Tall Girl
Dear Random Petite Passerby,
Thank you for informing me of my relative height. Before you press for specifics, I’ll pre-emptively announce that I am five foot nine and a bit. No, I’m not a model, nor am I Michelle Wie. Yep, you guessed it: my dad is tall. Isn’t it funny how genetics work?
Oh, I didn’t realize that these shoes were unnecessary. I must have missed the universal ban on tall women wearing shoes with heels. I do wish you had been around during my angst-filled childhood and adolescence when I felt intensely self-conscious about my height. You probably would have affirmed my desire to be short and encouraged the wearing of flat slippers to mitigate the rather striking height difference between me and all my peers.
Unfortunately for you and our current disagreement over the height of my footwear, I finally managed to embrace my gangly form while in college and started wearing heels. From your perspective, things took a turn for the worse when I fell in love and married my vertically gifted husband; the six inch gap in our height emboldened me to wear shoes of hitherto towering heights. To be perfectly frank, I’m starting to really like being tall, especially now that jeans manufacturers have caught on to my lengthy inseam needs. Isn’t it strange, though, how old insecurities can so easily reemerge when prompted? I’m starting to get all itchy and uncomfortable, now that you’ve pointed out how I’m teetering a good foot above your head.
But… sorry, down there, Random Petite Passerby. These fabulous wedges — in all their tall, thin cheekiness — are my new favorite summer shoe. Don’t worry too much. There’s plenty going on up in this stratosphere to keep me entertained. We’ll chat next time I’m sitting down or you’re on a ladder, okay?
Love,
Elissa
Krista said:
on July 28, 2008 at 10:08 am
Hah! Good writing.
My sister is another Tall Thin Person. She has a high waist, too, and has trouble finding pants that are long enough.
We were just in Latvia and she was pleased to be average-height there. She could walk into a random clothing store in a mall and find pants off the rack for about $25 that fit her well! She didn’t have to go into the “Tall” section of the store.
Suzanne said:
on July 28, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I applaud your heels, your height. Wear them with pride!
“Squish them like a bug” of so my grandmother said.
Katie C said:
on July 29, 2008 at 11:56 am
From a girl coming in at a flat six feet, AMEN. I wore four inch heels to all of my high school dances… made every boy in the room squirm… and enjoyed it immensely. I get *really* weird looks, especially when people see me with my mom. (I have to explain the 15 inch difference between my mom and dad quite regularly.)
Anyway, great post. This is by far my favorite blog, by the way. I am glad you are finally back from that unfortunate (though I am sure warranted) hiatus you took from April to June. I look forward to seeing you at the wedding! (For which the aforementioned tall girl with gigantic feet will be wearing whatever shoes clash the least. If you happen to come across a great pair of brown satin shoes in a size 13 or 14 let me know! Heh.)