Your Curves Will Thank You Later

I hope you’re hanging in there with daylight savings time change. This one at least works in our favor to catch an extra hour of sleep! On the other hand, I wondered why I was ready to tuck into bed at 8 p.m. on Sunday night. Now we will get some sunlight to wake us in the morning, which I’m sorely in need of to drag myself from my cozy bed. But I’m already ready for it to be past December 21st which is the shortest day of the year. I happen to enjoy daylight before and after work, thank you very much.

One of the things that has been nice about the weather turning cold is taking advantage to slow down the schedules. We’re so guilty of saying yes to anything and everything, and not taking into consideration how we’ll feel come the moment of the event. I ended up in three different fall sports leagues. While I always enjoy playing, compounding them leaves me feeling resentful of the little alone time I’m left with. It took a bit to catch up, but I set aside two weekends in a row where I made little to no plans. Caitlin and I are planners, especially when we’re together.

As you can imagine, it felt foreign to walk into a weekend and have nothing tugging your time or attention. I finally got through some of my closet to sell/donate pile after putting it off for a month. My plant babies all got pruned, and just in time for the dry season of heating the house. Plus it’s all the deeper cleaning items that you don’t get to when you just need to tidy up before someone walks into your house. When you get a chance to exhale, I first typically take it to rest. So now I had a second exhale, I was able to channel my energies into productivity that I’ve neglected.

It couldn’t come in a more timely manner. We’re all going to be ramping up towards the holidays. I know the running joke is that everyone is ready to decorate for Christmas already because we’ve already gotten six inches of snow in these parts. I can’t say I oppose it, because it’s a lot of work decorating for Christmas and the longer I can keep it up, the better. Plus studies say that it makes you more cheerful the earlier you get your decorations up. I think the retail stores have taken that a little too far.

All that to say, I hope you’re going into this holiday season with a bit of intentionality. You only have so much of yourself to give. Don’t overextend yourself, whether it’s mentally, financially, or however you have a tendency to do so. It can feel countercultural to do so, but I don’t think you’ll regret it. We’re bombarded with messages about what we can do or buy to improve our holidays. Surrounding yourself with people you love and cutting yourself a break will be your best bet.

I’ll get off my earnest well-intentioned horse to talk about the lighter part of the post; the clothing. This year has got to be called the year of the jeans. Never have I had a better year of shopping for jeans. It started with experiencing Height of Fashion’s denim launch – check our post here. From there I finally hopped on the American Eagle denim bandwagon after seeing Caitlin rock their Mom jeans. Finally, our beloved Amalli Talli launched their namesake denim line as well to ice the cake (check that review, here). So basically, feeling spoiled.

Today we’re talking American Eagle though. I have to stop and give credit where it’s due. They’ve long been pushing for people to embrace themselves and have stopped airbrushing/editing to further solidify this positive agenda. We’ve heard so many retailers tout their inclusive sizing that we’ve become deaf to it at this point. Why? Because it’s been a lie. Inclusive sizing has pretty much become synonymous with plus sized. Which is great, and a victory for all the women that have long been yearning for options. That still leaves a portion of the population out; namely tall women.

Luckily, I was lured in by seeing other (shorter than me) tall women wearing American Eagle. I reasoned that I had nothing to lose by ordering them and returning if they didn’t fit. So I made the leap and although the first order was a bit of a snafu with quality control and inseam length, I ended up keeping a pair. Suffice to say, I haven’t looked back since then. You could call me a bit of an expert on the fit and which works perfectly on my frame. The best part? Caitlin can order the Long length, while I fit into the XL length. Now that’s some inclusive sizing for a big-box retailer. Plus they go up to size 14 in XL length and 24 in L length. I know that still leaves a bit to be desired for anyone 6’4 and bigger than a size 14, but good progress in our direction.

As for my favorite styles, it is hands down the curvy! The rise on these is 11.25”! It actually covers my belly button. Plus because they’re curvy, there is no waistband gapping. They’re stretchy, but after wearing them and being soaked by rain continuously for hours, they didn’t stretch out either. I got them in a 12XL. I probably could wear a 10XL but I prefer a comfortable looser fit as long as they aren’t falling down. It feels so exciting to be able to buy the “fun pants” that I’ve seen on other women.

Pairing it with my glorious moto jacket from Amalli Talli is a no brainer. You’ll catch me wearing this ultimate tall girl jacket all winter long. I have it on in size L and if you’ve been eyeing it up, only XL and S remain, so I wouldn’t sleep on it. We’ve still got our 15% code for you to use, THEREALTALL15 if you’ve been hoping for a discount. Wearing both I can still look rocker chic and ready for a day/night out, but feel like I could curl up on the couch and nap comfortably. I’ve got on my square neck t-shirt I snagged from the N-sale and I’m ready for whatever.