It's ok not to be ok.

About a year ago I came across a video on youtube by an unsigned British artist by the name of Jessie J. After hearing her sing, her original song, in her bathroom without any studio equipment to make her sound better, I immediately knew she was a star. Her look, her personality, her sound, and her pure talent was something I just knew was meant for stardom.  I followed her on youtube for a while since none of her songs were available for download. Finally a few months ago I found a song that was on the Step it up 3d soundtrack called "Who You Are" that I not only fell in love with but connected with. I'm sure you have all gone through something in your lives that was hard, and in my case devastating, and then you heard a song that seemed to fit right in with what you are feeling and at that moment you knew someone understood you and that you were not alone. THAT is what this song was for me. As I was going through a breakup my best friend reminded me that I was always downplaying things but I brushed her off. I don't like to let know people know when I am hurting so downplaying it and saying "It's ok" it's way easier than actually dealing with how what is going on makes you feel. As I was sitting at my computer and pushed play, I wasn't prepared for the effect the words that were about to come through speakers were about to have on me........

"I stare at my reflection in the mirror... 
Why am I doing this to myself? 
Losing my mind on a tiny error, 
I nearly left the real me on the shelf ... 
"no,no, no, no..." 

Don't lose who you are, in the blur of the stars 
Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, 
It's okay not to be okay... 
Sometimes it's hard, to follow your heart. 
Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, 
Just be true to who you are"

It was the first time I really felt that it really is ok not to be ok. It's like it all made sense.

Jessie's debut album "Who You Are" was released a month early due to the success of her first single "Do it Like a Dude" and second single "Price Tag ft. B.O.B.". With a strong, clear, soulful voice that has a range like few others posses, her voice can easily compete with the likes of Beyonce and Christina Aguilera. Her album is a mix of  ballads and upbeat pop, with a very "happy" sound not often found in todays music. I hope you enjoy her just as much as I do.

xoxo

The tall girl's bible...

.....is what they should call the directory (that I am pretty sure I just created) where all tall girls can go to find out where to buy things that fit but won't cost a fortune. Whenever I meet a fellow above average woman, they always ask "Where do you get your jeans?" or "Where do you buy your shoes?". Although I have ONE friend who is 6 ft and wears a size 8.5 shoes, the majority of us wear a 10-13.

The problems I usually find is a) shoes is larger sizes aren't very cute b)websites for talls are overly expensive. I have about 65 pairs of shoes, and most of those are heels. The thing is that I love love love clothes and shoes, and I love dressing up, and I can't do this in grandma pants and hospital shoes. Just saying. What I have decided to do this evening, is some of the places that I shop. Lets start of with jeans.

If you are tall and slim then these are for you. These are The Gap "Long and Lean" $69.50

These are my personal favorite. I have curves which tend do get a little "squished" in a lot of jeans, but these "Curvy Jeans", also from The Gap, fit me perfectly. $69.50

They have several other fits and colors that are reasonably priced if you visit www.gap.com. They also carry Jackets, shirts, dressed, and skirts in tall.

One store that is a little more expensive, but carries some really funky pieces is TopShop. They have a section just for us. One of my absolute favorite sites is ASOS.com. The only downside is that they are based out of the UK, so returning clothes is pretty much impossible because shipping is so much. I even had to pay taxes once when it came through customs. I was slightly annoyed (uugghh). I just love their clothes, and if you shop the sale section like I do, you can find some really amazing things. Even though they don't have a tall section, you can see it say "more lengths" at the bottom of a picture.(like this----->)

If you're interested in this dress, click here

 Also, they list the height of the model in each picture so you have a better idea of how long/short it would be on you. I found that the be VERY helpful. 

We also have Alloy, who carry up to a 37" inseam and sizes 0-25. Now don't be alarmed because the site says it's for teens, because the jeans are really cute and very inexpensive. One of the pairs of jeans I have from there are these----------->

Truck Jeans Essential Skinny Jean $39.90

They make my butt look really cute.lol

Buckle also has jeans up to 37" inseam and 34" waist, which you can shop for here. Although Alloy is a 100% online store, Buckle is available at a mall near you.

My favorite shoe store of all is DSW. I can't shop there enough. I urge you to sign up for their rewards program. It is free and you earn points that then gives you rewards certificates. Once you shop enough and become a premier member you get free next day shipping (Awesome!!), but until then you get free shipping on orders over $35. You can return online orders to the store if you don't want to mail them back. To shop for sizes 10-12, please click here.

Nine West also carries 11's and 12's but are a bit more conservative than those found at other stores I have, or will recommend.

So here are some of my favorites, but I will be adding more links as time goes on. Thanks for reading.


xoxo

Always towering

If you are tall like me then pictures like these are all too familiar. I tower over EVERYONE! LOL So here are some pictures just for fun.

Please note that the gentleman on the left is 6'4" Cuttino Mobley and I'm STILL taller

She's at my shoulder. Need I say more?

My cousin on the left and sister on the right. Yup....still towering.

My cousin on her wedding day. I'm pretty sure she's 5'9"

I'm about 6" taller than the guy too.

Her boobs are on my hip and my boobs are on her shoulder. Comedy.

The girl next to me has on 6" heels and is still nowhere near my height 

No comment needed

Lona is all of 5'2"

We're getting better here. Maya (far left) is 6 ft tall. Love my tall friends

He's 5'7"

Meet Dominique the giant

Lauren is 5'10"

Only 1 of 4 guys is taller than me

Mom is 5'8" and my BFF is 6'1"

To date a guy shorter than you or not to? That is the question.

(In case you are wondering about the picture, it is just a little Shakespearean inspiration)

One question I get quite a bit is whether or not I date men shorter than me. The short answer is yes, but just like everything else on me, the real answer is long. Although I will date a guy who is shorter than me, I will most likely not go below 5'11". I prefer a guy in the 6'5"-6'7" range but as I'm sure you know, those are quite hard to come by. The funny thing is that I always figured that the taller the better, and that a guy close to 7 ft would be the greatest thing ever, until.....

.....I dated this guy. He was 6'11" and at first I thought it was great, but then I slowly realized that I didn't like it. he was too tall for me. I had to stand on my tippy-toes just to kiss him and I had to look up way too much. I finally knew what it felt like to be 5'5", and I didn't like it one bit. I'm wearing 4" heels in this picture and he is still towering over me. Now this is more my style.......

.....this is my ex and he is 6'5 1/2". I'm not sure how it looks like I am so much shorter than him because I am actually about the same height as him with my shoes on. 

Well, enough of the tall guys. Lets move on to actually dating men shorter than myself. Now don't think I'll date just ANY ol short guy (short guy, to me, is defined as any guy under 6'1").  He has to be a big man in a small package. Meaning, he has to be extremely confident in not just himself but also with me in my heels. If he ever makes the joke (that SO many men make) "you couldn't wear hells if we were dating", he's a no go. Even though it may be a joke, there is some seriousness behind it that lets me know that he is in fact not ok with walking next to me when I am 6'6" in my heels. Don't ever let a man keep your form wearing heels (or anything else you want to for that matter). My height might be one of the reasons I like really strong and assertive men. Since I never get to feel "small" or like the man is in control, due to size, like most women do, I need to feel it somehow. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of anyone I dated that was shorter than me, assumingly because there haven't been very many.:-)

Smooches!!  

                                            Dominique

Heels Anyone??

Heels are probably one of the biggest dilemmas for tall women. I often see tall girls with short heels on and I just shake my head. Here's my theory on tall girls wearing short heels.

"If you're a tall girl wearing short heels, 

you just look like a tall girl uncomfortable being tall"

Lets do the math here. I am 6'1 3/4" but for the sake of making this easier we will call me 6'2" for the following math lesson. The average American man stands 5'9 1/2" and the average woman is 5'4 1/2", so you are already going to be taller than most men no matter what you do. Now here is the basic math:

• 2" heels = total height of 6'4"
• 3" heels = total height of 6'5"
• 4" heels = total height of 6'6"
• 5" heels = total height of 6'7"

If you saw a person 6'4" and one 6'6", would the difference be that noticeable? Nope! Why? Because they are already really tall so it doesn't matter at that point. I figured that id I'm going to be 6.5" taller than the average American man, I might as well look sexy doing it. Taller heels are sexier, make your legs look longer and your feet look smaller, so in my eyes it's worth the extra 2". Here are some examples of the shoes I wear. 

Steve Madden Caryssag 

1½" covered platform, 5½" covered heel

Zigi Soho Staple Pump

1½" platform, 5½" stiletto heel 

I use these two as an example because I just got them a few days ago but I have about 60 more pairs just like them and not a single pair have a heel shorter than 4". I probably go against all the standard rules of "How to dress well for a tall girl" because all those rules are meant to make you look shorter. I'm not trying to look shorter. I'm 6'1 3/4".....I don't think I can look much shorter. I wear high heels, skinny jeans, form fitting dresses, and I wear really short dresses. We will get more into clothes later but here is an example of me "breaking the rules".

This was taken on my 25th birthday (4 years ago)

I'll be posting links later to websites that have clothes and shoes for us Amazons.

Smooches!!

        

                                                      Dominique

You might as well love it

Although I have ben tall my whole life, I didn't always like it. As you can see in the picture, I was much taller than all my classmates even in the 2nd grade. The kicker is that all my classmates were actually a year older than me because I started school early.
I don't remember exactly when I started to become more aware of my height and somewhat dislike it. I was never insecure and I never hated my height, but I did wish I was shorter. I wasn't only tall but I was skinny and I had big feet. By the time I was 13 I was 5'11" and weighed 138 lbs. Yeah, I was kind of lanky.lol In high school it really hit me since all the boys were shorter than me and even the ones that weren't still liked the tiny girls (5'2-5'6").  Once I graduated and went out into the real world, I finally realized the one thing that changed it all.......

"I'm not going to get any shorter, 

and the world is not going to get any taller, 

so you might as well like it"

Once I realized that, things were immediately different. Why dwell on something and wish for something that would never happen? So how did I respond to this? Shoulders back, chest out, head held high, and high heels. When you are over 6 ft tall you will never fit in, so you might as well stand out, and look gorgeous doing it. Make sure that you get clothes that fit your frame because if you don't it'll look even worse that on an average height person. If you are not confident in you, others won't be either. The energy that you put out is what other people absorb. So ladies, love your height, stand up tall, and embrace your height. I get stared at no matter where I go, so now I don't even see them anymore. Let them stare. What does it matter? Do those people really matter to you?  Why would you want to be average height anyway? When is AVERAGE ever something to strive for? You don't strive to be average in any other part of your life so why would you want to be average height? You're above average........when is that ever bad?

Smooches!!

                              Dominique

Welcome to The Diaries of a Tall Girl!

So as I was shopping for shoes today, and I was getting the usual stares as I paraded down the isle in my 5" heels like I was on a Milan catwalk, a lightbulb popped up on top of my head.**ching** (not sure if that's the sound a lightbulb makes but it is for the purpose of this blog).
I always preach my "proud to be tall" opinions to all the short people, but what if some of my positive thoughts could reach someone who needs it? I started thinking of all the tall girls and women who either a) won't wear heels at all or b) will only wear the 1" ones, and I decided that it was time for me to enter the world of blogging, and at that moment "The Tall Girl Diaries" were born.

Lets make a quick introduction and get past the basics.
Name: Dominique
Height: 6'1 3/4" (187.3cm)
Shoe size: 11-12 depending on the brand
Weight: 155 lbs (70.3kg)
Measurements: 33-27.5-38.5

I was born in 1982 measuring 20.47 inches and weighing a whopping 9.45 lbs, to a mother that stands 5'8" and a father who is 6'9". I NEVER played basketball, golf, volleyball, or any other sport for that matter. I am about as non-athletic as anyone person can be. By the way, that's me in the picture above. It's not the greatest picture but it's one of the few pictures that show my entire body. As you can see, I don't wear the short heels but that is a subject that we will discuss in more depth later on.

Well, since this bright idea of mine decided to actually come to life at 2:18am, I am going to have ot make this the end of my introduction because it's time for me to go nite nite.

Smooches!!
  

                  Dominique