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Newsweek

Sept. 13 issue - And you think it's hard for you to find jeans. Sisters Jennifer Caputo and Rebecca Caputo Carreras are both 6 feet tall. And thin. So the "big-and-tall" label just doesn't apply. "For a while, we wore a lot of men's jeans," says Caputo. "The grunge era was a good one for us." Discouraged by the lack of fashionable offerings, Caputo and Carreras�an actress and model�last year launched Tall Couture, an online boutique stocked with clothes that not only fit, but that they would feel proud to wear.

They weren't the only ones. Over the past year, a handful of stores have sprung up that cater exclusively to the tall. "Tall is the new plus size," says Everard Strong, the 6-foot-9-inch editor in chief of Tall Magazine. "Just like we saw with the plus-size culture, tall shoppers aren't satisfied anymore with clothes that just fit. They want style and choices now, too." They're finally getting them. From WNBA player Sylvia Crawley's Ephod Customs to Canadian designer Brandice Long's Tall Styles, the tall market is heating up�so much so that there are niches sprouting up within the niche. There are now specialized tall stores like Tall Chick Pajamas, Chicks With Attitude (for tall teen girls) and even Jungle Babies�for the tall tot.

Mainstream retailers are starting to take notice. J. Crew recently lengthened the inseams on its tall offerings, and the Gap added extra-long sizes to many of its styles, some of which go up to 38 inches. Hot jean brands like Miss Sixty, Seven for All Mankind and Oliver Twist have all started offering 36-inch inseams. "It makes a lot of sense to me," says Strong. "Tall people are probably the most natural walking billboard a company could ask for." Lengthening lines is a tall order, but one that is no longer being ignored.

-- Elise Soukup

� 2005 Newsweek, Inc.