How tall are you? Are you average height? Or are you below or above average height?
Before you answer those questions; before declaring yourself to be “Tall” or “Petite” or, indeed, average height, it might be helpful to see some statistics. And yes, we know what Oscar Wilde said about them: that there were “lies, damn lies and statistics”.
But in the case of height, and knowing what average really is (and isn’t), statistics are useful. Well, actually not so much useful as confusing; but certainly interesting especially in how statistics highlight what we think of as Tall and Petite, and how that varies around the UK.
According to official statistics, the average height for a woman in England is 5-feet-5-inches tall; the average height for a woman in Scotland is 5’ 4½” and the average height for a woman in Wales is 5’ 4” – yes, ladies, the average height for a British woman varies according to which part of the United Kingdom she lives. Our female cousins across the Irish Sea have an average height of 5’ 4”.
All of which is quite surprising: even more surprising is that in the UK, Petite sizing is for women of 5’ 4” and below. Which is average-height for a woman in Wales, and just a half-inch below average height for a women in Scotland!
So, which of us should be buying from Petite collections and who should buy from Tall collections.
Not a simple answer, we’re afraid, though obvs if you are below 5’ 4ins in the UK, Petite collections are designed for you. And if you are a woman of 5’ 10” or over, Tall collections are there for you.
And sometimes, even if we are not a Petite in terms of our overall height, our body proportions may mean that buying, say, a skirt or a jacket from the Petite ranges would ensure the jacket and skirt was the correct length for our body shape.
Even if you are only average height or (like Jan) just a bit taller than average, but aged over 50 (or over 60) and you want a knee-length skirt that won’t finish half way to your crotch, buying a skirt from a Tall collection could deliver you the perfect knee-length or midi-length skirt. Again, it is about body proportion, so even if you are not a Tall in terms of overall height you may be very long in the body and find that a jacket from a Tall range is the perfect length for you. Boden offers some styles in Tall though no official category.
So, to return to our first question: are you average height?
The answer is: none of us is average… We should pick the clothes we want from the Petite collections or from the Tall collections, or from all the gorgeous clothes on SoSensational for “average” women – hahaha..
Take a look at our Style Tips for Tall and Petite.
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