Saying Goodbye to Long Tall Sally: To Heel or Not to Heel

**We write this with heavy hearts, as we just found out Long Tall Sally will be shutting their doors by the end of Summer. Dealing with the repercussions of COVID19 has been ridiculously hard, and I think we speak for everyone saying thanks for absolutely nothing, least of all this news. Growing up, I remember our Mom receiving the quarterly catalog in the mail and looking through it with her for a couple of well-fitting items for each season. It would be impossible to quantify what Long Tall Sally means to tall women across the globe. The company is truly one of a kind and we literally don’t know what we’ll do without them. They paved the way for all of the newer tall small businesses, and we are so grateful. LTS championed having many options for tall women, which is no small feat as a small business. We had originally written this post to go live on their blog, but are posting on ours due to the circumstances. I know all of the women we’ve come in contact with believed in the LTS dream of creating well-fitting clothing for tall women. We truly empathize with their pain and frustration at this awful news.**

It would be impossible to forget the many times other people have inserted themselves into this conversation with a bossy declaration. “Why should you need to wear heels, you’re already tall enough?” As an impressionable teenager, I couldn’t help but agree with them. Internally, I was most assured that I did take up more than my fair allotment of (female) space. God forbid I take up more and make people feel more uncomfortable in my presence. It is yet another way for others to attempt to control your body. In all seriousness though, to heel or not to heel, that is the question. 

As tall women, we live a heightened experience (pun intended) of the average woman. What I mean by that, is most women have lived their lives hearing unsolicited feedback about themselves. If you’re not wearing makeup and you typically do, maybe it’s a well-intentioned remark, “you look a little under the weather today.” If we’re feeling a bit cheeky, we might tell them, “No, I just didn’t put on makeup today,” to see if they squirm. 

So while every woman gets opined on pretty regularly, tall women experience literal strangers handing out their opinions. To cope with this, we all come up with sets of rules to live by. If I just don’t wear heels, no one can bother me even more about my height. Conversely, some want to wear heels consistently as if daring someone to mention it. Those being the more extreme examples of all or nothing, but I’ve talked to many women who feel that way. 

I would have told you, even back in my college days, that heels weren’t for me and I would have believe it too. Thoroughly convinced that I was blessed with this height and others needed heels, while I could wear flats and still stand a head above them. All of that is factual, to be fair to younger me. But what about personal preferences? There is something special about your legs in a great pair of heels. If you’ve ever tried a pair on, you know what I’m talking about. When I put them on with a dress?! To me, it just finishes the look. 

What I’m getting at, Caitlin and my relationship with heels has evolved. Ten years ago, I thought wearing a 1.5” heel a couple of times a year was daring. Now, I have boots with 4-inch heels that I wear regularly, which make me 6’8! The mindset shift has been from, “Do I want to be 6’8 if I wear these heels?” to “Are these heels comfortable enough for me to stand and walk-in?” That is the bottom line in pondering whether heels are for you. Do you like them? Do YOU want to wear them?

For Caitlin, being the shorter of us at 5’11, she knew the answer used to be a resounding no. Nowadays, after experimenting with different heel heights her personal preference is a 2-inch block heel. That way she can feel comfortable and confident while walking but still get the benefits of a heel. You might think, “5’11 isn’t even that tall, she can wear whatever heels she wants, easily.” I’m even guilty of thinking that it’s no comparison between 5’11 and 6’4. Just this last year, Caitlin attended a wedding wearing those 2-inch heels. The wedding photographer found her multiple times throughout the evening and told her she was too tall and didn’t need to wear heels. Uhh… what?! 

Aside from being completely outraged at that person’s behavior; it just goes to show that whether you’re 5’11 or 6’4, people can’t help but notice a statuesque woman.  Why not let them notice your legs in their full glory in a pair of heels? Yes, their brains might shut off entirely at the sight of you, but I’ve noticed that if I’m wearing something I feel good in, the comments roll off a lot easier. 

For us, we’ve found an appreciation for heels. While flats will mostly win out for comfort’s sake and have come a long way in stylish options (especially Long Tall Sally’s selection), we want the option to wear heels. That is the last part of the discussion, which is that larger sized feet have limited shoe options. Growing up, I couldn’t even find a cute pair of heels like other teenage girls had in my size. When you like clothing and keeping up to date with evolving styles, it puts a damper on your enthusiasm to know you’ll never find shoes in your size. We’re forever grateful to Long Tall Sally for keeping our feet outfitted in both classic styles AND the latest trends. 

The bottom line in the debate is this: do you want to wear heels? Have you ever even put a pair on to consider the possibility for yourself, or have you resigned yourself to flats to make others feel more comfortable? We’d challenge you to explore the answer to the question for yourself. We spent years letting others answer the question for us. Truly, their opinion is more about them than it is about you! No more of that! So, to heel or not to heel, is an entirely personal preference indeed. 

**We’ll end by saying that we have already seen the sadness of the loss of LTS flood across Facebook for women grasping for straws asking what they are supposed to do now? “Where can we shop? Who makes jeans that fit my 6’7 frame? I am literally going to have to lose weight to fit into other retailers”. We hope that anyone reading this feels comfortable asking us for help. We have done the research, we have compiled the information for you. Please use our page to help guide you to the resources you need and please pass it along to all of our tall sisters feeling frantic right now!**