If models are all tall, why is everything too short on 5’10” me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothes aren’t made for models; they’re made to fit the most women possible. I’m 5’10 and don’t shop in person, ever. I buy everything online from places that sell tall sizes: J Crew, Gap, Boden, etc.

Not true. If your statement were true, most clothes would be made for plus sizes.

[Anonymous]

OP, could you be long-limbed?

I ask because at 5’4.5” (and I swear that 1/2 changes everything) I’m too tall for petites. I also have longer limbs and appear lanky so tough to find clothes sometimes that don’t look like they’ve shrunk.

[Anonymous]

why don't you ask the poster who made a whole thread about how she is 5'3" but is runway model height in her head? She did start an AMA, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t the better question: why are models so tall when most women are much shorter?

Uh obviously because the clothes look better on tall women. The recent trend toward real-looking models shows us that.

[Anonymous]

In the OP's defense, some sites will say something like "Amy is 5-9 and wearing a size S" along with the photo of the model and yes whatever the model is wearing looks like it fits her perfectly.

I am tall and I only buy tall sizes for certain types of clothes (bathing suits, pants, long-sleeved shirts, some dresses).

[Anonymous]

no female models exist

[Anonymous]

Many websites show the height and size of the models. Catalog / website models are more like 5’6” or 5’7” - tall enough to not look squat or dumpy but not tall enough that if you saw them in real life you’d think they were models.

[Anonymous]

I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

[Anonymous]

I am 5'4" and the dress I am wearing today, - extra-small if you please! - is too long and touching the ground. On the photo it hits at ankle length. Petite sizing never works for my long torso. It's very frustrating, as it has a lot of fabric at the bottom and it's probably expensive to hem!

I have always found that people of all sizes and shapes have difficulties fitting into standard sizes... because none of us are "standard". We are each unique.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I'm 5'7 and totally agree!

Also a lot of the clothes just seem more fitted on the model than what you get. When I buy a Small from like Ann Taylor it's often some huge thing that hangs off me, but I am certainly not thinner than the model.

I agree with a PP that the model online is not wearing the real clothes, it's something tailored or tailormade.

[Anonymous]

I am 5”3, but I feel like I’m 5”10, so I wear clothes that fit 5”10 models.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I an 5 10 and tot agree with this - they lie.

Ps some of the short people on this thread are rude and clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I'm 5'7 and totally agree!

Also a lot of the clothes just seem more fitted on the model than what you get. When I buy a Small from like Ann Taylor it's often some huge thing that hangs off me, but I am certainly not thinner than the model.

I agree with a PP that the model online is not wearing the real clothes, it's something tailored or tailormade.

I wonder if they have the clothes pinned in the back to appear more fitted.

[Anonymous]

It has definitely shifted over the last generation or so. I am 40 and 5’7, and when I was a teenager in the 90s I had to have everything hemmed to fit me, even things like Abercrombie jeans. Now, almost all pants are too short for me unless I buy long sizes. I do have long legs, but my legs haven’t changed in 20 years. I always knew runway models were not clothing models, but I think that the practice of tailoring clothing to taller women has ended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothes aren’t made for models; they’re made to fit the most women possible. I’m 5’10 and don’t shop in person, ever. I buy everything online from places that sell tall sizes: J Crew, Gap, Boden, etc.

+1 Most women in the world aren't models.

Do you not get that the clothes the models wear are just that ...*models*.. not the actual clothes in the stores?