10.1.12a
10.1.12b
10.1.12c
10.1.12d
10.1.12e

{Top: Similar | Pants: Target | Heels: Similar | Scarf: Gap | Sunnies: c/o Coach}

I remember when 3/4 sleeves came into style. I was in 8th grade, at the height of my growth spurt and also at the height of Doc Marten’s 2 inch sole boots popularity. 5 foot 9 inches, skinny as a rail, a mouth full of orthodontia and a pair of thick-soled work boots. I was bringing a new meaning to bottom heavy. 

Since I grew an ungodly amount over the course of a year, everything on me was short. Pants were too short, sleeves were too short, and jackets — just forget it. And then, as if they heard my prayers at night, Gap did tall girls everywhere a solid and brought back the fad of quarter sleeves and capri pants. No longer was I a young Frankenstein with limbs shooting out of my clothing, I was in style. From that point on, if my sleeves were supposed to be long I would just say they were three quarter. If my pants were a little bit short, I’d roll them up to ankle length and call them cropped. One small step for Gap, one giant leap for an awkward junior high girl who was as tall as some kid’s dads. 

I asked my husband if these pants looked too short on me to which he replied: “aren’t they supposed to be cropped?” Why yes, yes they are. 

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119 Responses

  1. I am laughing my booty off right not. Hilarious! And I am not super tall but I have the same problem too! I just pretend that its cool. Im like Audrey Hepburn. She wore ankle pants and she was awesome…right?

    Kirsten
    {travandkirk.blogspot.com

  2. Amen sister!  As a middle schooler that was taller than most of her teachers, I am right there with you.  Ugh, that was awkward.  Glad you've recovered. 🙂

  3. You are hysterical! I have the opposite problem – being 5'4" – everything "cropped" looks full length on me. My husband says the opposite – "Are those supposed to be shorter?" Sigh. 🙂 Love this look on you – the colors are fab together.

    xo,
    Morgan
    seemomogo.blogspot.com

  4. I have those same pants and I love them! I'm 5'4 so they're a very awkward length on me so I roll them up just a tiny bit. Super cute outfit!

  5. I love them that length!! If only we could wear cropped trousers all through the winter… at least in the UK we can't 😉 Plus this colour combo is just gorgeous: teal, red, blue AND tan?? And mink polka dots? Aaaaargh I need a lie down!!

    A simply perfect outfit! It's made my day 🙂

    Catherine x
    notdressedaslamb.com

  6. Those pants are great!  The whole outfit is great, but I am loving the pants. Just checked them out at Target… thanks!

  7. I think that that only works if everyone understands how chic you are. Otherwise they assume your pants are flooding. 🙁

  8. See, I have the opposite problem.  I'm short.  So pants that don't come in lengths?  Forget it.  I bought a pair of jeans at NY&Co that were supposed to be cropped, and on me, they were … normal.  So I guess it worked in my favor, huh?

    These, however, are super cute… cropped.

  9. Oh Kendi. I have the exact opposite problem. I buy pants that are supposed to be cropped and wear them as normal-length pants… the grass is always greener, eh?

  10. Hahah I am the exact same way! Got 'blessed' with gargantuan feet also. Oh well! What can you do? You look fabulous in your cropped pants 🙂

    xo
    amy
    itwasloveat.blogspot.com

  11. Haha you just described my life in grade 8. To a T. I was so jacked when Gap got all 3/4 length and capri pant crazy. At 5'9" and about 100 pounds soaking wet, awkward was my middle name. Add to the equation a junior high grill of more metal than I think should be allowed, I was far from styling. Thank goodness we grow out of those years! Well, grow out of most of it…my arms are still unusually long, and nothing about time gone by makes them look any less awkward 😉

  12. Oh man, story of my life. At least my high school life. Thank goodness for cropped pants, which I think are sometimes a little too cropped on me, too. Good answer, though, husband!

  13. I am 5'3" and in between petite pants and regular. The cropped trend helps me out, too, because I can buy petite pants and call them cropped! Who knew, with 6 inches between us, we can still share fashion woes?? Haha.

  14. ah ha! this post made me laugh pretty hard. Jr. Frankenstein part, mostly. I was always average height but I feel like I can relate anyway, and that's good writing!

  15. OMG I remember dealing with the same problems (I'm 5' 11" and have been that way since middle school). I used to get my jeans wet and pull on them to try and make them longer, and then learned how to sew and would add extra fabric onto the hem… suffice to say none of that actually worked. Even today it's a bit of a problem. Thank god for cropped pants and shorter sleeves! 🙂 

    http://www.erindepew.com/blog

  16. don't you just love when your man says the exact right thing?

    looking lovely, kendi!

    xo julesinflats.com

  17. I was in 6th grade and going through the same thing! It was a life saver! That is such an awkward stage, I remember trying to stretch my jeans by sticking my toes at the hem and stretchinnnnnng my feet out as hard as I could trying to make them longer… I also remember making double sure my socks matched every outfit because no matter what when I sat down they would be seen haha! This was also the era of the puffy vest, cant forget that one, it was on christmas lists all over america!

  18. I had the same problem and I'm not even as tall as you! I still rarely wear jeans without a cuff because I got so used to doing it in high school/college and pretending it wasn't because the jeans were too short.

  19. Well isn't that lovely for you. I remember when capri pants came into style (I believe I was in 8th or 9th grade actually). And at 5' 2" (that was after my growth spurt…I gained one more inch in high school), I could not find capri pants that actually came right below my knee. All the pants that were supposed to be capris looked…funny enough…a lot like the ones you're wearing. Except less flattering because I was like 85 lbs and everything was baggy on me.

    Sarah's Real Life

  20. Lol. Great post. Your outfit amazing but I think you are getting tired of that type of comments or maybe not. I just don't know how else to describe them. I'm absolutely obsessed with your clothes. Don´t worry not in the -you need to get a restraining order kind of way- Just a big fan of your closet!

  21. We are kindred spirits. Literally. At 5'9" I had those heavy two inch shoes as well. 
    "But mom, they're COMFORTABLE!" Ew.
    xoxo,
    Leigh

    Long live the crop! 😉

  22. I went to hear Tim Gunn speak a few years ago and I remember him saying, "Ladies, no one likes a cropped pant." I was wearing cropped pants at the time.  I am wearing cropped pants today.  I still love you, TG. xo

  23. I loved the cropped skinny jean look. I think they look better a little short then all the way down to the ankle. I also love your stories! I am also really loving the color combination in this post!!
    Carlee
    Almost Endearing

  24. Yes, we must always celebrate the moments in fashion when cropped pants carry the day.

    Everything's coming up Milhouse!

  25. The way you've put together the colors in this outfit is absolutely amazing! I love the red and blue with neutrals. So crisp and boho at the same time. 

  26. You are just so adorable – and your sense of humor and sense of fashion are what brings me back every time:)

    Teodora

  27. You basically just described my junior high years to a T haha Oh, the joys of being tall 🙂

    You look adorable as always, love those pants!

    xoLizzieplaceclevertitlehere.blogspot.com

  28. OMG! I feel you on the quarter length sleeves and cropped pants! I am 5' 10" and I have been since well forever! I started wearing quarter length sleeves and cropped pants and I haven't looked back. Love this look! Polka dots make me happy! 

  29. I so can relate to this, Kendi. When I was still in high school and college, I felt awkward because I was bigger than everyone else! And sometimes I use those things as an excuse too. Cropped pants and 3/4 sleeves! 🙂 <3

  30. love your classy colors and styles here!

    totally understand that – i was a 5'9" awkward teen too, wearing heels in high school (whyyy???). now i relish it and adore my height, but once it felt so cruel.

    http://www.ladiesinnavy.com

  31. Your hair is doing all sorts of awesomeness today! I can't stop looking at it. Plus, a great outfit to complement!

  32. Amen! I the same height now as I was in 7th grade…5'9". It was definitely awkward to be taller than EVERYone else…including some kid's dad! LOL I can sooo relate…however, neither of these fashions were in style during my tough years…ugh. I completely appreciate it now though :0)

  33. First time I've commented here… yes to tall girls! Finally, at 6'0", I've stopped worrying about finding every pair of pants in a long, the "regular" length looks cropped and is a great excuse to show off my shoes!

  34. No, really… It's like you just explained my entire junior high fashion experience. (I use the term "fashion" extremely lightly here, mind you.)

  35. Oh my goodness, you just made me think of my own embarrassingly unstylish middle school years. It's do bad…jeans, long colorless Tshirts and those beige timberland looking boots( probably the same ones you're talking about) not to mention I had know idea how to work with my fluffy, thick hair do it was always in a pony tail. Yikes!!!

  36. Kendi, I am a new reader to your blog and I just have to say your style (both fashion & in writing) is so refreshing! Especially in the midst of a lot of surfacy/my-life-is-perfect fashion blogs. So thanks for keepin' it real and offering so much inspiration for a working girl!

  37. It's so true!  I am 5'10 but reached about 5'9 in middle school.  I was so happy when 3/4 length shirts became all the rage.  I was just ranting about pants on my blog as they are a never ending trauma…..cropped pants saves my sanity but I live in Canada so they are only good for about 6 months!

    http://kidslifeandshoes.blogspot.ca/

  38. I love the colors! You always put together great combos.

    At 5'2", some 3/4 length sleeves are weird for me. They don't quite go the 3/4 mark like they're suppose to but they don't come down to my wrist either. And cropped pants…they fit me like regular pants (^_^)

  39. I nearly asphyxiated in a pool of foam during a foam party because I was too short…..and a pound or two is very obvious on short pple.. Tall is good, tall is good..

  40. I wear cropped pants as full length jeans, beats the heck out of paying for a hem. 

  41. Oh Kendi, you crack me up. I'm in love with the reds, nude and color transition from the crops to the shoes. For the color blind they would never know, but for me it's fashion genius. kudos!

    {heatheringheights.com}

  42. Ah, you just described my childhood to a tee. I'll never forget how brave I felt when I wore heels to my 8th grade promotion dance (and the guy I danced with who barely cleared my shoulders). 

  43. I have freakishly long arms, so most things are also 3/4 length on me 🙂 Also, I'm obsessed with those Target pants! I have them in three colors! Great price too. 

  44. I lvoe these colors together…you look great! and I have a scarf just like that I bought from Target last year.  We aren't have scarf weather where I live quite yet but I can't wait to break out all my scarves and colorful gloves! 

    Pretty Girl Rock Blog

  45. I love this color combination. 

    But really, enough with pimping out those sunglasses! 

  46. Hallelujah and Amen my tall sister.  Now that "arm candy" is in full force I have another excuse to scrunch up my sleeves and show off my stack and hide my sleeves "short-comings".
    [sidebar: I'm 28 and still growing, according to my last Dr. appointment I reached 6ft!?!? Yeish!]

  47. oh my gosh, bless you. this is literally the story of my life. I still have to buy those awkwardly long gloves just so cover the exposed skin between end of jacket sleeve and beginning of hand during Chicago winters. 

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