11 Style Advantages to Being Tall

At 5'11", I don't pretend to be an outlier in the fashion community — Karlie Kloss is 6'1", after all. But in my real life, that's another story. I grew up surrounded by a circle of friends who maxed out at 5'2" and spent my teen years terrified of heels (yes, I wore kitten heels to my prom). Always standing out when I didn't want to, having to pose in the back of group photos, and challenging myself to meet my private school's knee-length-skirt dress code, standing tall was easier said than done.

It wasn't until I moved to New York after college that I came to see the brighter side of having my height. Suddenly the phrase "Wow, you're tall" didn't carry a stigma but resembled something more like a compliment. "Gee, thanks," I'd respond (if hearing that 50 times a day didn't get to be a headache, complimentary or otherwise).

And once I embraced my height, so did I the advantages that come with it. Did you know that while the weather up here isn't any different, I don't find my face lodged in other people's armpits in a crowded subway car? So, there's that. But aside from a breezier commute, there are real bonuses — and I'm talking fashion perks — that my fellow tall friends should remember the next time they lament too-short jeans or too-high heels. By my count there are 11 of them, so here goes: