Finally, an Upscale Clothing Line for Tall Women
Kaersten Cooper is 6'1", but the inspiration for Marge, her luxury line for tall women, came from someone much shorter: her 4'11" grandmother, Marjorie. A fashion designer and illustrator, Marjorie pushed Cooper to be confident and embrace her height, even when her fourth-grade granddaughter towered over her by a foot.
Decades later, inspired by San Francisco start-up fever and local groups like PeopleWearSF, Cooper left her 15-year career in marketing to launch Marge, which caters to women 5'9" and over. Her goal: To elevate tall women's expectations of how clothes should feel and fit, and to make them feel as beautiful as her grandmother made her feel.
The brand officially launched its e-commerce boutique just this month. Its first collection of 14 styles ranges from tailored silk camisoles (priced around $300) to coats and sweaters draped with self-lined, virgin boiled wool (for around $1,500). The pieces all have Danish names in a nod to Cooper's heritage, and the fabrics were all sourced from Italy, but the clothes were made near Marge’s office in San Francisco. The Cut spoke with Cooper about why finding clothes for those 5'9" and over can be such a tall order.
Why did you decide to make your line exclusively for tall women?
I'm 6'1" - 6'6" when I wear heels - and I've found throughout my life that the same challenges and design issues come up for many of my tall friends and team members in sports that I played. Marge was about taking my grandmother’s influence and applying it to what I think is a market need. We’re excited to be one of the only womenswear brands exclusive to women who are 5’9” and taller. The tall woman’s market is truly a niche market, like petites. Patterns are typically generated for the average height of the U.S. woman, which is 5’4”, and in Europe, somewhere around 5’6”.
