VERY tall daughter - style advice needed please!

[BCBG]

DD (just 12) is 5'9" tall, and all the signs are that she will make 6'. She's just got to the age when she is becoming interested in clothes, and to be honest I want to help her because she has a hard enough time being teased for being a clumsy giant at school (she's also dyspraxic and dyslexic!). I've just realised that most of the High St stores are already too short for her - we've looked at 'tall' ranges in Top Shop etc but to be honest I wouldn't put her in any of the clothes - they are far too 'mature' for her, and some stuff is just not very attractive. (Cost is not really an issue; I'm not putting that to brag, far from it, but she is our 4th DC and the only one who is exceptionally tall, and both DH and I feel that she should be helped as much as possible to develop self confidence. Obviously expensive clothes don't do that but what I am trying to say is that if I found the right clothes I wouldn't need to count every penny, thank goodness.)
I was wondering if anyone knows of good brands for tall women that might be worth looking at - I have heard that some Dutch and Scandinavian brands cater for taller women - at the moment she is a slim 8-10, hasn't started her periods yet so fairly flat chested but very very long legged. Internet brands would be very helpful as we live rurally and so I shop online a lot - I just don't know what to look at for her. Please help! and thanks

I have a tall dd ,also 12 years and 5ft9 already ! I buy lots of her clothes in Littlewoods and also penneys. She is really into sport so wears lots track pants/ sweatshirts , jerseys which tend to be for boys/youth and come in longer length. She wears dresses and tunics with opaque tights or leggings in winter, and wears longer length jeans size 10/12. Our biggest problem is that she takes size 8 heading to 9 in shoes, which makes if v difficult to get fashionable footwear, but again luckily , she wears sports wear mostly, so lives in hi-tops and converse. I buy those on line , rather than her having to go to men's section of shoe shop! We always tell her how lucky she is being so tall( I'm only 5'5 where as dh is 6'2), and how she won't have to wear high heels to look elegant ! What makes it more difficult that my other dd 14 yrs old, is only 5'4, and can wear anything of the peg, but I make sure that we don't make issue of this.

Okay you need leggings, jeans or jeggings. Try oasis and river island. Also next and m&s (non description basics). The indigo range in m&s is probably okay for her age too. Buy longline vests and then if her tops are a little short it's layering and looks intentional. Also means she can buy which ever tops she likes.

Skirts over leggings and opaque tights.

I would go for flat shoes whilst she is young and a bit self conscious ballet flats and boots

Have a look at GAP online, loads of stuff suitable for a 12 year old, laid back causal american vibe.

Mango and zara have kids wear departments and are notoriously 'long' in their adult ranges so perhaps their 13/14 year old stuff will fit.

I felt compelled to answer this thread as I work with a girl who is 6'2, she's 23. She is STUNNING. Her height makes her. We were talking about her height today (funny I saw this thread as soon as I looked at S&B) and she said how self-conscious she was right up until the age of 17. Then she just blossomed. She's a shoe size 9-10 and has the most amazing collection of ballet pumps. She shagged for a summer dated a Saudi prince whilst he was spending the summer in London (and has the Birkin to prove it), men and women alike are attracted to her because her height is alluring and unusual. She was horrifically bullied at school and told no boys would ever fancy her, I think this is why she mentions the Saudi prince whenever she can.
Asos tall is very good for jumpers and jackets. Tallgirls.co.uk have age appropriate things for your DD, its aimed at women but IMO is a bit immature. The dresses would look great on a 12 year old DD with tights and ankle boots this autumn. Dorothy perkins tall is shit- avoid at all costs. Tallgirls.co.uk also stock jeans up to 38inch inside leg! If your DD has big feet then Evans (the high street plus size store) have a great range up to a size 10: gorgeous real leather boots and a lot of them are flat, I suspect your DD isn't interested in heels? There is also a range called TTYA (taller than your average) which is good for basics, its stocked in Selfridges but would be available online.FWIW I'm 5'10 and wear 5 inch heels everyday but as a 32 year old woman I have the confidence to do this, and people are strange: me being 6'2 in heels seems to be more 'acceptable' than my colleague who is 6'2 in her flats. Did I mention short men avoid our office ?!

I hope your DD can gain confidence!

Also, Russell and Bromley are great for size 9s! Does your DD like accessorizing? My colleague recently looked AMAZING at a meeting, she was wearing: a black midi dress from TTYA, loafers from Russell and Bromley and a gorgeous ruby earring and necklace set with a navy Mulberry handbag. Whilst I'm not suggesting you buy your DD a mulberry for school or anything lol, tall women can look amazing with just well fitting basic clothes and great accessorize. Height is a statement in itself. Hmm I'm seeing my colleague for lunch tomorrow so I'll ask her for more tall tips then!

I was your daughter, but nineteen years ago when there were virtually no tall ranges. Consequently I spent my teens in men's jeans...

New Look tall is decent. Topshop is frequently ropey, as you've found, but the jeans are excellent. H&M is also worth a look, as are Cos and & Other Stories (although the latter two probably a bit old for her just yet).

Just to add - I don't know where you are but 6' really isn't that unusual any more. Your daughter might currently be surrounded by hobbits but a weekend in London will reassure her that she's not as freakish as she probably feels!

Top shop are actually really good for jeans due to the variety of leg lengths. I think their tall collection is like everything else in there - 95% you would want to avoid but some lovely gems, so I wouldn't entirely write off.

I'm 5ft 10 and can wear johnny b (Boden) clothes so they should be fine for your DD. The only problem is the bigger ages can be quite wide so it's trial and error. However I definitely find (have 5ft 6 12 year old DD) that they are cut for a less womanly figure - they rescued us over swimwear this summer!

My DD is quite liking Pull and Bear at the moment. They have lots of denim shorts, sweatshirts etc and the majority of stock on the shop floor seems to be size 6 or 8, making me think they have a young target market. She got a lovely camo sweatshirt the other day which is also fine on me.

I like Baukjen for decently long basics for myself but actually H and M also do some surprisingly long cotton jersey tops.

I also wear a lot of premium denim - j brand, rag and bone, nobody, current Elliott etc - as quite often, but not invariably, they are cut with decent inside legs.

Dd is 17 and nearly six feet.
She wears Top Shop jeans (Leigh) which last forever. Jack Wills are very long and very thick..again a good investment. She has 4 pairs and wears them constantly.
H and M and New Look as others have said are good, and online.
The thing about shoes from Evans etc is that they are very wide. I am a 43 but narrow and its so hard to find quality shoes. I shop at Crispin's which is £££ but lovely.
Clark's do some 9s.

R and B size 9s are actually a 42...not a true 9.

Another tall one here. I'm 5'10. And have issues with trousers.

New look tall are good as are topshop for jeans.

Agree with layering.

Luckily I'm only a 6.5/7 shoe so while it's not always easy it's not impossible.

When I was a teen in the seventies there was so little choice..I swore that if I had a tall dd that I would never let her feel awkward re clothes. Dd has a very relaxed style...converses, biker boots, layers, a d its lovely to see her so confident.
I'm six feet and embrace it now.

I hated my height in my teens but loved it by my twenties.

Make sure you instill in her the importance of standing tall, slouching to try and seem smaller looks terrible and can be hard to get out of when she is older.

Definite yes to layering, h&m do long line vests in loads of colours in the adult section, xs should fit, I also get long sleeve tops from there to wear underneath things when the sleeves are too short, makes it look more of a feature.

Zara do really long length as standard for all their trousers and their sleeves are quite long too.

Ah yes, I also remember the tough teenage years. Thank goodness for my 2dds (who are inevitably going to be very tall) that the range of clothing is much better now!!

So most designers actually make longer clothes if you wanted to splash out on jeans have a look on net-a-porter. I love topshop Leigh jeans too, asos now have a huge range of tall clothes - even prom dresses.

Next have a great range of tall clothes online and many boden clothes come in more than one length but choose carefully as some look more frumpy than classy.

Do not buy from Long Tall Sally. Terrible.

Yes, long tall sally is frumpsville!

I am 6ft and often wear Dorothy Perkins jeans (they have 3 or even 4 lengths!).

Next online do longer lengths too.

And H&M is great for basics like T-shirts, which for some reason are often nice and long.

Thank you everyone - some brilliant advice here! We are just about to do some hunting online…. wish me luck!

Another tally here. I echo the recco for TopShop jeans, and they quite often have nice basics in too - although some things can be a bit grown up.

A surprising recommendation for Sainsburys tshirts, vest tops etc - they come up oddly long, and if you hold a couple of the same size up against each other, there's normally one or two which are extra long. They wash much better than h&m / m&s basics IMHO.

I am 6'2" and third the topshop jeans recommendation. They are not bad. Recently I also got some properly fitting jeans in Gap as well.

I can empathise with being a tall teenager. The most mortifying moment was when all the school had to line up in height order for a school photo. Dreadful. Only 2 teachers were taller than me. It was an all girls school. Having said that, it gets easier and finding an activity where being tall was a massive advantage (in my case, rowing) really helped me gain confidence and see it as a good thing.

I'm 5`11, and when i was younger (school age) my mum took me to a dress maker to get some properly fitting bottoms as their was nothing in the shops.
I got school trousers, casual trousers and lots of long swishy skirts.
I seem to remember it wasn't too expensive.

I can remember really struggling when my tall DD outgrew teen clothes in next etc I'd second the JohnnyB suggestion (Boden teen range).
My teens love Urban outfitters which is cool without being too grown up so may be worth a try

Cheese, I used to row too! My whole team were around 6ft!

Tennis good too, as you always get to the ball fast enough if you have long legs.

And volleyball

No fashion advice because I am not fashionable at all, but I am 6', and have one slightly off the wall suggestion if she does maybe feel a little self conscious about her height at one point - could you take her to Holland or Scandinavia for a weekend break or holiday so she can see it's really no big deal, and the streets will be full of girls her age who are as tall as her? I'm from Holland and didn't grow up self conscious or struggling with my height at all because it wasn't unusual, there were 4 or 5 girls in my friendship group at secondary who were the same height as me and although the boys shot up later, by 15-16 most were taller. At 6'0 I'm actually the shortarse in my family, all my cousins are taller!

Brilliant idea about a trip to Scandinavia!

I always feel great when I meet other tall women who look greatmaybe wear heels even and carry themselves with confidence. I'm surrounded by short people on a daily basis.

Just today I asked my kids (two boys, who are obsessed with wanting to be taller than me one day at the moment) who is the tallest woman they know. They racked their brains and then said me! TBH I don't know that many men taller than me and I'm not even 6' . I need to move!

I buy all my hoodies and sweatshirts from mens sections (often primark) as otherwise the sleeves are always too short.
Dorothy Perkins jeans in their tall section are pretty long, I have to fold them up and i'm 5.8.
River Island and New Look have some cool graphic print t-shirts that are quite long in length. I would avoid H&M, everything there comes up to short for me.