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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

they do.. model clothes are fitted to them in some way.

I had a friend who worked in the fashion industry. They used fit models to size the clothes for runway shows. They use normal sizing for clothing that goes to the stores.

[Anonymous]

Why would the regular size be designed to fit 5’10” women? That’s way too tall for most of us.

[Anonymous]

I would think with the push for diversity & inclusion in the modeling industry that there’d be more short (shorter than 5”3) models.

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

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

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

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

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

Actually a lot of stores have stopped carrying petites, or only carry limited options online. Ideally, everything would be sold in petite, regular, and tall, but I only see that a few companies, like Gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

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

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

Another 5'11" tall woman here and I'm old, 62. When I was a teenager in the 70s and at my current height and all of 115lbs, it was impossible to find clothes that fit, there were no tall sizes to be found. I learned to sew and had to adjust all patterns for length. There are still no tall sizes in stores but at least I can find them online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Yeah somewhere around 2010 they moved to make everything 'ankle fit' which really means it fits short people. It's still impossible to find an inseam that is 30" much less 31-33".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are different kinds of models, and not all are tall. You are thinking of runway models, who are often 5'10" or even taller. Most print fashion models are also tall because of preferences for how designers and magazine editors want clothes to look in photographs.

However the clothes you buy in the store are actually made using a "fit model." A fit model is a model is like a human dress form -- it's a person who has whatever proportions the design house has deemed to be average, and she is used to fit the the prototypes and create the patterns that will be sent to the manufacturer.

The average fit model is between 5'4" and 5'9" tall, and they look for well-proportioned bodies in terms of bust-waist-hip ratios. A different model is used for petite or plus sizing. The model will often fall in the middle of a size range (say a 6 or 8 for non-plus size, a 14-16 for plus) and then adjustments are made up and down for smaller and larger sizes. This is why clothes off the rack don't fit a lot of bodies very well. I am small busted (AA cup) and have learned I cannot wear clothes that have darts usually because they are generally fitted to bodies with larger boobs. This includes bathing suits.

This is also why women who are top or bottom heavy (a Dolly Parton body or a Lena Dunham body) often struggle with sizing, especially in dresses, because they are using models with more proportional measurements. Same with long or short waisted women -- the waist on the average garment does not it them on their true waist.

And it's why you might see clothes on a 5'10" model in ads or on the runway, but then they will be a couple inches short on your 5'10" body when you buy them -- the garment you are buying was likely fitted to a 5'6" or 5'8" model. This is why tall sizing exists, just like petite sizing is for women for whom a garment fitted to a 5'10" body will always be too long.

So if I go on a retailer website - BR or Loft or whatever - am I seeing "fit models"? Or are those print fashion models?

I think OP's point is that you look at the picture and the pants look like they are a reasonable length on what is presumably a tall thin model, then you buy them and they are too short. So she's wondering about the discrepancy between the way they fit the model in the picture and how long they are in real life.

[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.

Yeah, or they just photoshopped the picture to make it look like the pants fit.

I'm 5'7.5" and long legs. On Madewell for example they will say "model is 5'11" and wearing a small". I'm like ok, it will definitely be long enough for me if it works for this 5'11" model! And then it's too short.

[Anonymous]

I do feel like when I was a teen it was standard for pants to have a 32" inseam in the regular length. Now it's usually 30", or shorter.

Part of that is the styles though - the bootcut and flared jeans that were in style then looked really silly if they were too short. And we didn't care if our hems dragged!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

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

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

Another 5'11" tall woman here and I'm old, 62. When I was a teenager in the 70s and at my current height and all of 115lbs, it was impossible to find clothes that fit, there were no tall sizes to be found. I learned to sew and had to adjust all patterns for length. There are still no tall sizes in stores but at least I can find them online.

Sing it sister! (still have PTSD from being ruthlessly teased for wearing "high-water" pants)
love, a 59yo, 5'11" woman

P.S. Yes, the websites lie which is why I always read the actual measurements of the garment

[Anonymous]

+1 to reading the measurements before ordering.

I am petite, but similar issues. I wish that more tops came in petite/regular/tall, not just pants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because everything is short and boxy right now and I hate it. I want the bottom half of the shirt!
I started buying things in the “tall” range on Old Navy and Gap.

I’m only a bit over 5’7” and have a long torso. I have had to do this for the last several years at Gap. Their Tall top sizes sell out quickly, so we’re definitely not alone in wanting the bottom half of the shirt

Me too and I'm 5'6"!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:+1 to reading the measurements before ordering.

I am petite, but similar issues. I wish that more tops came in petite/regular/tall, not just pants.

They often just give bust, waist and hips though.

The worst is being tall and plus sized. Even stores that have tall stuff usually only have it through 16 or 18 if you’re lucky.

Oh well, I’m glad to be tall. It does make it hard to buy jackets.

[Anonymous]

Preach my tall sisters! I’m 5”10 and I always feel like some sort of circus act. I buy a fair amount of men’s pants and jeans and always have. I have a small waist and medium hips but somehow they work. The amount of cute stuff I miss out on though is high.