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The Jewish Chronicle

Who wants to be average, anyway?

The "average" statistic conceals a growing number of women.

July 15, 2010 15:03
Monochrome shift, £55, Long Tall Sally

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

Most fashion pages - these included - proceed from the premise that the majority of its readers are "average" size. In our (ok, my) fluffy, fashion-obsessed head, that translates as size eight to 14, height 5ft 3in to 5ft 7in. In fact, the reality is somewhat different.

The "average" clothing size of British women these days is 16 (up from 14 in 2000, and 12 in 1988), and the average height for UK women is 5 ft 4in.

This "average" statistic also conceals the growing number of women - 21 per cent in the south east - who, according to tall-girl clothing specialist, Long Tall Sally, are 5ft 8in or taller. Their research, incidentally, also revealed that tall women earn more - they are perceived as "powerful" - yet, with an extra £5,000 per year available for splurging, only one per cent of the clothing industry caters for them.

Arianne Cohen, 6ft 3in, and author of The Tall Book, notes that when she was younger, choosing an outfit meant picking accessories to go with men's trousers.