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Our Love For Gingham is Endless

Just yesterday was Memorial Day. We moved the post to today, as most people are off of work and probably getting in some friend or family time. Maybe you took advantage and took some alone time to recharge your batteries. Whatever the case may be, hopefully it was a good day for you. A lot of people think of it as a kick off to summer or a three day weekend. Our weekend isn’t technically over yet, because we get back in town tonight from our mystery trip. If you follow along on Instagram, you probably already know where we are!

Although we’re all guilty of getting caught up in making special plans, because we have a full extra day off work (typically); we’re working harder this year and every year to honor the reason behind the holiday. Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who have died in service to their country. It is no small feat to have enlisted in any of our armed forces, and we are forever grateful to live in a country that people lay down their lives to keep our freedoms. If any of our fellow readers are active or retired from service, we want to send you a huge thank you! We’re honored by your sacrifice. Thank you for your service to our country.

Memorial Day being the unofficial kick-off to summer means summer fashion is out in full force. The Midwest is forever playing catch up to the South as far as being able to wear our warmer weather clothing. We’re totally guilty of forcing clothing that the weather won’t cooperate with. But no regrets here! There’s only 4 months at most where we’ll be able to enjoy bare legs and tank tops. We’re taking full advantage.

What better way to embrace summer than bring out the gingham? Caitlin kicked it off last week with the cutest blue gingham top from Madewell. Check it out here if you missed it! Today we’re back trying to practice what we preach. Number 1, that we do love us some gingham as much as we indicated last year. Number 2, that we will always be outfit repeaters. There will always be some items that you can’t repeat as often – IE wedding guest dresses. But as for the rest, it’s got to do some work in your closet to earn it’s cost.

I always worry about buying patterned anything, because I wonder if I’ll be able to come up with enough to remix it. But black and white is totally effortless, and I’ve learned that these shorts will be worn again and again. They’re 4 inch inseam, plus high waisted. The high waist is so flattering, plus the zip up the size keeps it looking streamlined. Plus there has got to be some sorcery in the stretchy material, I could wear these to sleep in. Our go-to for Summer dressing has to be a bodysuit. The tucked in look with no weird bagginess or hems popping out always wins out.

Caitlin had the inspiration behind these looks, due to browsing Pinterest. We really enjoy fashion, but we’re not always the most creative on our own. So cue heading to Pinterest for some ideas. Some looks just show up on your feed and you realize you have all the pieces to effectively recreate. This is exactly what happened, and it came together perfectly. This gingham skirt is also from last year, and the perfect length for tall women. The one shoulder bodysuit is tall and works on both of us. I wore it last here. You have seen the bodysuit I am wearing in black on Caitlin and we can guarantee you will keep seeing it. If you’re in the market for a solid tank bodysuit this one comes in black, white, and our beloved olive green for under $20!

Needless to say, gingham is a versatile and timeless print that won’t be making an exit anytime soon. We’re on board with that, and will continue to add pieces to our summer wardrobes. Maybe we’ve inspired you to do the same! But if nothing else, hopefully you’re purchasing pieces that will be worn and re-worn again and again. It doesn’t make you cool to wear a piece once and trash it. If that’s ideal to you, try renting a wardrobe! Share your thoughts with us below!

Outfit Details

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Work Pants That Work

One question we get asked frequently is for help with work pants. Combined we have been working in business casual, business professional and casual settings for over 10 years so we have had plenty of experience shopping around. However, at this point I think I am ready to fully endorse Express as my go to work pant. I have tried  Old Navy, Asos, Gap, Banana Republic, etc. I don’t want you to misconstrue this as me saying I dislike these ones, they just aren’t my favorite. Let me dive into this a little more to hopefully eliminate confusion.

Old Navy was the first place I went when I got my “Big Girl Job” and I was smitten with their pixie pants. I loved that they were more modern and let’s say young. As a 22 year old entering the workforce I wasn’t wild about wearing slacks every day. These were great for a while until they quickly become misshapen, stretched out and very worn looking. At this point I decided I was done purchasing pixies from them. I do have some traditional slacks from them that have held up much better. At 5’11 I will say they are even a little bit long on me with flats.

I have numerous pairs of culottes from Asos but to be honest that is all I have tried from them. I love them all and can’t stop buying them in multiple colors! I did size up with the first pair I ever ordered thinking “Those won’t fit how they are supposed to on my athletic legs.” Then I had to have them taken in. Stay true to size with Asos and they should fit like a dream. I will also mention that the quality here has been top notch to me. There is no pilling, no wear, no stretching. I have to add in how much we both love our Asos skirts, I can’t get enough of the midi styles they offer!

I tried a few pairs of pixie pants from Gap as well (they are a sister company to Old Navy for those that don’t know). And they appear to hold up much better. My gingham pants from this post are Gap and show little to no signs of wear.  I also have a pair of leopard ones which only show a little bit of color fading on the seam. Overall they are better than Old Navy and I would still consider pixies from Gap.

Now when it comes to Banana Republic i’m going to be in honest in saying that I have only accepted work pants from here in the form of hand-me-downs. I never have issues doing this to be clear, it’s just how I ended up with them. I have some khakis as well as some skinny cords and love them both! They have been great for me even after my mom wore them for years!

Now onto the main event, Express. I have always had a few pairs of Express slacks on rotation. I just love the fit and most of the time, the quality as well. I started with just typical black flare slacks. One pair I have had and worn regularly on rotation for 6 years and it the quality hasn’t lessened. The other the hems have both come out multiple times which is slightly frustrating.

Jenilee ordered some columnist pants in Marigold and Olive last year and unfortunately they both ended up being awkwardly short on her so I did what we do best. I immediately bought them from her. Her sad loss was my huge win. These became my new favorite pants. If only it were more acceptable to wear marigold every single week. I ended up adding a pair of black columnists to the collection soon after.

For each pair of them I own I will say I sized up 1, because I pretty much had to! I also have these two pairs of paper bag work pants that I wear as often as possible as well. Again-I sized up one. My roommate who is in the regular length has also had issues with workwear sizing at Express ranging between three sizes. So maybe it’s just who they are? So all in all I would say if you’re 5’10-6’1 you’re probably going to have great success with the pants from Express. If you are 6’2 and above maybe try the full length as ankle pants!

We have had some messages asking if we disclose our sizes. The answer is always yes. We may not write it outright in a post; however, if you are wondering we are also more than happy to disclose what size we got (compared to our typical sizes). We’ll also include recommendations from other retailers. Please never be afraid to ask for help with anything we love hearing from you and trying to help!

I really hope this helped some of y’all with navigating through the work pant problems we have all faced. I want to point out that since I am only 5’11 I understand that this may not help all of you who are truly what we would consider “tall.” We refer to me as being a small tall for a reason, which is that I don’t always struggle as much as others. For example, I myself, would never claim to be a true tall blogger if I wasn’t part of a duo with Jenilee. She brings so much value to this blog as well as all of you! I know I play my part and have taken such joy in hearing from some followers who say they are my exact build but we urge you to take into consideration whose advice you are taking as “tall bloggers.” We both feel blessed to be able to work as a team to double our knowledge, advice, and outlooks! With that being said, if you want to essentially see this exact type of post written by Jenilee – drop a line below! And then enjoy the heck out of your weekends!

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It’s The Lake Effect

Why did we start this blog? To help as many (tall) people as possible. Whether this may be with fashion, confidence, a sense of belonging or anything else you may be looking for. Why do we keep going? Because of all of you and because of companies like this one. We are so excited to announce a new ongoing collaboration with a company that means so much to us.

Meet Lake Effect Co! We hope you love them as much as we do. A little bit of backstory on this: we decided in November we wanted to share a Small Business Saturday Guide to feature local business that we care about. We made a point when we reached out to these companies not to ask for ANYTHING, except a little bit of early knowledge into what their sale was going to be so we could include it in a post ahead of time to share. We got some positive response, neutral responses, some companies ignored us, and some were more friendly than we could have ever hoped for. Enter Katherine the owner of Lake Effect Co.

Katherine, a fellow tall lady herself, emailed us back with such warmth and friendliness. She basically said she looked at our Instagram and have we met yet? I feel like we’re friends already? If not we need to be. P.S. I am 5’11 too. So she shared the details of their sale, met us for wine and became our first in real life internet friend. We had so much in common with our deep love for lake life, a love for wine-ing, dining, and socializing. We ended up having to force ourselves to stop chatting so we could get home at a reasonable hour. We have stayed in contact since meeting. Between Katherine appreciating our goofy side through Instagram videos, and with posting the products because we genuinely want to. We feel blessed just to know her and this company.

We’re going to steal some info directly from their website because we can’t possibly word their own mission statement better than them:

“Lake Effect Co. is a retail brand and blog that encourages you to connect with the beauty and adventure of nature, through time by the water. It’s a venue to share magnetic lake stories and perfect lake moments, to embrace a unique lifestyle, and to let the ever-changing water inspire us. It’s about being balanced in adventure, health, beauty, and self, all through the lens of life by the lake. It’s a suggestion to “Chase More Sunsets” which is code for finding what inspires you and building a life that includes more of that.

Lake effect literally means the precipitation or other miscellaneous weather patterns produced when cold air passes over warmer water or vice versa. In my world, the lake effect includes crisp breezes swirling off the lake on sweltering days and incubator-type temps on cold days. A lake’s effects extend far beyond the weather. When you’re on lake time, you know it. It’s a slower pace. It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s connecting with nature. It’s letting the waves heal you. It’s forgetting you’ve ever been anywhere else. When you’re on lake time, it’s never wanting to leave.

And while we may not all have the chance to reside lakeside, or even near a body of water, we can still find common ground in those prized, even if brief, moments when we catch a glimpse of the closest body of water or remember a moment when the water filled us with a sense of awe. Sometimes you just know what feels good to your soul, and for many like me, that is the Lake Effect. “

Source: Lakeeffectco.com

Now that you have a better idea of what this company stands for, we need you to know that we couldn’t resonate more closely with this company. We know this isn’t a “tall clothing retailer” but we can guarantee you that because someone tall is designing the goods, they will fit you. We have tried long sleeves, short sleeves, tank tops, and even crop tops thus far and everything fits like a dream. The quality is top notch, the length is perfect, and we are pretty much just obsessed.

We wanted this blog post to serve as an introduction to Lake Effect Co., Katherine, and why we are choosing to collaborate with this company. And also to reiterate we genuinely only post items we truly like, believe in, or care about. We hope you feel like you know this company as well as we do now. Our next post will be a glimpse into specifically what “lake life” means to us and will feature the lake we call home.

Both of us would love to hear if there is a lake that is special to you. Where is it, why do you love it, what’s your favorite memory? Any piece of lake love you want to share, we want to hear.

You can use our code THEREALTALL15 for 15% off of your purchase which is a huge deal for this company. If you’re looking for our current favorites, you can shop our favorite long sleeves here and here. If you’re in the midwest a perfect short sleeve t-shirt, a few of our favorites in general here and here, and a few of our favorite tanks, here and here. Keep in mind we will be updating our favorites so stay tuned for more to come.

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Sassy Striped Midi Dress

It’s Monday, after an eventful weekend. I have to start with a shout out to my husband, Tim for his 30th birthday! He is the man behind 90% of the pictures of the two of us together. We couldn’t appreciate his help any more! Tim is very good natured about helping out, and the only time we have to yell at him, is if he’s making us talk and continuing to take pictures at the same time. I feel truly blessed to have a husband who is a great partner in life. He keeps us laughing during shoots as well!

We had a full weekend of family events, including birthday celebrations for Tim last night. We made some tacos and had some birthday cake for him. On Saturday Caitlin and our parents went up to Green Bay for a family friends wedding. Stay tuned for her wedding attire tomorrow! Tim and I spent some time downtown wandering in and out of shops, and then went out to dinner. Friday we had our cousins 8th grade graduation. Like I said, it was an eventful weekend. Now this week, we’re prepping for our mystery European trip over Memorial Day. We are beside ourselves with excitement and can’t wait to find out where we’re going!

All we know so far, is that it’s Europe and our flight leaves Thursday night. We’ll arrive in the “morning,” wherever we are, and hit the ground running. We’re gone Thursday night to Tuesday night, so we’ll be packing in as much activity as possible. If you have any guess as to where it may be, sound off in the comments below. In the meantime, we’ve been plotting our packing and are really excited about our outfits. Get ready for some fun travel content, and tall jumpsuits just in time for Summer!

As for this dress, it totally screams Summer. It has bright punchy color blocking for the perfect warm weather look. If you have any weddings to attend, this dress is the perfect choice. The length is perfect for any tall woman, so no worrying about flashing unwanted bits while you’re dancing. Although you’re well covered, this dress is anything but boring. The bodycon shape hugs your curves really nicely. Plus you can adjust the straps for adding length.

I bought the size large, and it fits really well. Normally I wear a 10/12 in bottoms. If you’re larger busted than me, this dress will fit you really well up top. I normally wear a smaller size in tops than bottoms, especially if it’s sleeveless. My shoulders are wide, but my torso isn’t as wide. Obviously the dress still fits, but I know some women are deterred by wondering if it will work on larger chests. Maybe we’ll have Caitlin try it on at some point to showcase the difference in height, but let us know if you’d like to see that!

Height of Fashion has been showcased heavily on the blog recently, and that’s for good reason. She is all about helping tall women feel like they have on trend options, that fit well. As with this dress, Natalie wants tall women to help embrace their sexiness. She’s certainly making it easy for us. Whenever we throw on one of her garments, it’s like leveling up. It makes it all the harder to return to ill fitting clothing. Basically what we’re saying, is keep all the wonderful clothing coming! We’re plotting our next purchase, as there is a long list of items we “need.”

Sound off below, where do you think we’re headed this weekend? More importantly, we want to know where you’re headed this weekend! Any big Memorial Day weekend plans?

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White Before Memorial Day?

You bet! We both tend to disregard this “fashion rule.” Is it still a rule? Either way you can catch me in white whenever I please. I purchased some white jeans on super clearance at Old Navy last year for $2 and wore them a few times but they just weren’t quite right. I don’t know if it’s because I felt like they showed a bit of cellulite or what but they essentially became a big nope to me. So I did what I always do. I gave them to my mom! Her legs are a bit more slim than both Jenilee’s and mine so she is always happy to take most pants we don’t love.

After finding the perfect button fly jeans last year, and then buying a second pair, when they came out in white it wasn’t a question. They fit SO much better than the first pair and I feel 100% comfortable in them. Well, except for the fear of spilling on them or brushing up against something dirty obviously.

I found this Madewell top at the Nordstrom Rack, and by I, I mean Jenilee found it for me! This is pretty typical for us. We just know when something is for each other even if it’s not our own style.  We love that Madewell caters to the tall denim and cherish the pairs we have which you can see here, here, and here but they are definitely not up to speed with tops. I am usually a Medium Tall, regular Medium or Large but at Madewell I had to get an XL in this top.

We are not the type of people to get upset at the size on a tag. If you look through my closet I own tops ranging from XS-XL and I could care less. You will never find me squeezing into something just because I want the tag to say a certain number or letter. But it does show how different tall fits are compared to regular sizing. We need those extra inches across the shoulders or we will be sizing all the way up. Unfortunately this then means that we are usually sacrificing the fit everywhere else and end up wearing a box.

Luckily for me in this case I didn’t feel like it was too boxy, I just loved the precious baby blue/white/gingham combo. You know gingham makes your girls swoon over here. You can see much more on gingham in the archives here, here, and here. And there just may be more to come! I finished this look with my very favorite heels, and I was out the door.

This post will be short and sweet for certain. But we want to know what your stance is on the white rule. Are you with us? Or are you a fashion rule follower?

Outfit Details

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