Tall Blog!

Join Me!

2010-05-27 13:43:48 PST

I have finally joined the Twitter revolution! Twitter tells me that I'm supposed to invite followers. "Follow" seems rather passive, but I would love for you to JOIN me, @ArianneCohen!

Especially all you Brazilians, who I hear just saw my Martha Stewart Show episode, and have been keeping Long Tall Sally busy! Now all the Portuguese spam I've been getting makes sense...

JetBlue Stands Tall

2010-05-09 00:00:00 PST

As you know, I find it problematic when airlines only agree not to stuff you into too-small seats if you pay an additional $40-100 fee. This is insane. Thus, I was thrilled to do some work a few months back with an airline that actually gives ample economy legroom for everyone. Even tall everyones.

Here is JetBlue's new website, where you can see me chatting with myself about the wonders of legroom and comfort, and here is a New York Times article.

p.s.: I think I'm setting a new record for professional photos taken of me touching my toes. It's like a specialty niche.

Ladies (and Gentlemen, sorta)....

2010-05-11 11:42:08 PST

The U.S. now has a tall store! With clothing! For tall women!

Long Tall Sally opened in the Mall of America in Minnesota on Sunday. And the tall women of America rejoiced, in the knowledge that they are no longer threatened with unwanted nudity....

Livewire Radio Night

2010-03-26 00:00:00 PST

I had possibly my most fun tall appearance yet last night on Livewire Radio, a fantastic Portland radio theater show that puts together two fun-filled hours of musical, literary and comic geniuses, and blows me away every time I attend as an audience member. My six month campaign to get on the show paid off, and I had a blast getting up on stage and telling the audience some of my favorite tall yarns.

You can hear it all here.

The UK Does Tall Right: National Stand Tall Week

2010-04-14 00:00:00 PST

It's National Stand Tall Week over here in Britain, and I'm here working with Long Tall Sally on their fantastic campaign to spread the word about all the wonders of the tall life: Mainly, that tall Brits make roughly $800 more per inch per year, according to a survey they did last month.

I'm having a blast: I spoke at two store events this week, ostensibly signing books but mostly spending much of the time in the dressing rooms, which were like a party. I also did a set of morning radio interviews with the lovely Lisa Butcher, 6'0", who designs a line of clothing. When all was said and done, the UK was treated to eleven hours of our chatting! How about l save you 10 hours and 59 minutes. A few fashion tips I picked up from Lisa:

-avoid tops and dresses with a waistline. The waist can't be in the wrong place if there isn't one! Instead, stick to empire waists, or tops with vertical waist seams, not horizontal.
-make sure jeans pockets are centered Jeans pockets belong in the middle of your rear. Not the bottom. (If you're confused, consult a store mannequin.) Low pockets mean you're likely to have half your rear fall out when you bend over, another tall trauma that I thought everyone shared, but it's actually a problem of ill-fitting pants.

From the Tall Book Inbox

2010-03-10 12:00:38 PST

John Kenneth Galbraith finds himself standing in an elevator next to Charles DeGaulle (both of them in the 6'6" range).

"Good to be tall, isn't it?" Galbraith remarks.

"Yes," says DeGaulle, "and we must be merciless to the little ones."

Martha Stewart All-Tall Show Link!

2010-02-22 11:24:05 PST

You can watch the whole show by clicking here.

JabeBabe Now Available

2010-02-01 23:20:22 PST

I've gotten a few emails from book readers asking where they can see JabeBabe: A Heightened Life, the fantastic film about a 6'2" woman that I gush about in the book.

The fabulous Janet Merewether 6'0", the Aussie filmmaker responsible for the film, just let me know that her film is finally available for order worldwide. It's a bit steep internationally ($44), but that's still less than movie night + popcorn for three...

Or, you can always catch it digitally through Amazon.com, here.

Behind the Scenes at the Martha Stewart all-Tall Show!

2010-02-12 22:51:20 PST

The Martha Stewart all-Tall Show recording just happened, and it was 52 minutes of unbridled tallness. Tall heaven, people: tall audience, tall guests, tall everything. Unfortunately, I signed my life away and can't tell you all about it yet. However, I can tell you about the 30 minutes before the show:

I was sitting backstage in the makeup room rereading my own book (yes, I do that), when in ran the little creature you see at right. Genghis. Genghis is the cutest animal that has ever lived. So I immediately hit the floor to coo at him and offer to subtly remove him from The Martha Stewart Show. And suddenly I see a foot in front of my nose. I look up, and there's Martha Stewart, sternly looking down at us. Genghis is apparently not supposed to be roaming the makeup room. I was so startled that I didn't introduce myself. I just mumbled something like, "I like your dog."

Ten minutes later, Martha turned out to be absolutely lovely. Now, often talk shows shoot multiple episodes on one day, so it is not unusual to be hurried back to the green room by an assistant and then pleasantly abandoned, only to meet the host on live national television. This is not the case at The Martha Stewart Show. You might as well be in Martha's living room. From the moment you arrive until the moment you leave, there's a producer nearby to help. Martha's easily accessible, with her office right in the middle of all the makeup and green rooms. And one particularly lovely producer, Lenore, hung out with the guests until we left, a good hour after we were done shooting. The same courtesy is extended to the audience--after the show, Martha takes the time to answer questions from the audience. It's the most polite ship I have ever encountered.

And yes, needless to say, the Tall Show will be amazing! Details on air dates and times as soon as I know 'em.

Martha Stewart all-Tall Show Airing TOMORROW

2010-02-17 21:56:23 PST

Thank you to the 150 amazing tall folks who valiantly braved an arctic storm last week to make the Martha Stewart Show's Tall Show amazing!

The show is airing tomorrow, Thursday, February 18th. Local listing times can be found here.

Some stats:
Average guest height: 6'2"
Average audience height: 6'5.5"
Height of cake created by guest chef: 10.5'
Heights of happiness tall viewers will experience watching the show: mountainous

Raise Your Kitchen Counter in 4 Seconds

2010-01-16 15:39:08 PST

Kitchen counters? Problematically short. (They should start at about your elbow crease. Not wrist.) Enter these genius 2-18" chopping blocks-on-legs, which you can simply stick on top of your counter for easy cutting and prepping. Smart.

Tall Girls: The Movie!

2010-01-16 13:01:32 PST

Fellow tall lady and genius film director Edda Baumann von Broen, 6'3", has put her two talents together to create "Tall Girls", a wonderful documentary all about tall female life. And, hint hint, you may recognize a certain someone in the film. Edda just finished the film and is hitting the film festival circuit; in the meantime, here's a preview.

#6

2010-01-02 13:14:30 PST

The Brits are into tunics (Long Tall Sally is London-based) and I think they’re onto something: they're feminine and flattering on long bodies, yet you still get to wear jeans. Perfect for work. Or spontaneous photoshoots with an end table.

#5: The Society Woman

2010-01-02 13:16:15 PST

Lets face it: us tall folk have been experiencing a centuries-long epidemic of freezing wrists. It frankly never occurred to me that faux-fur was an option, because it seems to be the domain of the squat. No more: It's so cozy!

#4

2010-01-02 13:17:42 PST

My facial expression here is so weird here that I wouldn’t want it to overshadow the tunic. Which is cute.

#3: Snuggle Hoody!

2010-01-02 13:18:57 PST

I'm wearing this outfit as I type. About the green corduroys: I was worried about ordering pants online, given that I can be anywhere from a size 4 (if I don’t breathe) to a 12 (if lasagna has been around recently). Also, I like to touch clothes before I by them. But the whole process, I have to say, was a lot more fun than store changing rooms, which usually turn into a mass grave of too-short pants and tears. I ordered piles of clothes in all sizes, tried 'em on, and sent back the third that didn’t fit (gratis!), done. And the whole process took an hour total.

#2: My Ploof!

2010-01-02 13:20:30 PST

Though Long Tall Sally refers to this as the “Sophy Feather Shrug”, it will forever be my Ploof (sometimes pronounced, “floof”). It dresses up anything. Jeans, formal dress, whatever. If you only have one formal accessory, make it this.

#1: The Dress

2010-01-02 13:22:18 PST

I'm madly in love with this dress. I may never take it off long enough to wear anything else. It’s one of those comfortable, can’t-go-wrong dresses: it works with a cardigan for meetings, fancy shoes for parties, and, um, wine stains (on New Years they miraculously blended). Genius.

#7: Mabel!

2010-01-02 13:11:39 PST

Mabel cannot be found in the Long Tall Sally catalog. She is, however, equally smitten.

Questions? Comments? Clothing fantasies? Feel free to email at arianne[at]ariannecohen.com.

The Photoshoot

2010-01-02 13:24:07 PST

My New Year's resolution is to help tall ladies worldwide find the clothes that make them feel good. Affordably. I don't need to tell you that this can be a tall order--which is why I’m thrilled to tell you that I'm partnering with the best tall clothing store in the universe, Long Tall Sally.

I've never been much of a clothes horse. But Long Tall Sally just came to America, and since receiving my first box of clothes last week, it's become clear that my lack of fashionista status was only because I didn’t have any. I immediately made my roommate do a photoshoot of my favorites:

This Just In: People in Bookstores Exhibit Unusual Tall Behavior with Tall Book

2009-10-20 00:00:00 PST

You probably don't know about the super-secret Tall Book team. There is one, and a pivotal part of said team is Bill the Barnes and Noble Guy. Today he writes in with an observation:

“Just a casual observation: The book draws bizarre behavior from people when they pick it up to look at in a bookstore. I've noticed that tall women act like they are doing some sort of guilty pleasure--like the book was an x-rated movie they wanted to see but are shy about admitting it.

I guess the subject matter of height gets people's attention but no one really talks about it out in the open. People look guilty when they see that I notice what book they are reading. Who would have thought the title “The Tall Book” would have so much effect? ”

Now I can check “write guilty pleasure” off my to-do list.

The Tall Book: Now a Math Problem

2009-11-01 14:36:22 PST

Did you know that The Tall Book is now a math problem? I didn't!

Kevin Mitchell writes in with a biostatistics math problem now in use at Hobart & William Smith College:

The Dinka people live in the southern part of Sudan. Cattle are particulary important in Dinka culture with ownership of livestock serving as one factor in social standing. The Dinka use cattle for other social purposes. For example, cattle serve as the primary means of settling a negotiated ‘bride price’ which the groom’s family pays to the bride’s family. There are several factors which may affect this price (see http://www.gurtong.org/resourcecenter/people/profile_tribe.asp). Chief ’s daughters fetch more cattle in the same way chief ’s son is expected to pay more cattle for his wife. University graduates fetch higher bride prices, a factor that may positively affect enrolment of girls in schools. In The Tall Book journalist Arianne Cohen suggests that, among the Dinka, women over six feet tall fetch 80 to 100 cows on the marriage market while shorter women bring only 50 or 70, a premium of roughly 30 cattle in such negotiations for taller women.
An anthropologist conducts a small survey of eleven elders in a Dinka village. Based on their experience and knowledge, she asks each to suggest an average bride price for women taller than six feet and for women shorter than six feet; see the table below. The researcher has no basis to assume that the data are normally distributed. Determine a 95% confidence interval for the median difference between the two estimates. Interpret your answer in relation to the claim of a 30 cattle premium for taller women.
Elder   Greater than 6 ft       Less than 6 ft
1                  57 49
2                  63                         51
3                  94                         74
4                  82                         61
5                  89                         68
6                  85                         63
7                  88                         65
8                  77                         52
9                  80                         55
10               109                        75

Anyone know the answer? Bonus Tall Person Points if you do.

November's a Busy Month!

2009-11-07 14:41:58 PST

I always feel like I’m not doing much--and then I visit the newsstand and note that I'm all over it. This month includes a cover story in Popular Science that I worked on for a year, after having my chemical exposure levels tested last year (spoiler alert: I’m full of chemicals, and so are you), a feature in Woman’s Day on how to get ready for the holidays Ari-style, the story of my trip to Istanbul in Budget Travel (spoiler alert: it was fun), and a cover story in New York Magazine on the Sex Diaries. Enjoy!

Which One of These Is Not Like the Other Ones?

2009-11-14 14:48:17 PST

Witness the photo at right. The seat sticking up is a 68cm bike, which has been sitting outside my local bike shop for three-plus weeks. This is Exhibit A of why stores don’t sell tall products: because the chances of a super tall person walking by and needing a super tall bike at that very moment are slim.

Every time I walk by, I pet its handles and tell it not to worry, because some 6'8"er will come by soon and take it home and love it very much. And I tell the store owner that it's pivotal that he always keep one in stock, because he'll sell one every month, and that's twelve bikes he wouldn’t sell otherwise.

And then it finally happened. Yesterday, someone bought him. He was 6'7". New tall bike forthcoming.

A Tall Girl's Dream: Being Able to Buy Cute Pants Anytime

2009-10-14 21:11:21 PST

As promised, some much-needed good news for tall women searching for clothes! There's a new friend on the tall block: Long Tall Sally, a hip tall women's company from Britain, is launching the first part of their plan to become the worldwide dominant tall women's brand. To which I say: It's. About. Tall. Time.

The deets: Long Tall Sally just purchased Tall Girl Shop's warehouses and Canadian stores and is planning their stateside launch. So yes, this is all a nice long silver lining. Us tall ladies have been waiting all our lives for an international brand. The truth of the matter is, the reason tall men all have stores right down the block is because they're owned by large, corporate operations that can order large, affordable batches of clothing. We need one too!

The U.S. website of Long Tall Sally just opened. The detail you must know about: Returns are free. Meaning you can order 17 pieces, and return 15 of them. Or 16. This is key for someone like me, who has never purchased a pair of jeans without trying on 10.

More soon, as I know it...

Sad News!

2009-10-06 20:42:24 PST

As many of you have heard--and emailed accordingly with a vast array of emoticons--Tall Girl Shop, the family-owned nationwide chain and one-and-only place for many women to get clothes, has declared bankruptcy, and will be closing their couple dozen stores at the end of the month. What remains is on clearance (!).

In my book, I told the inspiring story of Hazel Gould, a tall chemist who founded the store over a half century ago in hopes of having something to wear to work. The book also explores why it's so hard to find good tall women's clothing, while tall men have lots of options (in short: women's stores require 3 seasons of clothing a year, which is risky for small companies, and women are fickle shoppers. And the economy is tanking, making women more fickle. Seriously, we don't support our own stores.). I've spoken with Tall Girl, and am quite saddened to see them go.

However! I will have some very happy tall clothing news, that I can't quite post yet, but rest assured: there will soon be a great new place to buy clothes.

Update: No, I'm not starting a tall clothing company. Pinky swear.

Your Morning Depression, Brought To You By the NYT

2009-09-13 04:44:43 PST

From Michael Winerip's "In Her Fifties, Looking for Love" piece, chronicling the single life of the lovely Christine Shiber, 57:

If it feels as if the remarriage odds are bad for a woman in her 50s, they are. According to 2001 census data, 41 percent of women 50 and over who’ve been divorced have remarried, while 58.4 percent of divorced men that age are remarried.

“That’s the biggest remarriage gap for all age groups,” said Dr. Francesca Adler-Baeder of the National Stepfamily Resource Center at Auburn University. “Among the divorced, the least marriageables in our society are older women, highly educated who make a good salary.”

“Studies show men tend to marry down — someone slightly younger, less educated, making less money,” Dr. Adler-Baeder said. “Women in their 50s literally don’t have a visible pool of eligible men around them.”

“And if she’s tall on top of that,” Dr. Adler-Baeder said, “the pool’s even smaller.”

Ms. Shiber is 5 feet 9.
---

Sigh. I'd like to point out that Dr. Adler-Baeder is working under the very American assumption that a woman must-absolutely-must (!) date a man taller than she is. Or else the whole world order could be upended. Or something.

This is particularly nutsy assumption given that men in their fifties are much more comfortable with taller women in general. And that this one silly assumption cuts the already-small middle-aged dating pool down by two-thirds, and results in a lot of solo tall middle-aged women who would prefer not to be solo.

Ladies, try looking down from time to time. Or at least in a vaguely southwesterly or southeasterly direction. There's good stuff there.

Talking Tall on NPR

2009-09-18 04:53:54 PST

I had a blast talking tall yesterday for an hour on Philadelphia's NPR station (which, I might add, I was raised on--I went to high school at Germantown Academy), on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. Marty's a pro, and asked quite possibly the best tall questions I've fielded in six months of talking tall.

I'm out of breath at the beginning because I got caught in New York City traffic, and ran the final ten blocks in the rain to get to my publisher's landline in time. (Producer on cell phone 9 minutes before start: "Arianne, this is a live interview. This is a disaster.") Yes, like many many authors, this author has asthma. It's usually not a job hazard. Listen here.

I Am The Tallest Woman In Istanbul

2009-09-06 02:51:06 PST

I'm in Istanbul this week, where I am quite possibly the tallest woman in the city--I haven't seen anyone close in four days here! It's Ramadan, which means that half the city fasts all day, and the hunger, I think, extenuates the curiosity. Staring is a matter of course. (Though, a significant genius percentage of the population stays up all night eating happily at a local festival, and then sleeps all day, waking up just in time to nosh again at sundown. And they too stare.)

The only Turkish phrases I know? "Thank you very much," and "I know! I think you're kinda short."

Tallness aside, anyone have any suggestions for fun activities that Istanbul's tallest woman should try out? Shoot me an email at arianne [at] ariannecohen.com.

Talking Tall with Tyra

2009-09-01 23:42:44 PST

A couple weeks ago I taped an amazing episode of the Tyra Banks Show! I am biting my tongue not to tell you all about it, because I signed one of those contracts that hands over my firstborn if I tell what happened. Which is hard for us writers--we're encoded to tell people what happened. Immediately. (Don't worry, I will blab at the soonest possible moment. The episode will broadcast next week.)

I will share some backstage gossip: the lovely stylists put me in a gorgeous DVF dress and very high 4" heels with tiny points, rendering me approximately the best I've ever looked. I was thrilled about this until 3 minutes before I was to go on air, when a friendly producer put me just off stage, and pointed to a runway that I needed to "strut" down before turning to meet Tyra. In high heels. On camera. In front of a live audience.

Which brings us to a pivotal point: Tall girls don't know how to walk in heels. And who struts? Short people who want to be noticed.

Spoiler: I didn't spill. For this, I feel I served us tall girls well.

When Tall Authors Get Stuck in Chairs

2009-07-09 00:00:00 PST

Today I did a very fun podcast for the New York Times Book review (you can see their review here!), and met the lovely Rafael Yglesias, 6'4", author of the novel A Happy Marriage,which also just received a stellar review.

Rafael told me a story about a little trip he took to Broadway:
"I went to one of those old houses where the seats are not only draconian in the general cutting off of leg room, but they are also quite curved, so that to take advantage of what little space there is, you have to keep your legs spread wide."

In the middle of the show he forgot that he was in a public space, and, "thrilled by something in the show, I sat up straight, putting my feet together, knees directly toward the curve. I got stuck. My knees were wedged against the curve, my back flush with the seat, and for a terrible moment, I couldn't shift position at all.

Just so you know, I was a New York Magazine scribe at the time, and had I heard about this, I would've definitely written a gossip item entitled "Celebrated Author Stuck in Chair."

"I got a little panicked and wondered if the Fire Department was going to have to bring in the jaws of life. Reflecting on that possible humiliation, I twisted as hard and violently as I could and got my knees free--at the cost of wrenching my back so that I was in pain for weeks." Since then, Rafael has "spent thousands making sure that I have an aisle seat for fear that next time I will have to be rescued by New York's finest."

One more item for the long list of tall hazards! Sit carefully, folks.

What Can Companies Learn From Tall Folk?

2009-07-17 15:53:48 PST

I just came back from giving a talk on how companies can profit by meeting the needs of the 35% who don't fit a size medium, and it went so well that I want to talk a little about it.

There's a lot of tall money to be made. As my book research showed, tall consumers have tons of dollars--and nowhere to spend them. To the point that many tall folks simply don't shop anymore, and grudgingly buy plane tickets and furniture only when necessitated. I am this consumer, I know her well. My needs are so poorly met that when a company provides even marginally-appropriate products and services, I think it's Christmas and tell all my friends.

This is not just a tall issue. The tallest 15% and smallest 15% are sitting ducks, just waiting to spend money with companies that address their needs. They are passionately loyal, and shopping feels more like supporting a good cause.

A few companies have figured this out--JetBlue's campaign to offer reasonable economy leg room is genius, and Tall Girl Shop, Long Tall Sally and Casual Male have all capitalized by providing clothing for the long-of-leg. There are also hotels that provide long beds, and European stroller companies that offer extensions. To say that these companies are beloved is not an understatement.

I speak alot about how companies can develop inclusive marketing strategies and product offerrings--how to find the tall and small folks to buy 'em. And the message seems to be getting through. Amazing things happen when tall folks voice their needs.

Bikini Shopping While Tall

2009-06-22 15:35:23 PST

This weekend I went to purchase my first ever bikini. My lack of bikini ownership up to this point was not a tragic oversight--as you may have gathered, I'm not the sit-around-on-the-beach-and-look-cute kind of person. Beaches (sand, sunburn, etc.) stress me out.

But then I read Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck: "If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini and don't take it off until you're 34." Whatever Nora says, I do.

There are two tenants of tall bikini shopping:
-You are tall. You deserve at least two square feet of fabric.
-The straps should be at least the width of two fingers. Your fingers. Not elf fingers.

Stringy bikinis and lingerie are designed for smaller frames. They just are. Tall women look best when showing a comparable amount of skin to a petite woman in a stringy bikini. Which means more coverage. Think female beach volleyball players---they look great because they're mostly naked, but distinctly not naked. There's an issue of mass here that doesn't really apply to models.

Which is why my shopping expedition was a trainwreck: The goal is to tease, not be naked. I was naked. Wearing unflattering pieces of string. In fluorescent lighting. Which is like a recipe for a Food Court expedition. Which is exactly what happened.

Entrepreneurs, take note: There's a huge market out there for really adorable, substantial bikinis.

Reader Comments that make Tall Authors' Hearts go PitterPatter

2009-06-24 14:37:14 PST

From Amazon.com:

Finally, someone has wrote a book that I can relate to, completely!, June 24, 2009

by Merl
"This book is fabulous. I am a 6'4" female, age 36. I have hated every inch of my height, until I read this book. WOW, amazing what a little bit of well written research can do to flip my world upside down. I couldn't be happier. THANK YOU for writing this. Words cannot describe the positive perspective you have given me. What a gift. This book is well written, well organized, and has great information. LOVE IT! I am the lucky one!"

At 6'4", Merl is pretty damn lucky.

Why Tall Folks Succeed at Work

2009-06-14 12:14:50 PST

The Tall Book was supposed to be about tall folks. It really was. And it is indeed a book about tall life and tall culture and everything you ever need to know to be, raise or love a healthy, happy tall person.

But it's also a book about success. Why? Height is easily quantifiable--unlike, say, ethnicity, religion, parenting or your feelings (I believe they're calling it "self-esteem" these days).
Which means that statistically, it's easy to track why tall people succeed in some areas (work) and fail in others (gymnastics, dating while tall and female). You can basically look at tall statistics, and clearly see what behaviors correlate with success and failure. There's a lot that can be learned from watching tall folk--so much so that I think there should be a new university field: Tall Studies.

In the meantime, Penelope Trunk over at The Brazen Careerist just put up a great post about why tall folks succeed in the workplace, and what anyone can learn from it:

http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/06/16/how-to-be-a-tall-person-at-work/

How to Survive a Tall Book Photoshoot

2009-06-16 13:04:17 PST

Today I finished my 6th Tall Book magazine photoshoot. Whenever models say that modeling is work and really hard, ignore them. It's fun. Really fun. There's a staff of 2-to-7 focused on making you look hot. And then you turn on good music and goof around and make faces at a lens for three hours. This, anyway, is what I do. Compared to my usual job of staring at a computer screen, it's professional ecstasy.

Tall photoshoots are particularly adventurous. Today's required standing on a tall rock in 4" heels in the middle of a Manhattan intersection at rush hour while the photographer risked his life in the bike lane to make me look "tall." Every time a truck honked I nearly fell off my rock.

Previous 'tall' photoshoot poses include: Me on a ladder. Me touching my toes. Me on a tiny four-foot podium in stilettos with nothing to hold onto. Me on an icy roof ledge.

Lessons learned:
1. Photographers are not particularly concerned with your personal safety.
2. Tallness only exists when others are in the frame. On our own, us tall folks are lovely and proportional and perfect.

How Can I Get Copies of The Tall Book?

2009-06-16 14:27:47 PST

Today's the big day: The Tall Book: A Celebration of Life From On High is now available nationwide!....except I hear that bookstore shipping is running a little slow in some regions. Which means that it's time to tell the world not to mess with tall folk!

Three great ways to get a Tall Book in your hot hands by tomorrow:

1. Order at BN.com ($13.00 each, or a mere $11.70 if you're a BN member!)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Tall-Book/Arianne-Cohen/e/9781596913080

2. Order at Amazon.com ($13.60, shipping free with two-or-more!)
http://www.amazon.com/Tall-Book-Celebration-Life-High/dp/1596913088

3. Call Your Local Bookstore
Call up your local store and ask them to have copies in stock for you to pick up in 48 hours. Bookstores don't know to carry a book unless customers say they want it, so this is a great way to support The Tall Book. Yay Team Tall!

Why Tall Folks Don't Know What To Wear

2009-04-28 17:45:19 PST

In doing The Tall Book, I came up with a theory on why tall folks don't always know what fashions flatter them. There are indeed a few stylists out there who specialize in dressing tall, normally-proportioned bodies. One of the ongoing sagas of this project was trying to connect with some.

Because fashion people are HARDER TO GET AHOLD OF THAN CELEBRITIES. I spent three months leaving messages for one such stylist. I left messages on her personal answering machine, with her assistant, with her managing company, with her two agents, and at her office. She thought the book was a great idea! She scheduled a phone interview! She canceled, she rescheduled, she canceled. Repeat. The book went to press, fashion-free. This is why tall people don’t know what to wear.

How to Not Look Like a Preening Giraffe in Photographs

2009-05-30 20:06:36 PST

I attended a high school swimming reunion today, an all-day orgy of reminiscing and photosnapping with 400 guests. All was going swimmingly until a lovely friend pointed a camera at me and said, "Can you squat down or something?"

For the record: Nope.

I'm tall, and your photographs might indicate as much. Ask me again and I'll stand on my tip toes.

However, there were a few photographs in which I wanted to meld in--mainly in the group shots with former teammates, where sticking out would be attention-grabbing and obnoxious--and for this, there are a few good tricks:

Step Back. Pose with everyone else. Then take a giant step backward, away from the camera, so that you're standing behind them. In the photograph, it'll look like you're standing in line with everyone else, and at approximately the same height.

Also, stand up straight. Super straight. It sounds counter-intuitive, but nothing looks taller than a slouching tall person.

Lastly, when in photos with petite types, place their bodies partially in front of yours, to avoid Double Wide syndrome--no need to appear double the girth of everyone else in the photo, even if that's the case due to your lovely tall-person waist.

Why You Can Skip the Kama Sutra

2009-05-10 17:45:19 PST

Just fyi, the Kama Sutra is purely aspirational for tall folks. Don't feel bad if you've never done anything in it.

"It was designed by a culture of small people who did yoga," says Eric Amaranth, a New York City sex consultant. "There's a lot of energy consumed, and it requires flexibility that most people don't have. So it's not really relevant for taller people, particularly anything that involves lifting."

There's today's public service announcement.

What Products Don't Fit You?

2009-05-28 17:45:19 PST

What are the products that you really wish were sized differently? (I know I know, airplane seats. Besides airplane seats people.) Is there something that you just feel isn't made for tall people? This can be anything--the seating at Starbucks. The elliptical trainer at your gym. Kitchen appliances that don't fit longer fingers. The seating on your city's public transportation.

We're making a list of companies to contact over at the Tall Activisim page, so please email in your ideas.

Shoot an email to arianne@ariannecohen.com, with the Subject Line "Tall Products," and we'll make a little list here.

The Secret to Non-Awkward Hugs

2009-05-08 17:45:19 PST

Sometimes it's awkward being tall. Such as when it comes time to hug/kiss/otherwise-greet folks that are much smaller. This is particularly true when you're a tall woman (me!) hugging a much shorter man, and you fear smothering them in your cleavage.

I learned a secret while researching the book: Do it first. If you throw your arms out for a hug, you're deciding that there's going to be a hug, and which way the arms are going to go. If it's someone you don't want to hug (such as the opposite gender), clasp your hands behind your back and lean in for a cheek kiss. If you want to shake hands, throw your hand out for a shake. In short: Just do it, and do it first.

This strategy was a breakthrough for me. I wish someone had told me twenty years ago. Would've saved me some incredible awkwardness, like the time I was leaning in to cheek-peck my much-shorter New York Magazine editor goodbye, and he suddenly turned and I kissed him on the mouth.