she says. "I would get cast as 40-year-old women when I was still in my teens. There just wasn't a lot of work out there for people of my height."

No wonder she is giddy talking about Spy, a new espionage caper from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig that brings together Janney (1.83m) and Miranda Hart (1.85m) as handlers for unlikely CIA operative Melissa McCarthy (1.6m).

"I've known and admired Melissa forever," says Janney. "And we hit it off immediately with Miranda, who is just glorious. We really want to work together again. We're going to have to find or write a play for tall women."

Spy boasts a plot that is at least as good as the last two Bond films, with plenty of Pink Panther-worthy bumbling. Even better, Janney gets to boss Jason Statham around.

"I only knew him as the consummate screen tough guy," she says. "But it turns out he's charming and funny and loves to be silly. He's just delightful. And it was just a playful shoot. I think I made up a new swear word."

Standing up for herself

In truth, we're not too surprised to see The Stath cowering and sulking at Janney's every command. As CJ in The West Wing, she was quite capable of slapping down her own president ("That's fine. Just don't show off"), while her steely stand-off with the ultrasound technician in Juno is perhaps that film's finest moment.

"People talk about mom roles," says Janney. "But mom roles can be pretty interesting."

She has, indeed, recently taken home an Emmy – her sixth – for her work on Mom, the Chuck Lorre-produced multi-camera sitcom concerning a mother (Janney) and daughter (Anna Faris) who are both recovering addicts.

"Mom is the best day job I ever had," she says. "It's two weeks on, one week off, which is very civilised after the 17-hour days on The West Wing. Glorious even. So I've been able to do HBO's Masters of Sex , which I loved doing also, alongside Mom.

"I'm so grateful to have stumbled into such a great show at this point in my career. It manages to take very serious topics like addiction and make them funny. Because in the end, isn't that how people get through things?"

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I am a statuesque, 6'4'', multi-faceted, fun loving, life living woman. When people ask what my likes are, it would actually be easier to tell them my dislikes. There are very few things in life that completely offend me, I have learned that to take offense to others' perceptions, is to limit your own ability to see things differently. I allow myself to absorb whatever is thrown at me, disect it, and essentially let it go. Yes, I may rant for a moment, and some things do stick with me, but overall, life is entirely too short to be burdened by another persons lack of intelligence.

About Amanda

I am a statuesque, 6'4'', multi-faceted, fun loving, life living woman. When people ask what my likes are, it would actually be easier to tell them my dislikes. There are very few things in life that completely offend me, I have learned that to take offense to others' perceptions, is to limit your own ability to see things differently. I allow myself to absorb whatever is thrown at me, disect it, and essentially let it go. Yes, I may rant for a moment, and some things do stick with me, but overall, life is entirely too short to be burdened by another persons lack of intelligence.

Joerg says:

I can attest to that. Amanda is a wonderful, confident, outspoken, strong, intelligent and beautiful lady (inside and out). I'm honoured to call her a friend.

Here are Amanda' contributions

• How do they do it?
• For the love of shoes

For the Love of Shoes

Food, shelter, and clothing; these are the three basic needs for any human. Within the subject of clothing falls the category of shoes. Many people view shoes as a mere necessity, granted there are tribes of indigenous peoples, worldwide, who have never worn shoes, but for the majority, they are a necessity. They have developed through the ages either to serve a purpose, or to serve as a status symbol. Ancient civilizations created shoes such as flip-flop style sandals out of necessity. However, as villages grew to cities and the people became pided by status, the shoes became more elaborate.

As time progressed, so did the styles, and the ideals of what was sexually pleasing. In ancient China, the process would begin at around age three, creating "lotus" foot. The most pleasing was no more than 3" in length, and the process involved broken bones, a lifetime of problems, inability to stand without help. This barbaric tradition was reserved for the rich, but was later outlawed. In Europe, a similar procedure was done, to a lesser degre.&np;

In Europe, around the time of the Renaissance, people became more enamored with their personal presentation, and shoes of the time followed suit. Royalty and Nobles were quick to jump on the latest bandwagon such as Chopine style shoes, a dreadfully horrid design for shoes that involved a raised platform, without a heel; apparently, the style has tried to make a comeback. They did serve a minor purpose of aiding the wearer in keeping their skirts out of the mud and muck as they traversed the roads.

During the Baroque and Rococo periods more stylishly heeled shoes for both men and women were developed.  Again, the shoes were useful in salvaging dresses and clothing from mud, they also became the pattern for more modern footwear enjoyed today.

Skipping along into the future… 

Today’s society is not much different than yesterday’s, with regard to shoes, their need, and the status symbol of some brands. The fashion industry has become one of the largest venues of worldwide domination. What a person wears can make or break them in certain social settings or groups. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the shoe industry. Names such as Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Prada, and Valentino grace the red carpets of Hollywood.  Their shoes sell for upwards of $1000 or more. Occasionally one could hit the sale rack at Nordstrom and score with a pair of last year’s shoes for $500…if you are lucky enough to wear a size 11 or below.

Ah yes, herein lies the greatest form of discrimination the world has ever seen. Women who stand proudly above the average height of 5'8" and wear shoes sizes beginning with 11 and reaching up to a size 15, some even larger than that. These proud Amazons of the modern world find themselves scouring the planet for simple necessities. Clothing is painful enough. Average and petite women complain that they cannot find anything to fit them, garnering looks glowering with an “are you kidding me” ire. Sorry girls, you can hem things up, but once a finished product comes out of a factory, it cannot be let out.

Shoes present an entirely different set of issues. Many women enjoy wearing a nice pair of dressy shoes out to dinner or to Church on Sunday mornings. They enjoy dressing up, shucking the attire of the daily grind, and transforming into beautiful swans ready to impress others out on the town. A typical Saturday night for most women includes picking the perfect outfit, stunning shoes, makeup, hair, and accessories. For women with larger feet…the shoes become a painful reminder of their stature.

Let us begin with picking the shoes at a store, if they are lucky enough to find a store carrying their size. First, the lady (who does not have funds to pay $1000 for a pair of shoes) will go into said store, briskly walking past the beautiful racks of designer shoes all size 10 and below. They saunter to the back of the store where perchance there is a tiny display with approximately three styles in her size. Mind you, there will be the styles in perhaps one or two colors, that’s it, end of story. One style will be the God-forsaken old woman style orthopedic pump that comes in an awful shade of nude, that’s out. Next will be a classic pump in navy or black, but it is more suited for a business suit at the office. Then there is the third choice. It is the distant cousin of a beautifully crafted heeled sandal, however, this one appears to be designed by and ancient person with the design taste of dung beetle. Our lady begrudgingly chooses the pump, and looks at the boxes for her size. Typically, she wears a size 13 W, today however, she lucks up and they have one pair of regular 13's in stock. Anxiously she grabs the box, and sits uncomfortably on the miniature stools provided. She then pulls one shoe out of the box, crosses the corresponding foot over the knee and attempts to insert Tab A into Slot B. The toes slip easily through the leather, or extremely well made wannabe leather, then comes the heel…our lady scrunches her toes up as tightly as possible in a desperate attempt to fold her foot in half, slipping the heel into the back of the shoe. Perhaps the Chinese had something with the whole foot-binding thing. With a deep breath and a prayer, she releases her toes, and her foot is in! Oh, these are actually kind of cute, in a grotesque, torturous way. Our heroine, psyched that she actually got the shoe on, attempts to stand up. At this point, all her weight shifts into the shoe with its unforgiving leather upper. The toes gasp for breath, the heel shrieks in agony, and our lady sits with a resounding sigh, knowing they will not do.

She leaves this store empty handed, grabs her trusty smart phone, and frantically searches for women’s plus size shoes. Instantly 3-4 store names pop up, unfortunately none of the stores are anywhere nearby. Then, she sees one more entry, a store 20 miles away, SCORE! Hurriedly she hits the road on a quest to procure shoes for the night.  Entering the store, a specialty boutique for plus sized women, she’s not quite plus sized, but her feet are. She browses the store for the shoe section, again tucked far in the back. She makes her way to the displays a notices a slightly larger selection of shoes, some cute, some ugly, but that is typical. She peruses the selections and finds a nice pair of heeled sandals, much nicer than the previous store’s offering. Looking at the shoe boxes, she finds a pair marked 13W, double score! Again, she lowers her frame to the little bench, and begins the arduous task of testing the shoes.  She slips her toes into the leather straps, the ball of her foot sitting easily on the sole of the shoe. Next, she finesses the heel strap over her heel, easy enough. Lastly, she buckles the shoe on and stands… they fit! Well, sort of. There is a slight hanging over of padding, like a muffin top bulging over the waistband of a pair of jeans. However, they will work. Delightedly she pays the $100 for the slightly ill fitted shoes, and walks out the door with a renewed bounce to her men’s sneakered step!

So, to conclude this diatribe of shoe history and adventure, why is it that women of larger foot proportion are so tortured by designers? Why is it they cannot walk into a local department store and pay $20 for a decent pair of cute shoes that may only last the season, but hey, that’s all she really wants. To be in style for a short time, instead of being force to purchase higher priced shoes that she must then use kid-gloves and guard with her life. Let’s face it, beautiful, affordable shoes are a commodity for any woman wearing a size 11 and up.  Most companies will produce only 2-3 styles, with limited colors to sell. To add insult to injury, they will produce such a limited amount of these shoes that women will engage in arguments with store managers, and will even have to fight off Drag Queens to secure the goods.

Dear Designers,

Please hear us!! IF YOU MAKE THEM, WE WILL BUY!!! But understand, not all of us want a pair of shoes that cost 2 mortgage payments. Not all of us want to buy shoes that we will be afraid to wear outside; for fear they might be scuffed. We want shoes; we want selection, color, and styles as varied as the cities and towns in which we live. We want what every other fashion forward woman wants…to be able to shop in stores where we can try on the product before purchasing, walking around admiring the look and feel before we buy a pair that will give us blisters the sizes of small islands on the backs of our heels.  We want as much choice as other women, the petite women and average women to which you cater. This plea does not apply only to dress shoes; we want flip-flops, sneakers, house shoes, and heels. We want to be on an equal playing field in the fashion industry.

How do skinny people do it???

How do they maintain the physique that creates an are of perfection around them? They strut around in their size 6 jeans, thigh gap allowing for air circulation between their taught legs. Their shirts hug their torsos, their perky bosoms front and center for all the guys to gawk at. They complain about the 2 ounces they gained when they ate the whole order of a triple cheeseburger with large fries and a diet coke. HOW DO THEY DO IT???

I have come full circle in my struggles with weight loss. Having been overweight my whole life, I decided to have lap band a few years ago. Everything was going great, I managed to lose 176 lbs...and I gained albatross arm flaps (I think I can fly now), super squishy inner thighs, a double muffin top, and somewhere I lost my ass...it's flat and goes numb when I sit or lay on it too long!!! The time I spent in Australia was going great until the moment I contracted stomach flu. The Porcelain Throne Homage paid was enough to cause my band to prolapse, and given the medical care available, I was unable to have fluid pulled off my band...thus the Australia journey ended. I was sent home where I underwent corrective surgery for my band, in hopes of saving it...alas...it had to be removed.

The prolapse caused scar tissue to build up, and with the revision done...well, my lap band didn't quite work the same as before. The scar tissue built up some more, my band slipped, I went for about a week without anything to eat, coughing and throwing up, and well...it had to come out. I was devastated...still am to some degree. But I will be OK. The following week I had surgery on a ganglion cyst, which had decided to play with the nerves of my foot. So, I was put on these wonderful medications...Steroids, Celebrex, Nerurontin...all of which cause weight gain. And gain weight is what I did.

So here I sit about a month later trying to figure out how to prevent my jeans from getting any tighter. Yea, I put on a pair to come back to work after the surgeries, and well...let's just say a pair of needle nose pliers, some Crisco, and extremely shallow breathing were in order. If you have ever been laced into a corset (properly) you know that one does not SIT in a chair, but rather gracefully and delicately lights upon a perch like a swallow on a blade of grass. The same holds true for tight fittin jeans! Yea, well, my arse was sitting in a chair, stretching the fibers of my jeans, testing the supple forte of their fibrous makeup. The seams were screaming in resistance, my legs fell numb from the pressure of being forced into a bent position under my desk (I won't describe the horrors of getting into my Mustang). My midsection hanging over the taut waistband, like the top of a delectable muffin! I feared for the lives of those around me, waiting anxiously for a single breath to fire my button at some poor soul's forehead, like a lead round fired from a musket!!! Alas, all my colleagues are alive, and my jeans hold true.

I began the dieting regiment that had worked before...NO SUGAR!! My body screamed in rebellion, my heart trying desperately to form a coup against my head...demanding the delicious, tantalizing flavor of chocolate, cookies, cake, Tirimasu, Cheesecake, Banana Pudding, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE...mmmm...chocolate....*DING* sorry I digress. But I have managed to keep these evil thoughts from materializing themselves into reality. I have knocked out the gooey yummies I so enjoy, and have instead forced myself to enjoy the lower carb foods which usually lack taste. Somehow, I believe cardboard and glass would be more tasty, less healthy, but more tasty.

This endeavor has been ongoing for about two weeks, and, although I have partaken in the wonderful goodness of carbs over the weekend (it's a re-set people, calm down) my week has been filled with healthy foods, and a several prayers that they would actually taste like chocolate, but healthy nonetheless. The plan seems to be working, my jeans seem to be a little less like torturous enslavement devices, and more like an accessory to my desire to stay the course. Either that, or the plan to wash them and hang dry them has worked, forcing them to stay a little looser...that, and it avoids the malicious Dryer Pixies that sew my clothing tighter as it rotates in the heated confines of the contraption (not to mention the trolls that shorten everything too).

So back to my original question, how do skinny people stay so flippin skinny, yet eat anything they want? Drugs, it has to be drugs...or tape worms, or some other device that prevents them from gaining weight. It's just disgusting!

It's not clear why sizes are growing, but customers seeking larger shoes look online, not in stores

Chicago native Karen Williamson began her online women's shoe business a decade ago after years of struggling to find styles for her daughter, who at the time was 18 years old, 6-foot-1 and wore a size 12 shoe.

Williamson was in Las Vegas recently for an international shoe show unveiling the 2014 spring and fall lines, and while perusing the trendy gladiator sandals, open-toed booties and motorcycle boots, she encountered familiar stumbling blocks.

"You still can't find a shoe manufacturer that will make anything above a size 11 without it being a special order," said Williamson, whose BarefootTess.comoffers styles up to size 15. "It's like the bigger your feet are, the more you don't exist to them."

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Stefanie Drew wants a pair of leather pants. “I saw some at Zara a while ago and was like, ‘Oh, my God, these are beautiful,’ ” she says. “But I can’t wear them.” That’s not something you’d expect to hear from Drew, who’s 27, a size 6, and dresses like someone who can tell you a lot of stories about going to Coachella. In other words, she’s Zara’s ideal customer. Except for one thing: Drew is 6 feet 2. That sizes her out of pretty much everything in the store, as it does at other retailers she wants to shop at, such as H&M, Forever 21, American Apparel, and even the small boutique where she works in Toronto. “If I bought pants there, I’d just look like I was walking around waiting for it to flood,” she says.

Most discussions about fashion’s refusal to acknowledge diverse body types focus on plus-size women, who struggle to find brands willing to cater to their frames. But tall women may be even more underserved. “You wouldn’t think so, because models are all so tall,” says Clary Hilliard Gray (6'1"), who runs a fitness studio in Charlotte. “But most stores don’t sell that many clothes to supermodels.” Or to tall women who don’t walk runways: Women who are 5'8" and taller make up only 5 percent of the U.S. female population, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And making clothes to fit them takes more than just adding a few extra inches to existing patterns. Buttons need to be moved. Jean pockets may need resizing. “A cute flair may look good on a petite blouse, whereas on me it’ll look like I’m wearing a dust ruffle,” Hilliard Gray says. For most brands, changing designs for such a small pool of potential shoppers isn’t worth the effort. “When everything got tough during the recession, retailers took a step back from ‘tall.’ Now you almost never see it in stores,” says Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst for NPD Group.

A few months ago, frustrated by her lack of options, Drew searched online for what she calls “tall-girl shops.” Up popped the name of U.K. retailer Long Tall Sally, which has one of its few North American stores in Toronto. Drew visited and tried on a few pieces - the kind of simple shopping trip that’s usually impossible for her. “I was like, ‘What? Clothes that actually fit? This is fantastic!’ ” Now she owns her first pair of overalls.

“Clothes that actually fit” towering women are Long Tall Sally’s specialty. The company, which is named after the 1956 Little Richard hit, sells a lot of T-shirts, long skirts, and cotton blouses - stripes and polka dots are popular, as are flower patterns - at prices higher than the Gap’s, but not as costly as Banana Republic’s, to those 5'8" and taller, though 75 percent of sales are to women above 5'11". The clothier has long relied on brick-and-mortar sales in Britain, but now it’s making a push online and in the U.S., mostly in the Midwest. This expansion has helped sales rise about 30 percent in the past 12 months, and Sally expects to bring in about $80 million in revenue this year. “We’re serving a surprisingly small customer niche,” says Andrew Shapin, Sally’s chief executive officer. “But if you can reach people all over the world, suddenly that niche doesn’t seem so small anymore.”

Judy Rich, an American expat living in London, founded Long Tall Sally in 1976, when she couldn’t find pants long enough to fit her 5'11" frame. “I used to have to go to men’s clothing shops,” Rich says. “Who wants to do that?” She ran the company for almost three decades, until the early 2000s, when Sally, unable to stay competitive in the digital age, went into administration (the British version of bankruptcy). It was purchased in 2005 by Amery Capital, a retail investment firm backed by brothers Maurice and Michael Bennett, who’d made a fortune decades earlier selling floral-print dresses and frilly tops to the British masses through Warehouse, Oasis, Phase Eight, and Coast stores, which they’ve since sold.

Shapin became Sally’s CEO in 2007. He knew how to sell online - he’d co-founded the Cotswold Co., an online furniture retailer, in 1997 - but he had a couple of shortcomings: He wasn’t a woman, he wasn’t tall, and he didn’t know fashion. “I had zero awareness,” says Shapin, who’s about 5'8". “There is no lower level of awareness that I could’ve had about this industry before I started.” He spent six months sitting in on “at least 30” focus groups, he says, listening to hundreds of women talk about how hard it was to find clothes. They told him about being gangly, awkward teenagers, and about slouching so they wouldn’t be taller than men. “One thing that surprised me was how many tall women said they don’t like shopping,” he says. “It becomes a very emotional experience because they can’t find anything that fits.” Instead, they buy clothing that’s too small and MacGyverit so it appears to fit. Jeans too short? Hide them with tall boots!

The struggle is real. Diana Runkle, 5'11", Sydney: “I typically wear a long tank top under all my tops to keep my stomach from showing.” Jessica Brommelhoff, 6', Los Angeles: “I pretty much do not own any tops with full-length sleeves that actually go the full length of my arm.” Claire Burns, 6'1", New York: “I actually used to own two petite-sized, floor-length skirts that hit the base of my kneecap.” Tasha Watt, 6'1", Southaven, Miss.: “I can’t wear cocktail dresses because the waist hits me in my stomach area.” Says Shapin: “When I talked to women, I realized this was something that had the potential to go way beyond the U.K. market.” Instead of just moving Sally online, he thought, why not move it overseas?

How to tap into such a fashion-starved niche seems like it would be a case study taught in Marketing 101. (“Too tall for other stores? Go see Sally!”) But the company’s customers are more diverse than a typical retailer’s. They range in age from teenagers to grandmothers, have all sorts of jobs, live in all sorts of places, and have nothing in common with one another aside from their height. “We’ll hear from women who say, ‘I’m 6 foot 2, what do I need high heels for?’ Then women who say, ‘Why don’t you make more high heels? Just because I’m 6 foot 2 doesn’t mean I want to wear flats,’ ” Shapin says. Older women complain that Sally’s styles skew too young; young women write to ask for specific trends. “It’s a real challenge,” he says. “We try to focus on that sweet spot: women between 25 and 55. Middle class.” Some of the more popular offerings are supersoft legging jeans ($79), the crinkle tiered maxi skirt ($89), high superskinny jeans ($109), and the relaxed-fit pocket tee ($27). It’s not groundbreaking fashion, but at least the sleeves are long enough.

When Drew first visited Long Tall Sally in Toronto, she says she may have been more excited by the prospect of clothes that fit than by the actual clothes. She saw mainly work-appropriate skirts for women who commute to desk jobs in sneakers. “I like them now, but I was kind of discouraged when I first found them,” Drew says. Online, though, she says things are sleeker and more contemporary. The work skirts are still there - but so are skinny jeans, floppy hats, and gray tees that she’s more likely to buy. The company has teamed up with British designer Irene Agbontaen’s TTYA (Taller Than Your Average) label; last year the brands collaborated on a line of silk maxi dresses and, yes, leather pants, which sold out before Drew could snag a pair. “Long Tall Sally ... hasn’t always been the most fashion-forward name,” Glamour’s U.K. edition wrote about the collection. “But that’s all changed now!” Shapin is more reserved in praise of his accomplishments. “We’re trying,” he says.

In 2009, Sally started acquiring North American competitors, such as Tall Girl, Long Elegant Legs, Long Fashion, and large-size shoe seller Barefoot Tess, which had all somehow managed to sell clothes to women despite names that seem straight out of a 1992 Sears catalog. Sally also opened seven stores in Canada and four in the U.S., in Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. (There are 26 in total, including in Europe.) But it’s still not a well-known name here. To drum up awareness, the company has hosted pop-ups in 40 cities, from Boston to San Francisco. Online, it advertises mainly through sponsored ads on Google and social media. About 7 percent of people who see its posts on Facebook click on them, which Shapin says is a higher engagement rate than those of J.Crew, Nordstrom, or most other retailers, who average anywhere from 0.2 percent to 4 percent. So far, Shapin’s tactics have worked; almost 65 percent of the company’s sales are from people outside the U.K. who are shopping online, often in places where Sally doesn’t have a physical store.

Long Tall Sally has another major marketing hurdle: its name. On the one hand, having “long” and “tall” built into its brand makes it easily searchable online; it’s the fourth-highest Google result for tall women’s clothing, after the much larger retailers Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and New York & Co., which offer limited selections. But women don’t always want to broadcast that they shop at a specialty store. “Men can go to big-and-tall stores, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m big! I’m virile!’ But I don’t want to carry around a Long Tall Sally shopping bag,” Hilliard Gray says. Shapin says he’s aware of this problem, but so far he finds the Google-able pros outweigh the cons and has no plans to change it.

Long Tall Sally intends to open more stores in the U.S. and is also making a push into Germany, where the average height of a woman is 5'6" - 2 inches taller than in the U.S. After that comes the Netherlands, whose average height of 5'7" makes it the tallest country in the world. Currently there are no plans to expand into plus sizes for women, or into clothes for tall men. Although who’s to say Long Tall Stan’s leather pants wouldn’t be a hit?

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Writer, model, photographer, editor, multimedia artist etc. Andrea Grant is 6'1"

Andrea Grant a.k.a. 'The Pin-Up Poet' has had more than 250 articles, poems and photos published internationally. She is the creator of the comic book series 'Andrea Grant's MINX' which merges Native American mythology with clever contemporary fantasy, exploring such themes as the duality of human nature and the thin line between dreams and reality. She also plays the character of Minx.

Always a central figure in her art, she thrusts herself before the viewer, demanding interpretation. Her work is ambiguous and thrives on tension, occupying the various gray areas between exhibitionism and art, fashion and fetishism, popular culture and canon. Her body of work is constantly expanding and includes poetry, photography, collage, 3D paintings, audio recording, acting, modeling, and live performance, exploring mythological archetypes and the contradictions of modern womanhood.

She is the founder of Copious Amounts Press, the publishing house that has produced a variety of limited edition art books and multimedia projects since 2001, including Copious Magazine, and "The Pin-Up Poet' art book.

Visit her website

 Approaching a Tall Woman 

Tall men are often envied and admired by other men who are not as vertically blessed. Athletics probably came easier to them in their youth, and as they aged their height more than likely influenced their professional success to a certain degree.

Tallness in women, however, is an entirely different story. Instead of other women envying their height, tall women often struggle with feeling freakish and out of place, especially while growing up (no pun intended). While tall women might find their niche as professional athletes or supermodels, extreme height in women is often seen as bizarre and something to gawk at.

Note: Don't look at the video. It won't do anything for you. They are just trying to sell their service. The written portion of the article is worth contemplating though.

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Jannon's Basics

Height: 6'4 1/2''
Birthdate: April 10th 1982
Location: Southeast USA

How did I deal with being tall when I was young

Well I was such a popular girl in high school. Class president, basketball player and a science geek to boot. I was always taller than everyone... including most guys. After being really self-conscious of being tall, I took it in my stride. My favorite questions/comments are, "How tall are you?", "You must play basketball", "Are your parents tall?", "Do you have a problem getting dates", "Wow, you make me feel short"... I've come up with a million witty remarks to all of them. I think that my personality and disarming nature puts people at ease with me.

Why I love being tall

I love being a tall woman, because its part of my heritage. I come from Spanish and Indian heritage. I'm an Amazon in my own right, a strong woman warrior. My mother and father are both over 6 feet tall. I love my stature because it gives me confidence when I walk into a room. I love my long legs and I love heels.

The type of guys I like

I like men who don't make a huge deal over my height or if we have a height difference. A woman doesn't really like to have obvious things flung in their face. Just because I'm a tall woman and I'm strong that doesn't mean I'm dominant. I've met some "extreme" types - especially online. I like romantic, nice guys who are intelligent and have a lot of common sense.

How do people treat me in public

Well, I am tall, but I have a brother who is 7 feet tall. So when I'm with him, I don't get gawked at as much. But usually in public, I get stared at a lot. I personally think it's rude. I don't stare at people who aren't the norm, so why stare at me. I dislike when parents don't correct their children when they stare. But I loved when I went to a night club and this gentleman said that "There is a phenomenal woman, indeed''. I think that fits me to a T.

Love always,
Your Amazon Princess Jannon

Harriet's Basics

Name: Harriet
Birthday: March 31st, 1991
Height: 6'0 1/2"
Location: United Kingdom (Wales)

Hi, my name is Harriet, I am 17, I'm from Wales and just over 6ft, not extremely tall but tall enough, and I might still grow.

I seem to be an easy to pick on target for many reasons, here are a few. I'm "brainy". I know many brainy girls but because I'm tall, I'm the one that gets picked on, I'’m 4/5 inches taller than the next tallest girl in my class. I also wear glasses, so that apparently automatically makes me a "nerd" and again because I'm tall as well, I get the teasing worse, a while ago I was ill with post viral syndrome, and part of it was an abnormal growth spurt. I have also been called the "Twin Towers" before, and when they got knocked down I was once told that I would be too by another kid in my class. I am proud of being different, though, I am arty, I play the violin and I am a bit of an agony aunt for my younger sister, she is 13 and 6ft too and she is coping a lot better than I did because she has used me as a role model, and she's had a sympathetic ear. We always stick together and help each other should anyone challenge us! I also help her friends with problems too which I really enjoy. I used to hate my height, but I can’t change it, so I have grown to love it, tall women look better on T.V, in most clothes and more likely to stand up for themselves in later life, so I should be proud to be tall.

You only live once, so you should enjoy it, and I have learnt, even though I am only 16 that I am mentally a lot stronger than a lot of girls (and guys!) my age, because I have been questioned and teased most of my life, so us tall women are automatically authority figures.

When I am out I always have to have ID or my birth certificate with me, because I have been overcharged for travel since I was about 11/12 – for an adult fair, I'm sure many visitors will have experienced this too. Clothes can also be a bit of a problem, when the 12/14 "long" trousers are meant for someone who is only 5ft 7/8, it does make you doubt yourself, and you do question if you are too tall, but I don't think there is such a thing, it's not your problem, it's other people that are, in fact just jealous. I do find that I get a lot of stares from people, wherever I go and I do think I intimidate a lot of people, but most of the other women I have met that are my height or taller are the nicest and most GENUINE women I have ever met. They are also very funny and witty, and great company. Tall women are beautiful; the world will just have to accept it one day! I have also noticed that a lot of tall women are more womanly in stature, they are very well endowed and aren’t afraid to show it, most I have met never have the – "I need a breast enlargement" problem, we are already perfectly proportioned.

Tall women should be witty, with the stupid comments like "how is the weather up there" every single day. You learn to ignore it or become very good at deflecting it, "look it’s a real life dwarf" and one my friends used (she’s 5ft 9) "tell me, how many minutes does it take before your buried in snow?", the guy was left there trying to work out what just happened, I have used simple ones too, the ones everyone knows like:

"How’s the soil down there?" or "Well, at least I find out it rains the same day" etc etc.

Being a tall woman does have a minor setback, Men/Guys/Lads; they are often obsessed with having a pintsized, Barbie of a girl stuck to their arm, but this I feel is simply because most can’t cope with having a stronger, brighter, emotionally sound partner that doesn’t NEED a man to feel complete. The ones that can cope are some of the nicest men ever. I don't like being judged on my appearance and I don't judge on appearance either, although dating someone a great deal shorter than myself makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, apart from that I say go for it!

Tall women are the women with balls, just look at Boudicca, she was supposed to be tall, and she is one of the most feared warriors in history, and unchallenged by many men.

xxx
Harriet

Jeanna's Basics

Name: Jeanna
Birthday: April 15th, 1978
Height: 6'2"
Location: United States

Being tall ain't easy, ya know. I've always stood above everyone and I used to be down about it. My dad is only 5'10 and my mom is 4'11". My older sister is 5' and all of my brothers are under 6'. I was 7 lbs 3 ounces and 25 inches long at birth. I was 4'5" when I was 5 years old. Imagine only being 6 inches shorter than your mom when you are in preschool. I reached 6 ft when I was 14 and now stand at a whalloping 6'2". My parents are positive that if I hadn't started having back problems due to a degenerative process that I have, I would have been well over 8 ft tall by now. Back in my high school days, all the guys were shorter than me and were greatly intimidated. I stuck out like a sore thumb and finding clothes that were long enough were a nightmare. But I got through it. I got by on my personality and wit, and let's not forget my sheer beauty. Hahaha!

Most people think that tall girls are automatically going to love to play basketball. NO NO NO. I hated the game. Didn't even like to watch it. I wasn't the sporty type I guess you could say. I was to say the least.. a song bird. I used to prance around in my skirts and heels singing whatever came to mind. I was in the choir and every theater production that my school had.

Then came college. College was so much better than high school. I "FIT". I don't know how else to explain it. There were other tall girls. We shared clothes, shoes, and horror stories about being tall. But you know something.. I wouldn't change it for anything. It has made me the person I am today. 

I love being the big tall girl at job interviews. The one that isn't afraid to wear the 4 inch heels, and well I would say short skirts, but what isn't short on us tall women right? I love being the one they remember not only for her height though, but because of an outstanding personality, and the willingness to speak her mind, and let's not forget smart as all get out. 

These days, when I'm not out sick on medical leave, I work as a mental health nurse. The one thing my boss commends me on is the fact that even though I have to look down, I never look down on my clients. And my clients are more aware of me while I'm there. I never use my height to intimidate anyone, but at the same time, I think you'd be pretty leery of trying something if you had a 6'2" 335 LB AMAZON staring down at you too.

Love always...
Jeanna