Long Tall Sally

It all began with a goat.
I had been goated, you see, in rough and affectionate manner, persistently and unavoidably, for a good ten minutes that morning. The goat was easily the best thing that could possibly have happened on any Tuesday morning; however, the goating had left me fragrant and somewhat besmirched ahead of a series of meetings, and I needed a quick change that didn’t involve going home.
I have this problem, you see, in that the shape of me is not the shape of most trousers, and in previous years, jeans from LTS have, in waist-​ish reflection of their leggy generosity, gaped gormlessly at the waist. I have been forced to make a choice between jeans that fit at the hips and waist (oh M&S, your woefully short jeans, oh how they go in at the waist, how splendid that is) and jeans that do not display my pretty floral socks to all and sundry. Despite my love of wearing jeans with heels… the short, well-​fitting ones have always won out.
However, in this time of urgent post-​goat need, I decided the time had come to attempt correct length once more.
The branch in Edinburgh is considerably larger than one might think on beholding the exterior — it goes back further than I thought, rendering it in fact larger than the erstwhile Leeds branch.
(Side note: I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have a branch of Long Tall Sally nearby. Back when I lived in Yorkshire, my nearest branch was Leeds, a 45-​minute train ride away, and then when that closed, it became York, an hour and a half and expensive fare away.)
GREAT NEWS. They have changed the cut! These are the best-​fitting jeans of my life! Sure, at £45 (£50, in fact, but 10% off if you join the mailing list at the till) they’re three times more expensive than my usual purchase, but LTS clothes last and last and last.
Now then, why is this branch in particular so good? Well, I was welcomed as soon as I walked in by a member of staff who was actually about my height. I used to feel like a complete fraud when I toddled into other branches of LTS and peered up at the giantesses all around me. I felt I was being judged for being insufficiently tall. Nonsense, of course, but hey.
She was friendly and efficient, leading me straight to what I was looking for and picking out a selection to meet my criteria, and her colleague called through the curtain of the dressing room at one point to ask if I needed anything else. They even let me pay for them at the till while I was wearing them, snipped off the label as I stood there, and packed my goated garments into a bag for me. Bravo, LTS! I’ve always loved your range of clothes. Now I feel like I can actually wear them.
*extends credit card limit excitedly*

Even though I arrived with little time to spare and the staff were up ladders and in the window fixing display, I couldn’t have asked for better service. They kept my items and I came back when it suited me better… and found yet another piece: a great striped and stretchy skirt perfect for cycling even.
Good news didn’t stop there, as I got another sum off the skirt by the time I paid. Well done to the nicest shop for tall ladies.
ps — if you have big feet they also have a good range now and again

I spent an hour in Long Tall Sally yesterday with my (tall) mother. Bing marginally shorter, I find Zara’s trouser legs way too long so wouldn’t frequent Long Tall in the normal run of things.
But I was impressed (on mother’s behalf!). They have a great range of clothes. A nice selection of colours. A fine collection of footwear and enough sparkly jewelly things to keep the girliest of girls happy.
The sales assistants couldn’t have been kinder. Mother tried on numerous garments in numerous sizes and they waited patiently all the while, replacing discarded items on the clothes racks without a flicker of a grudging sneer. Neither did they bat an eyelid when she ranged her clothes around the till before the moment of purchase, bemoaned the total bill, discarded and retrieved clothes and finally paid for it all only seconds before the shop was due to shut.
It made a potentially painful shopping-​with-​mother trip incredibly painless for which, thanks!