A tall tale

One designer is standing up for tall women.  If you're going to turn heads, you might as well do it in style. That's the philosophy of Julie Fifield, the brains, the arms and the legs behind Made Tall, an internet mail-order company (www.madetall.co.nz) designing and selling clothes for longer-limbed women.

"No matter what you have on, people notice," says Fifield, who is 1.8m tall. "So you want to know that your clothes fit. You don't have to have your trouser legs flapping around your ankles unless you want that."

By day a sergeant in the police, where she is the youth-aid co-ordinator for Canterbury, Fifield arrives to the interview after taking the handcuffs and pepper spray out of the pockets of her stylish denim jacket, much to the amusement of her colleagues.

She says the long arm of the law has supported her venture into fashion, just as it has supported her and her partner in caring for their special-needs son.

The denim jacket is one of Made Tall's best sellers; it will reappear for summer in new fabric, new colours and with slightly different styling.

Other popular pieces are a wool-mix winter coat in red or chocolate brown, a cowl-neck tunic, a crossover top in burnt orange, cargo pants and jeans. Set up in November, from Fifield's Christchurch home, Made Tall offers a range of staples and dressier garments, all sewn in Christchurch.

"I knew it would do well, but I'm amazed at how fast my stock has gone," says Fifield. "It proves there is a need out there."

She draws on her own experiences, and those of her "research team" of honest friends to design seasonal collections, adding to them periodically according to demand and inspiration.

"When you're tall, you still want your basics, but you want the special clothes, too. I go through the books, find out what I like and make that. Every garment will look good on the majority of women because we've researched them. So you go in there proud, shoulders back, thinking, 'Bring it on'."

Fifield and her other tall friends are tired of being tall poppies.

"Years ago I never had a problem. I don't know what happened. We woke up and nothing fitted. For many years, I've had trousers too short, arms too short," says Fifield, showing off how long her Made Tall skivvy is by pulling the sleeve down over her thumb.

The clothes are sold from a website and via parties, where groups of tall women get together over a sushi platter and bottle of wine to try on the clothes.

Fifield makes sure the hostess, who models the styles, is looking her glamorous best thanks to a session with a makeup artist. The models in her catalogue are her tall friends, too.

"I wanted to use everyday women in my catalogue because I wanted to reach them. I want Made Tall to be affordable to mothers."

Clothes can be altered to fit perfectly; measurements are kept on file for next time. It's a formula that has immediate appeal for women who longed for the right clothes.

Kate Sutherland, who has a senior position in a bank, says off-the-rack trousers often hang at half-mast on her.

"I'm short in the body and long in the leg. I think trousers are all right and then they seem to shrink or something. I never have the problem of having things too long." Sutherland appreciates the stylish but less formal nature of Made Tall clothes, such as a merino top that drapes across the bust, jeans and T-shirts in good fabrics. "Julie's got a really good design eye."

So what's next? Fifield is considering offers by retailers to stock Made Tall. She will be importing Masso jeans from Australia. And she is looking for a venue for regular Sunday-evening fashion shows with everyday tall models. And there might even be some shoes. Fifield tells a story of buying a whopping 18 pairs of shoes on a trip to the United Kingdom.

"I thought I was in heaven. Here, if I find two or three pairs of shoes that fit me in a season, that would be very rare and I'd buy them. Why shouldn't we be able to get them locally?"

Although Fifield has no immediate plans to stock shoes, it's something she is keeping in mind for the future.