In short: your inseam decides your trouser length, not your dress size. At TLR, a height up to 1.80 m (5'11") takes an 88 cm inseam, up to 1.83 m (6'0") it is 91 cm, and above that 96 cm. Standard women's trousers stop at roughly 82 to 86 cm – which is why they come up short on tall women.
How do I measure my inseam correctly?
Your inseam is the distance from your crotch to the floor, measured along the inside of your leg. Measure barefoot and standing upright – shoes and a slight bend in the knee will throw the result off by several centimetres.
- Stand barefoot and upright with your back against a wall, feet about hip-width apart.
- Hold a book level between your legs and push it up until it sits firmly against your crotch – where a trouser seam would sit.
- Mark the top edge of the book on the wall with a pencil.
- Measure straight down from the mark to the floor with a tape measure. That is your inseam.
A second pair of hands makes this considerably more accurate. Alternatively, lay a well-fitting pair of trousers flat and measure from the crotch seam to the hem – that figure is the trouser's inseam.
What trouser length do I need for my height?
As a rule of thumb at TLR: up to 1.80 m an 88 cm inseam, up to 1.83 m 91 cm, above 1.83 m 96 cm. The chart below shows it in detail – but when in doubt, your measured inseam wins, because leg length can vary by several centimetres between two people of the same height.
| Height | Inseam | Name at TLR |
|---|---|---|
| 1.76 m – 1.80 m (5'9"–5'11") | 88 cm (34.5") | 88cm | up to 1.80 m |
| 1.80 m – 1.83 m (5'11"–6'0") | 91 cm (35.8") | 91cm | Long |
| from 1.83 m (6'0"+) | 96 cm (37.8") | 96cm | Extra Long |
For comparison: a standard-length women's trouser has an inseam of roughly 82 to 86 cm depending on the brand. At 1.85 m (6'1") that leaves you 10 to 14 cm short – the hem lands above your ankle instead of on your shoe.
What if I fall between two lengths?
Take the longer one. Trousers can be shortened but not lengthened, and on a wide cut like our wide-leg and flared styles, a centimetre too much is far less noticeable than a centimetre too little. If you mostly wear them with flats, take the shorter length; with heels, the longer one.
What does “Tall” mean in sizing?
“Tall” is not a dress size of its own, it is an extended fit: leg length, sleeve length and the position of the waist and knee point are adjusted for taller proportions. The width stays the same as the standard size.
The labels are not standardised, though. “34L” at one brand can mean an 84 cm inseam and 88 cm at another – there is no binding definition. That is why we give every length at TLR in centimetres rather than letter codes. Always go by the measurement, never by the code.
Why are normal trousers too short on tall women?
Because most womenswear collections are drafted on a fit model of around 1.68 to 1.72 m (5'6"–5'8"). Larger sizes are then produced by grading – the pattern is scaled mainly in width, while length barely follows. A size XL is therefore wider, but hardly any longer, than a size S.
For tall women that creates three problems at once: the leg ends too early, the waist sits too low, and the knee break lands above the knee. Which is why we draft TLR patterns for heights from 1.76 m from the start, instead of lengthening standard sizes after the fact.
From what height is tall clothing worth it?
From around 1.76 m (5'9"). Below that, standard trousers can usually still be worn or altered without much effort. From 1.76 m you are generally missing enough centimetres that altering stops being worth it and the length has to be right to begin with. TLR patterns are built for the range from 1.76 m to 1.93 m (5'9" to 6'4").
Still not sure?
Send us your height and your measured inseam through the contact page – we will tell you which length fits the style you have your eye on.
