Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Mukluks, mulkuks everywhere, but not a pair for you




Well, I have been looking for shoes as usual. Searching, tracing; wide and far. I found some shoes, some beautiful shoes but not many to fit me.

I want some Muluks or Uggs, or anything that will perform the same function. I need them to be big,to be fluffy, to be comfy.

I looked in all the usual places.
Tallgirl has some beautiful ones
but seeing them onsale at £100 quid kinda stung. I kept looking.
I found some finally in my size at a good price but the wrong width. I sometimes do that. I get so caught up with trying to find a size 10, I often forget that I still need to find a shoe at the right width.
So naturally my focus turned to width, I put in a search for wide width shoes. There were quite a few results. I know most of them but as they occassionaly update, I went looking again, in the minute hope that their changes would open up another avenue of choice for me.
They are brilliant. But again not for me. I did not even open their site as google usefully told me wide range of sizes and widths, up to a 9.
These ones really wound me up, by saying "style is nothing without fit" The only width they were concerned about though, was the width of the calf. Yes, they have missed the point entirely
I looked at their site. I checked out their shoes. I had a look at their logo."We care about your feet" they said. I wish to amend this to, "We care about your feet but not about your fashion!"
Who proclaim themselves "Specialists in wide feet"

You know when they said a picture is worth 1000 words except when you are thinking about the memory space on a computer?
I beg to differ, look at this shoe







What's not to like about this shoe? It's white, its shiny, its got holes cut in it, big stitches for no apparent reason, it would go perfectly with my skinny jeans, wouldn't it. And I really like the buckle, reminds me of being a little girl in primary school. And Hey!!!Retro is in, isn't it??!?!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The quest for the perfect coat


picture from http://image.yesstyle.com/assets/33/930/l_p1005093033.jpg



Sooo, I have been looking fruitlessly for a coat for years without being able to ever get my hands on one. I decided that finally I must make one.
All I needed to do was to find a pattern, right. How hard could that be? But as, is usual with everything tall. I found nothing.
I changed my search terms around on google and spotted this site
Roz designs, I was immediately hopeful and even my heart may have started beating a bit faster in my chest, what would I find? Some nice snazzy designs? A few basic patterns? What? What? I clicked and found this site instead.

http://www.rozdesigns.com/

Now, I know design does not make the site and some sites have all kinds of fancy flash progams on it and their stuff is basically rubbish but this was just dire. What were these akward, dowdy drawn stuff meant to represent. And the prices? Could I bear to part with my hard earned cash for this?

I kept on searching as I had been hoping to come across a coat for years and sitting there looking irritaed at my computer screen wasn't going to help any.
I found a site which had decided to call itself the Giraffe, we have clothes to fit tall women it proudly proclaimed. I instantly decided it must have been created by a man as I don't know any woman who would describe her self in such a way. I noticed also the cute and endearing logo of a giraffe, who couldn't quite reach the floor. I am not sure why the nagle, was show ing the rear of the giraffe but as i said before, I suspected the site was designed by a man.

http://www.thegiraffe.net/

It reminded me of a store I once found in Brixton called Elephant feet that catered for sizes 9 and up. It was filled with a large ranged of beautiful high heeled impractical shoes and as usual really ugly dowdy falt shoes, occuping one shelf, in the corner colour range, black and shiny black. The joys.

I kept the page open in a tab, sighed bitterly then kept on my search. Then I came across a site about knitting. She was also tall looking for a perfect pair of lounge pants. They couldn't be knitted so she had actually signed up to go to a class to learn how to sew.
I wondered why google had brought me to this site then I noticed in the comments, people talking about being tall, then finally, the very last comment said try shopping in Old Navy

http://girlwhoknits.wordpress.com/2007/08/25/the-quest-for-the-perfect-lounge-pants/

So I dragged myself across the the multi tiered store they share with the other stranage souless names Gap, Banana Republic, Piperlime and Athleta. I had read about them doing a tall section but I didn't know the range or anything. Not only did Old Navy have a tall section but they had tons of clothes in the tall section. I got so excited with the tunic tops I had also been on the look out for appearing there. Finally clothes in just one colour with no horrible floral design, and there were tons of them and they were one sale.

They still didn't have any coats, well except for the white hooded coat. But I was definitely going to add that to my list of stores to visit on my upcoming america trip.

Now back to searching for patterns.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Making your own clothes


I have started my yearly search for a winter coat, I start off thinking it will be a nice Christmas present. Christmas comes and goes and I still remain, coatless. As each year goes by I feel more and resigned more and more desperate. I look online, walk around, hopeful of finding something. when I do find a style I like, its normally sold out.
Probably bought by one of those fashion hounds who spends endless hours on the net. They are not reading news, not emailing friends, not doing work but instead looking at clothing websites and buying them as soon as they come out.
I can envision these tall girls, stuffing them into their bulging wardrobes. They probably tell casual visitors, who marvel about the amount of closet space they have and say "oh, look at this coat, I bought it a few years ago, only wore it once."
As I am not into fashion, I can easily let the hipest trends slide right past me without so much as a blink of an eye. Though I must admit when flares came in, I went a bit crazy, oh and the time that there was this pearl, lace and chain concoction that was everywhere, attached to bags, shirts, whole necklaces were made out of them. Ooh how I drooled and salivated over those.
I spent many frustrated days, a poor student, looking for sales, buying lycra tops, trying to follow fashion advice on those with a low budget until eventually I noticed a girl who only ever wore leggings and a long tshirt with boots. Except for the boots, it was a very easy look to pull off. I dressed like this all the time. Clubwear, sorted. Casual look, sorted. I added a short skirt for work and I was on a roll. So there were no trousers in a style and fit that made me look clunky, who cared. So there was nothing in the shops, who cares? So there was nothing in grey, just pink, who CARED!
But then winter came, and I had no coat, I looked around but could find nothing. Years and years went by, every year nothing. Till finally I though, I may have to make my own. There, I said it. Making your own clothes. Its no fun, its time consuming and you have to learn, get special equipment and your first efforts will be rubbish. But sometimes it has to be done.
I found this website, on another tall girl blog

http://www.threadbanger.com/

I will have to give it a try, wish me luck !

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What is the Peanut Butter Solution?



I read this today


It gave me a sinking feeling in my tummy.Oh my lovely peanut butter. I knew this and stopped eating peanut butter for several years . One day feeling idle and quite hungry I found it at the back of my cupboard and tucked in.

Nothing like its smoothy, creamy nuttiness.

I will no longer be able to eat peanut butter and guava jelly on water crackers as I am about to rush out the door in the morning or late at night, or on weekend that I lie in so long I get hungry and have to eat some thing while I try to defrost some meat or whatever I can find at the back of my cupboard.

I will no longer be able to eat groundnut soup. Mouthwateringly delicious but so so stodgy. Let me drool for a moment.

Picture from http://majalouisa.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/fufu-traditionel-ghanesisk-ret/

I can't plan to cook it. I can't sit at home salivating over the recipe on the Africa cook book any more. I can't enjoy my food because its bad for me. I guess I will have to make do with just looking at the recipe

http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/Recipes2/7905.html

I suppose I must go and find this Sunbutter thing. They don't have any any England, but I can use hummus for now, if only it didn't go off so quickly. Is there any food that you can leave in the back of the cupboard and it will still be ok? s any food that doesn't go off in 3 days good for you? If so I want to eat it.


Sunday, December 27, 2009

Buying Clothes in America

From Opera's website, Copied because it may get archived and disappear.


Labels That Measure Up

Mary Alice Stephenson
Photo: Alex Beauchesne
If you're shopping for...

Longer-length pants:
Akris, Neiman Marcus, 800-365-7989
Alice + Olivia, Neiman Marcus, 800-365-7989
Alvin Valley, AlvinValley.com
Anthropologie, Anthropologie.com
Express, Express.com
Gap, Gap.com
Garnet Hill, GarnetHill.com
The Limited, TheLimited.com
Michael Kors, MichaelKors.com
Tory Burch, ToryBurch.com

Jeans with inseams 33 and up:
7 For All Mankind, 7ForAllMankind.com
Calvin Klein Jeans, CalvinKlein.com
Dockers, Dockers.com
Earl Jean, Macy's, 800-622-9748
Earnest Sewn, EarnestSewn.com
Levi's, US.Levi.com
Lucky Brand, LuckyBrand.com
L'Wren Scott, Barneys New York, 888-822-7639
Paige Premium Denim, PaigeUSA.com

Jackets and suits that won't fall short:
Ann Taylor, AnnTaylor.com
Banana Republic, BananaRepublic.com
Diane von Furstenberg, DVF.com
Eddie Bauer, EddieBauer.com
J.Crew, JCrew.com
JCPenney, JCP.com
Lands' End, LandsEnd.com
New York & Company, NYandCompany.com
Old Navy, OldNavy.com
Rick Owens, 212-627-7222
Shape FX, ShapeFX.com
Talbots, Talbots.com
Urban Zen, 212-206-3999

Outerwear:
Banana Republic, BananaRepublic.com
Ellen Tracy, EllenTracy.com for stores
Gap, Gap.com; JCPenney, JCP.com
Old Navy, OldNavy.com

Athletic clothes:
J.Crew, JCrew.com
Lululemon Athletica, LuluLemon.com for stores
Old Navy, OldNavy.com

Tops and sweaters with length to spare:
Banana Republic, BananaRepublic.com
C&C California, CandCCalifornia.com
Eddie Bauer, EddieBauer.com
Gap, Gap.com
Inhabit, InhabitNY.com
J.Crew, JCrew.com
JCPenney, JCP.com
Lands' End, LandsEnd.com
Lily McNeal, LilyMcNeal.com
Michael Stars, MichaelStars.com
Old Navy, OldNavy.com
Saint Grace, SaintGraceStore.com

Swimwear:
Just My Size, JMS.com
Lands' End, LandsEnd.com
Miraclesuit, CyberSwim.com
Newport News, Newport-News.com
Shape FX, ShapeFX.com
Speedo, SpeedoUSA.com
Victoria's Secret, VictoriasSecret.com

Shoes up to size 14:
BareFoottess.com
DesignerShoes.com
Gwyneth, Gwynethshoes.com
Kathryn Kerrigan, KathrynKerrigan.com
Samantá, SamantaShoes.com
Shoes.com
Zappos.com

Extra-long hoisery:
Donna Karan, DonnaKaran.com for stores
Falke, MyTights.com
Le Bourget, MyTights.com
Levante, LevanteUSA.com
Spanx, Spanx.com

Maternity:
Gap, Gap.com
JCPenney, JCP.com
RG Maternity, RGMaternity.com

Skirts and dresses that flatter a tall frame:
Banana Republic, BananaRepublic.com
Eddie Bauer, EddieBauer.com
Gap, Gap.com
JCPenney, JCP.com
J.Jill, JJill.com
Lands' End, LandsEnd.com
Old Navy, OldNavy.com

Plus, check out...

Websites with extensive tall collections:
Ann Taylor Loft, AnnTaylorLoft.com
Banana Republic, BananaRepublic.com
Eddie Bauer, EddieBauer.com
Gap, Gap.com
J.Crew, JCrew.com
JCPenney, JCP.com
Old Navy, OldNavy.com

Catologs and online boutiques:
KatClothing.com
Moi-Meme.com
SearchbyInseam.com
SoftSurroundings.com
TallCouture.com
TallGirlShop.com
TallWomensClothes.com


http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200901_omag_height_labels

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Atrex Orthotics and friends



Oh sigh, it’s like every item of clothes must be a challenge to obtain. Hats, shoes clothes, everything. Every new hobby I choose to occupy myself with brings the problem of how to find stuff to fit me.
Because in my jaded mind I decided that running a marathon would be a good thing to do. I was faced with the problem of how to get my lazy bones into shape. I also wanted to learn how to drive, so I decided that I should get a bike as I could combine being confident on the road with general overall fitness. This was a good option for me as I hated the gym. I really did not want to step into one, running on the treadmill, looking at tv screen, puny little me exhausted after 10 minutes as I watched big strapping men glare at themseves in the mirror, sweating and gazing at their bulging muscles. You can smell the testosterone in their sweat. Then there were the women who would wear as little as was possible, to show off their perfectly toned abs, who would go for the machine you had just fallen off of, making you feel cheap and nasty in your what seemed at the time perfectly adequate clothes, but standing near to them , you felt more like the ugly fat sister. Not really motivation as I did not want to become them, if toned abs brought you this kind of attitude then I would rather stay fat.
However, if I wanted to run a marathon, fat would not cut it. So it was on the bike with me. I went to buy a second hand bike as I did not know what I was doing and didn't want to waste money while learning. I rode my bike home that day and it was the best cycle I had ever had. Not wanting to do things by half, I decided the best thing to do would be to cycle to work, this would save me money and exercise time. I could use my commuting time to get fit! So clever of me! However, I found it hard to cycle 5 miles let alone the 16 miles to work and after joining a cycle group and establishing that nothing was wrong with my bike, it was actually me, I decided to stick to cycling around my area only.

This however would not get me fit enough; I would still need to run at some point. I spoke to a few friends, joined a few running groups on facebook, stalked all the running websites I could find. I decided to buy a pair of trainers and get going. I really should have taken more time to find a pair of trainers but I was more concerned about finding a bra. Runnersworld.co.uk was a godsend because they not only gave you all the information but when they suggested a place, you could actually walk to the place and check it for yourself without having to worry about faffing around on the MTA journey planner, making elaborate maps, wondering how to fit it into your next trip.

I ran and I ran, never really got to the speed I wanted until one day after I had joined a running group to make sure I kept up my runs in the winter I ate a chocolate bar out of hunger and desperation. It kept me running the whole session. It was amazing; I could not believe the difference that one chocolate bar could make. I did it before every run and realised that yes, it did improve my performance and that infact, my love affair with chocolate was not because I was greedy and addicted to sugar but it was infact because I needed a source of energy. So now I no longer had to cut the foods I loved in order to stay healthy, I simply had to change the times I ate them. It was genius, sheer genius and to think that all the websites had been saying this all the time but I had simply glossed over it. Now was the time for action.
All this running started to have an impact on my feet, they hurt, they started to hurt, they started to flatten, like they didn't want to work anymore. My arched feet were changing. My trainers did not fit anymore, they started to get tight. I had plans of replacing them, probably with one size bigger in the same store. By chance I heard that Nike were letting people test trainers for free, so I went along to find out what it was all about. The lady gave me a pair of trainers and made me run on a treadmill while videoing me runnning. Turned out I had one lopsided leg, pronation I think it was called. She gave me a very expensive pair of trainers to put on, and videoed me running in those. There was a dramatic difference, no more lopsided running. It was amazing, I asked her if I could get the same inserts and put it in my other shoes, she said yes, try Boots, look for orthotics.
Orthotics, that word, it saved me. My life, and my knees, my ankles, my toes. I am certain had I not discovered this word I would have done myself a serious injury. I again spent fruitless hours on the internet looking for orthotics that would support my high arches and my overpronation. I searched for 3 days before thinking of Runnersworld.co.uk, I bought a pair of Birkenstocks while I searched, they were so comfortable, I did not want to take them off. I wore them to work, 3 days in a row.
Runnersworld, with the right search terms, insoles instead of orthotics produced an amazing list of stores which meant I did not have to figure out the stockists in London

Runnersneed, which some quipped, was their favourite store because they were a runner and also needy
London City Runner evoked images of men in suits trying on very expensive trainers
Sweatshop which reminded me why I had stayed away from designer shoes for so long.
Run and Become which made me wonder why they came up with that name, what were they thinking, why, and again, why
Then the marathon store, which I immediately remembered because I had walked past that store many years earlier and said to myself one day, one day I will have need shop in that store.
Not only did they have the insert that I wanted but they also had it at half the price I had seen quoted on all the other websites I had been checking.
I would get it tomorrow, right after I found a pink fluffy lamp.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Hair

I am writing this one because I struggle with my hair. All black women do and I being at least half black have as well. I have seen woman grow their hair to their waist.
I wanna see if I can do it too !