Good Morning and welcome to another beautiful Sunday.
I am so happy to share the first edition of ‘Meet Your Tall Sisters’ with you!
It was important for me to have a designated area on The Tall Society where I could introduce you to some of the amazing Tall Women that are among us. Share their story, read their advice, walk a mile in their shoes.
For me, in a perfect world, we would all know each other, be friends, go for brunch and sip a cocktail on a rooftop somewhere. But sadly that is not realistic. Hey a girl can dream right?! So instead lets take a minute and learn a little bit about your fellow Tall Sisters!
Today it is my pleasure to introduce you all to Carol Lewis. You might already know Carol; hey you might even have a piece of her hanging in your closet. Wait.. That sounds weird… What I meant to say is that you might know Carol through her work. Lets get started!
What is your full name?
My name is Carol Lewis. Although I have had plenty of nicknames over the years!
What is your current occupation?
I work as part of the Long Tall Sally design team, as the casual wear designer. So I work on the jeans, casual trousers, denim, casual jackets, sportswear, swimwear, knitwear and jersey.
How tall are you?
I am 5 feet ten inches, with a 35-inch inseam.
Has your height influenced your career?
Nothing fitted me as a teenager so I have always made my own clothes. I love sewing and designing and would much prefer to wear something I had designed myself than someone else had designed. Even as a teenager I made clothes for my friends as well as myself.
Please give us a glimpse of the design process, how do you arrive at some of the pieces that are sold today?
Working in a company designing is all about teamwork. The design team starts the season by looking at color. We look at color predictions from people like WGSN and Textile View and we go to trade shows such as Premiere Vision and look at fabrics and colors and prints going forward.
We also look at sales history to see what colors our customers like and dislike, and then we start creating mood boards and working on color combinations and stories. When we have completed our theme boards and mood boards we present them to the buyers and then we start developing styles and prints to fit into the stories.
We think about what our customers have liked in the past as well as what they haven’t had and what they might like. We look at shape predictions and think about what would be good shapes for a tall figure.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
We look at catwalk shows and we look at designer shops as well as high street and what the press is focusing on. Then we work with the factory’s sample rooms to develop initial garments. We probably develop twice as much as we will buy so that we have choice. These initial garments are then fitted on a 6 foot fit model, and go through a selection process with our Long Tall Sally buyers.
Inspiration comes from lots of places obviously from the research that we have done but also what you see every day, perhaps something you have seen someone wearing in the street, a vintage garment at a festival, an exhibition or even a film you have seen.
What has been your favorite design to date and why?
I don’t have one favorite, maybe because I am too fickle. I always have lots of favorites. This season I really like our Sketchy Check Print Jumpsuit, it is long enough for all our customers and a really versatile piece. I love the sleek lines of the Mono Flower Crop Top and Maxi Skirt. The Hibiscus Floral Print Tankini is another favorite; the print makes me think of the South Pacific and makes me want to burst into song!
What can we expect to see in the future from Long Tall Sally?
We are always trying to bring new things into the Long Tall Sally collections and also work with new fabrics and try to improve quality and fit. We also work on special collections with stylists and designers who have a tall interest. A great example of this is: TTYA x Long Tall Sally, which both press and customers have loved.
For Autumn Winter 15 we have a great new TTYA x Long Tall Sally range and a brand new look for our main range. Call me biased but there are some great stand out pieces, beautiful prints and some really varying looks and colors.
We have a really easy to wear preppy look called Freshers Week based around classic blues and reds and denim. A more formal version called The Graduate. There’s lots more but I don’t want to give too much away too early!
How do you think the ‘Tall Fashion’ industry will evolve over the next 5 years?
As Long Tall Sally grows as a company we will be able to grow the number of options and give the customers more choice. We have to remember that our customers are tall women of all ages, with different styles and tastes and trying to cater to everyone is our goal.
Tall fashion is definitely evolving; finally tall women’s fashion problems are being recognized and we are growing in numbers. We want clothes that fit us and we want nice clothes. Tall women have a real advantage, as we generally look great in clothes.
Is there anything else you would like to share with your Tall Sisters?
”Wear what you want, but wear it with confidence!”
Confidence is the most important thing in your wardrobe.
Carol Lewis – Designer, Long Tall Sally
THANK YOU Carol for taking the time to share with us, and kicking off this segment encouraging a Tall Sisterhood!
I for one cannot wait to see all the exciting new collections Long Tall Sally has in store for us this year, so I will keep my eyes peeled!
Are you blessed to have an inspiring Tall Sister in your life? Please tell me more via the contact form on the contact page!
Xoxo
