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Jazz in the Park

Sweet sweet Summertime. How wonderful it is to be in the throes of Summer. To anyone complaining about the heat, take that mess elsewhere. I know I’ll be soaking up this warmth because once it’s gone, it gets ugly around here pretty quickly. Catch me by the pool on the weekends, probably happily sweating. Hopefully y’all have similar plans that involve a body of water or just being outdoors in general. 

During the week, it might not be as easy to be near or on/in the water. Hence the need for alternate enjoyable plans. Why not consider Jazz in the Park? It just so happens to be Milwaukee’s favorite FREE, outdoor, summer music series. We headed downtown to experience it for ourselves. If you follow along on Instagram you may have already caught our experience live. If not, let me fill you in on some details!

Jazz in the Park has been held for 28 years and counting! It’s run by East Town Association which we’ve highlighted this Summer, writing about Bastille Day and the Cathedral Square Market (you can click the events to see our posts). It starts at the end of May and runs through the end of August, so you have all Summer to stop by. They post the schedule on their website here so you can plan who you want to see when. While you are on their site you can also check out the incredible list of vendors you can expect to see throughout the summer. 

The night we went was unique because it was the first time “Jazz went Country.” The performance was awesome! People were dancing near the stage, the audience was filled with smiling faces, bottles of wine and charcuterie boards galore. It was a gorgeous summer night for sitting outside, especially as the sun was setting. 

We got to Cathedral Square and promptly needed to get a cool drink in our hands. There was a mild debate whether we should purchase a bottle of champagne, wine, or just snag a few beers. We opted for one of our local favorites; Happy Place, from Third Space Brewing. We made it to the tent before 6 pm which was a big win for us because it was happy hour and drinks were discounted. You all know a sale of any sort is our love language! With a drink secured, we decided we should survey all of the vendors that were present before choosing the ones we saw first.  

Our first stop was Kompali Taqueria where we got chips & guacamole, the steak taco, pastor taco, and chicken tinga taco. We wanted to try the Elotes but sadly they didn’t have any cheese so we didn’t get the opportunity. We also grabbed some Chicago Mix Popcorn from Lush Popcorn which was divine. The last things we indulged in were billy goat hand-cut chips and Miss Molly’s Assorted Cookies from The Village Cheese Shop.

The Flowers for Dreams Truck was also present on the sunny Thursday evening that we attended. This truck is the cutest truck we have ever seen! You can buy flowers right out of the cutout windows on the side of the truck. 

You can catch Jazz In The Park tomorrow, August 1, and catch The Jimmy’s or any of the following Thursdays with Plaid Hawaii, The Claudettes, Abby Anderson, or Eddie Butts. We would love to hear about your favorite musicians, vendors, or experiences if you are able to catch Jazz this summer!

Lots of Summery tall jumpsuits are now marked down for the end of the season, so snatch them up if you’ve been looking!

Outfit Details

Caitlin’s jumpsuit is UK – here is the link!
https://rstyle.me/cz-n/dqenvtcg2bx

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Feelin’ Feminine in Floral

Blog going up on a Tuesday!? Not our norm, we know. We try not to bombard you all too much throughout the week with loads of blogs. However, when you’re just feeling passionate about your dress you sometimes get the feeling to write a little more than an Instagram caption. I have been spying on this dress since it originally hit the website, but knew there was no way I was going to spend $45 on it. In reality that doesn’t sound that outlandish for a dress but thankfully, it went on sale and I was able to snap it right up. 

First things first, I don’t think I would consider this a true “tall maxi.” You can see where it hits me on my 5 ’11 frame and it’s more of a midi-maxi. I am happy with that length, but keep that in mind if you are looking for a true maxi. The print of this dress is what originally drew me in. It’s so feminine and whimsical and makes me want to channel my inner Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine for those who aren’t familiar). She always wears romantic, flowy, items while she contagiously dances across the stage and channels her incredible energy into the audience. Okay, that probably took a weird turn for some of you but it’s awesome to me that clothing can evoke that kind of emotion in someone. 

Anyways this fabric drapes softly over your body, the buttons are real all the way down if you wish to show a bit more leg, and has adjustable straps which are always one of my most appreciated things about a dress these days. It allows for people who are a bit more busty to control how modest they would like to be. I could never wear it as low as the model wears it and feel comfortable. 

And a little extra advice. In my opinion, this dress would also be a great maternity option for those tall or mainline mamas to be, because it fit my food baby perfectly inside the drop waist. However, if you aren’t planning on having a baby anytime soon you can see that this still drapes perfectly for a relaxed, comfortable, yet incredibly cute summer look! Happy Tuesday friends!

Outfit Details

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No Need to be Koi

Alternate title: we’re out here grindin’. That was the story of last week. We met up every single day over lunch to get our outfits shot! We’ve been hustling to stay consistent. I know people like pictures a bit more when it’s both of us in them, but we can’t always have someone else there to take pictures of us both. So hopefully you’re still sticking around so see which of us will pop up each day! 

Plus, we got our pictures done during the week, so we could leave the weekend as the weekend. Y’all know we both have day jobs, so we usually give up a Saturday or Sunday or sometimes both to get content produced. Don’t get us wrong, we love it and it is totally worth it. As long as we’re bringing value to you, we’re happy!

The joy of last week was definitely Caitlin noticing a BUNCH of new murals popping up in town. Props to the city of Wauwatosa for bringing some color to the sides of buildings and showcasing artists while they’re at it! I’m sure we’ll all be even more grateful come winter when we’re searching for anything besides the colors grey and white. We loved this Koi mural, and it happened to be perfectly colored to go with this look! Did you like the play on words in the title?? Koi or coy, get it?

Anyways, we’re all in on culottes, and it’s the perfect time to love them. There are loads of options available in tall AND even better, they’re on sale. We’ve been snatching them up because a lot of options are perfect to wear both casually and to work. Plus I’ve worn them to church as well. They are basically like a skirt you can be more reckless in! 

Remember last week when I was discussing the merits of buying outfits versus one piece? If you missed it, check it out here and let us know your preference! Well, we’re obviously back with another full outfit that had to be bought together. Sometimes the stars align and pieces are released at the same time that just are just meant to be together. Probably strategy on the part of the sales team, but we’re not mad!

It’s also funny that we both ended up buying outfits that were both orange/rust. Guess that it’s a good color for a full outfit? Caitlin was smitten with these grid culottes as soon as they dropped. Despite the sweatshirt not being a tall size, she was digging the outfit enough to give it a chance and order mainline. The culottes are SO SOFT. Like babies skin soft. We wanted to show both of us in this outfit, and as soon as I put them on, I was talking about also potentially ordering them. 

They have a wideband and high waist, so they work ideally with a cropped top. The sweatshirt was only borderline short if I raised my hands up. Which I did test out while taking pictures. Caitlin quickly warned me that my bra was making an appearance and that was the end of my fun with waving my arms around. I was duly impressed with the length of the sweatshirt sleeves, however. They were amply long and hit my wrists. 

This outfit is going to see you well into Fall. Temperatures will drop and you’ll be looking cool and pumpkin-esque. Just kidding, but it’s definitely got the Fall tones down. I paired it with my new favorite sneakers from Long Tall Sally. They are so comfortable, and they carry shoe sizes up to size 15! Plus they are having a completely ridiculous sale right now. So many shoes are marked down, including these! Snag them here.

Are you thinking about Fall fashion yet? We’re resistant but inching towards it. As long as the temperatures stay warm, we’re dressing weather appropriate. So if that makes us bad bloggers, so be it! Sound off below!

Outfit Details

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Make My Tall Size

It feels weird to even be titling a post that. We’re past the middle of 2019, and it doesn’t make much sense to me that we should be championing clothing options for tall women. Tall women have been around the same length (pun intended) as petite women. Tall women have also been around far before the plus size movement began. I’m not here to alienate any other size/shape groups. It just doesn’t make much sense that something we can’t control (height) is so vastly overlooked by SO MANY retailers.

Rompers have been notoriously hard to find! Thankful for this Amalli Talli option

The irony of course, being that models are “tall.” Even more ironic than that, is that 6 ‘0 ft is too tall to be a model for most agencies. I wonder why that would be, beyond the glaringly obvious that clothes aren’t made for the truly tall women. 

Work pants are another, where there needs to be a lot of improvement!
  • Rhonda Lynette makes amazing custom clothing, like these pants and Caitlin’s pink top!
Madewell has several inseams, but they are limited stock and styles.

The argument can certainly be made that we as tall women have more clothing options than ever. That same argument is applicable to any non “mainline” size group, yet the battle still rages on for more options for them. When you’re not included in the options regularly, you miss out on more than “regular sized” people. You don’t get to grab clearance items for a couple of dollars because they made too many of your size. Instead we’re left saving up for smaller retailers just to buy a sweater or shoes for double the price and half the style. 

Maxi dresses and skirts – while this works on Caitlin, not quite long enough for Jenilee

Never is this more glaringly obvious, until a new hot trend comes to town. All of the mainlines are sure to have options galore for people to grab, while tall women, plus sized women, petite women are left wondering why they can’t find one option they like in their own size.

A maxi dress that is well fitting and long enough? *Gasp* it must be a small retailer (From Height of Fashion)
  • Asos has a great jumpsuit selection
  • Even better that they work on us both!
  • Amalli Talli cuts their jumpsuits and dresses in two lengths!
  • This dress and this jumpsuit are both from Amalli Talli!

While I wholeheartedly agree massive strides are being made to have more inclusive fashion, I’m also left wondering why the fashion industry thinks that if you’re tall, you only have long legs. Stop ignoring our long arms, longer torsos, and broader shoulders. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been excited to see a retailer carrying long jeans. Only then do I discover that they have zero tall blouse options, or severely limited options in only the basics and definitely only in black or white color options. 

Blazers have always been difficult, but Height of Fashion to the rescue once more!

We as tall women need to continue to stick up for ourselves. We deserve to have just as many options as the rest of the population. None of us woke up this morning and made the decision to grow an extra 5+ inches beyond the fit size that retailers use. God gave us these extra inches. We should not be left rolling up our too short sleeves or trying to pull off an ill fitting pair of pants where the knee hits in the wrong spot and cold ankles in the winter.

There’s been some great options available at ASOS as well!

Tall women shouldn’t have to deal with a “tall tax.” No other clothing is subjected to extra cost or less cost based on the size, why would we be the exception? For example, when you order a bridesmaid dress that isn’t long enough, your dress is suddenly more expensive than anyone else’s. Then to add insult to injury, not only do we pay extra for the additional length; they only offer a standard block of extra length. Meaning that if you need less than that you then get to pay even more to have it tailored.

When you can’t get over your excitement that Amalli Talli makes incredibly well-fitting garments!
  • The best jeans for your peach at Height of Fashion
  • Plus the right length and stretch!

That’s why we’re committed to taking a stand for our tall population. We want all of our voices to be heard, and we’re all about leading the charge to inclusive sizing. If you want to join the conversation, sound off below. We’ll be using a new hashtag and want everyone else to use it as well! We were inspired by Katie Sturino of The 12ish Style who is leading the conversation more from a designer standpoint by using hashtag #makemysize. 

  • Finding well fitting dresses courtesy of Let Height Arise

Our fight specifically is about affordable fashion, at least initially. We want options within our budgets. That’s why we’ll continue to show you our fashion fails in our stories. Going forward we’ll be using #makemytallsize and #tallsizeinclusivity in our Instagram posts. We will also be showing ourselves more in fashion fails try-ons in the future. This will hopefully help highlight and understand the difference in sizing. Hopefully, this is something others feel passionate about as well and will join us in using! Please feel free to tag us if you decide to show a tall fashion fail.

  • All the sleeve length feels in this Height of Fashion Blouse
  • Plus the right shoulder fit and body length!
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The Case for Buying an Outfit

In the past, I typically haven’t sought out full outfits. I’ve often admired seeing the mannequins put together in stores. Plus browsing online, the model’s outfits online have certainly caught my eye many times. So why have I not typically bought more of said outfits that I’ve enjoyed? I think it’s partially rooted in the past of budget and wanting certain bits and pieces instead of feeling like the outfit was the number one choice. It also had a lot to do with filling holes in my wardrobe. It seemed frivolous to me to be able to purchase an entire outfit at once when I needed several tops for work or just a pair of pants.

I’m sure this is the case with a lot of people. Our wardrobe leaves gaps and spaces at different points. Sometimes it feels like half of my sweaters have rips or holes in them at the same time. There’s also weight change or body shifts to deal with. You could lose a bunch of weight or may be pregnant, or just end up gaining weight. Clearly, there is a number of reasons to be forced to look for new clothing. Of course, some of us don’t have to be forced into looking for new clothing… ahem, the ladies running this blog. But especially if it’s not your jam, we’re happy to help!

Recently Caitlin has spied some killer outfits and either snatched them up in whole or at least taken the time to recreate them. I’ve loved each of them, and it inspired me with this Summer look. This wasn’t the outfit the model wore, but the high paper-bag waisted shorts and this crop top were begging to be paired. I was drawn more to the rust color of the tank top, but I really liked the vertical stripes on the shorts and that it wasn’t your typical bright summery look.

We’ve all seen the grunge-y oversized denim jackets floating around the past few years. While there are lots of great brand new options in stores, there are also endless treasures to be found in a thrift, secondhand, or consignment shop. That’s where I found this Levi jacket, or to be exact, Caitlin found it for me! That way you can save a bit of money, and have it be authentically distressed. Plus we’re lucky as tall women because we can easily grab a men’s denim jacket and have it fit us really nicely. As a matter of fact, I’m sure this one is a men’s. I couldn’t love the fit any more!

Probably the funniest thing to me about buying this as a whole outfit is that I feel more limited now in mixing and matching. Obviously, a lot has to do with the colors in the shorts, but I get in that mindset if I “buy an outfit” that those items belong together. Which is completely silly, but maybe a way for my brain to take a break as I’m gazing through my closet? Hard to say for sure, but I plan to push myself out of that and see what else I can come up with. We always want to reiterate that we’re not buying items here for you to see and then returning them. (Unless they are ill-fitting and we need to alert our tall fam to save the time and energy in a useless purchase)

Ultimately, we want to be authentic to ourselves while still providing value to you! So if you’re looking for a particular item and you haven’t heard us talk about it or cover it, please ask us. It’s not just lip service. Shopping should be fun and painless. It obviously hasn’t always been that way for us, but let us help the trajectory be a positive one. You don’t have to settle for too-short sleeves or pulling in the shoulders or whatever other issues are bothering you! This is your tall community, we got you!

So tell us below, if we haven’t covered something you’ve been looking for! Also, sound off on whether you like buying full outfits or single items and why.

Outfit Details

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