A day in the life of a designer
Goodwood– it’s not easy buying vintage when you are tall.
This year we had tickets for the Goodwood revival, but what to wear was obviously the challenge. The dress code was 1946 to 1966 however when you are not average height finding vintage is not easy.
I have a collection of vintage which I dug out of the cupboard. I decided the 1950’s bathing costumes weren’t suitable with the current weather forecast and my cellulite. So, I tried on all the dresses, which somehow no longer seemed to fit my slender waist (Hint of sarcasm there) and although they were all waisted styles they seemed to be empire line on me. Also, I could no longer cram my feet into my size six vintage shoes having strangely gone up two sizes when I reached 30.
After some deliberation and consultation of the weather forecast, which was poor, I decided on a sensible tweed suit (Once worn by my mother to ride her bike- obviously she isn’t vertically challenged either!) a pair of sensible brogues to secure comfort whilst traipsing around all day and a nice little felt hat and umbrella- All I needed to do was change my name to Maude!
So on the day we pottered off to Goodwood in our tweeds prepared for bad weather. By lunchtime the temperature must have reached thirty degrees and I was roasting in my tweeds, sheltering under a tree with my friends and using my umbrella as a parasol against the glaring sun.
However it was a fabulous day out with a stunning vintage market and glorious cars. Lots of cake, tea, gin, jazz dancing and glorious planes. Apart from the usual but always fabulous flypast from some spitfires, I had my first viewing of a flypast by a Vickers Vimmy which was so slow I managed to eat a piece of fruit cake whilst it did a circuit of the track.
It’s a day out I would definitely recommend, I thought I did really well as I didn’t open my purse once at the vintage market despite temptation. Although, it could still prove to be an expensive day as my boyfriend is now desperate for a vintage car.
Posted at 11:19AM Nov 09, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (0)
A day in the life of a designer
Thank god for wellies! 
After two weeks back home I was desperate for a bit of sun. Why did I go to Argentina in the Winter whilst England had its short-lived heat wave? So off we head to Devon for a long weekend full of fish and chips and cream tea. It got off to a bad start, it rained all the way and there was terrible traffic and some hideous accidents. We narrowly escaped an exploding roof box, a few cars in front which left a shiny pink parka with a white fur trim in the middle of the fast lane. The sad little girl it belonged to watching from the window of her parent’s car. But as we drew into Somerset and drew up to my favorite tea shop the sun came out and I was able to eat apple cake and clotted cream in the garden in bright sunshine. And that’s what we had for the next two days glorious sunshine. But it’s England and it just couldn’t last, by Sunday the rain couldn’t hold back any longer and out came our waterproofs.
English Summers have become a complete fashion conundrum. What does one wear? Thank God, Wellington boots are back in fashion! What would we do without Wellington boots in the 21st century? I wear them for walks in the country, walking to work, at festivals. They're a must and I even saw someone walking through Holborn in them with a really neat tailored black shift dress and I have to say she looked great although I really think she needs a fold up rain hat to finish the look off.
Posted at 02:22PM Oct 19, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (1)
Tall celebrities
What is it with the latest celebrity “du jour” and their insecurities about their height?! US actress and star of hit TV show Gossip Girl; Blake Lively is the latest to voice her concerns. It turns out the 21 year old actress is very self conscious about her height and fears men find her towering stature intimidating.
“I feel like a tranny (Transvestite) a lot of the time," the 5-foot-10 star told a recent US magazine "I don't know, I'm ... large? They (The shows producers) put me in six-inch heels, and I tower over every man. I've got this long hair and lots of clothes and makeup on."
The glamorous actress goes on to admit that her tall frame has made her feel unattractive:
"I just feel really big a lot of the time, and I'm surrounded by a lot of tiny people," she adds. “I feel like a man sometimes.”
Personally, I find it extremely sad that someone of such a young age has these huge insecurities about their height. I suppose it’s this kind of attitude that makes people feel as if any differences in society are wrong, but surely it’s better to stand out than just merely fit in?
After all there are so many successful, tall women in the world. Isn’t it better to be looked over than to be overlooked?
What do you think?
Posted at 02:20PM Oct 02, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (3)
We are each our own worst critics. Of course when you are tall like me, personal nitpicking comes easily, unfortunately. I'll be 39 in a month, I'm a mom to a 4 year old and we have just escaped with our lives from having spent 7 days in Algonquin Provincial Park interior camping. (We had a bear in our campsite)
My husband was making one of his super delicious dishes of French onion soup and needed a bottle of red. Oh joy! I was sent on a mission to the vintage section of our local liquor store wearing zero makeup and still very much smelling of campfire.
Cart blissfully full I got in line to pay. Ahead of me was a very tall chick with the most outrageous colourful outfit on wearing the most blank austere look upon her face. I was fascinated and tried to keep from staring. She wasn't attractive per say but her 12 different neon adornments she had precariously draped over and around her were really something to behold.
Just then, from behind me in line, I heard a very cute muscle bound frat boy ask me how tall I was!!! I took a second to compose myself and as I realized that two very gorgeous much younger guys were hitting on me, the one dude went on to say that my 6'2 height looks very beautiful on me....yes tall gorgeous ladies, let's remember that even without makeup, being a mom at the ripe old age of 39 AND smelling like burnt wood, our height will attrack 'em everytime!...
Check out Long Tall Sally's newest collection - leather jackets, wink wink
Posted at 10:40AM Sep 10, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (1)
A day in the life of a designer..
Was that a whale or my stomach?
So, I am back from Argentina which like England was in the grip of swine-flu fever. Most things in Buenos Aires closed down for four days to try to stop the spread of infection which fortunately prevented me from impressing the locals with my Tango moves as all the ‘milongas’ were closed. However, we still had a fantastic time.
The gaucho pant has been well and truly taken to heart as a staple fashion item, it’s like coals to Newcastle. They definitely love it here, I saw girls of all shapes and sizes strutting their stuff in gaucho style jeans. Not only did I shop and people watch but I spent a substantial amount of time in Argentina’s graveyards. Buenos Aires has the best graveyards you could spend all day wandering around looking at the beautiful graves and statues and reading the flamboyant epitaphs.
From Buenos Aires we went up to Iguazu falls on the border with Brazil, they were magnificent taking a boat ride into one of the biggest waterfalls in the world is the ultimate log flume ride. Then we went up to Salta in the Alta Plano by this time the huge quantities of steak were really getting to me so we made a conscious decision to head down to Patagonia where there are a lot of welsh settlers and head to a welsh tea room for afternoon tea. Lemon tart, Swiss roll, welsh cakes, scones, welsh fruit cake, lemon drizzle cake…..the plate was huge and all topped off with a cup of tea from a teapot wrapped in a hand knitted yellow and red tea cosy just like my Nana had. Then a walk along the beach listening to the whales gurgling and splirting….. Or was that my stomach????
Posted at 11:44AM Aug 20, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (0)
A day in the life of a designer..
A new challenge
Two weeks ago we arrived back from our trip in the far East ( We being myself; Carly, Andrea and Deborah – the design team) Visiting factories in India and Hong Kong whilst overseeing designs, adding more styles and sourcing fabrics, yarns and trimmings.
It’s June already and before you know it, it will be Spring 2010. It’s weird, it feels like Summer has only just begun and half the high street already has their Summer sales on.
The samples from the trip are just arriving in the office now, which can be exciting and disappointing; usually it’s a mixture of both! Some look wonderful and some look awful. One factory seemed to think it was a good idea to make everything in fluorescent green and another thought bubblegum pink jumpers were a good idea. Why would you do that when you were specifically asked for black or white?
We have managed to buy our Trans and Spring styles. Sandra, my buyer has been on holiday but is back today, so I will have a hand-over with her as I am off on holiday for two weeks.
That’s my new challenge, not only do I have to pack for two weeks but for four different climate zones with only 15kilos weight allowance- Arghh! My starting point is a pair of skinny jeans, a pair of baggy jeans, a Long Tall Sally parka, and then some thermal underwear- How glamorous!
Only twelve more hours to think about it? Any suggestions?
Posted at 04:30PM Jul 16, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (0)
Just checked out Long Tall Sally's 'Gym and Swim' section which got me thinking.....
Part of me feels sorry for anyone who has to resort to talking seriously about Rollerblading. It's a sport that stopped being cool about nine or ten years ago, but some people never got over the height of inline skating's popularity that peaked in 1996.
I owned a pair of knock-off Rollerblades made by Variflex that were neon green and black in the early 90s. They'd heat up to about 100F in the summer since they were made out of some futuristic polymer that retained heat really well, and rolling over anything by the newest buttery blacktop would result in vibrations to the extent that I was worried about nerve damage when I was 13 years old.
Getting towed behind a car or bike on pavement was like operating a jackhammer for several hours. I'm proud that I was able to give up Rollerblading, and I now only resort to talking about it derisively.....LTS's Hawaiian bikini is perfect rollerblading wear, don't ya' think?
Posted at 05:22PM Jul 08, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (0)
As seen on ..This Morning
After a well and truly deserved day off, I decided a day of relaxing was just what I needed. The store has been so busy lately with the preparation for our trans range, so I was pleased just to rest my tired feet!
I turned on my TV for my dose of Phil and Fern and low and behold I saw LTS on "This Morning!" I nearly choked on my cereal, they were doing a feature on fashion to suit your figure and focusing on height.
The show featured two of our gorgeous dresses; the Santorini and Vittoria, which looked fantastic on the models, flattering and framing in all the right places. Their resident stylist Helen Boyle stressed how proportion was the key and us tall girl’s should work our height with colour blocking, statement jewellery and oversize accessorises. I can’t wait to start trying out this season’s trends!
Talking of new products our new trans collection looks gorgeous! From opulent prints, slick tailoring and stylish separates in soft powdery blues and luxurious fabrics. With lots of exciting things lined up for the new season. I have my eye on everything- roll on payday!!
Click here to watch the video.
Posted at 09:54AM Jun 29, 2009 by Long Tall Sally Admin in "Carol" Comments (0)
