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.

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...

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.