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The Amazona team’s personal mission of trying to persuade tall girls and women to get into some heels is well evidenced. Not only do they improve your posture, give you better legs (and a better bottom!) and make you look more confident, they also improve your love life! (Check out our original blog ‘Why Tall Women Should Wear Heels’)

The single most cited reason for tall girls not to wear heels is that it makes them ‘just too tall’. Now our view is that this is just nonsense. If you’re like us (we’re between 5ft11 and 6ft2), then you’ll probably be the tallest person in the room, regardless of whether you wear high heels or not and quite frankly, with the average height here in the UK being 5ft7, the difference to someone looking up at you of 7 inches or 10 inches is not very much! It’s all relative to the shorties…

Luckily, we’ve just come across yet more evidence to support our views - high heels don’t add more than just over 2.5 inches to your height, regardless of the size of the heel!  Now, it is best to qualify that statement somewhat - we are talking about heels with no platform.  It’s all to do with how much your foot pivots (which is what happens when you wear heels).  Don’t assume that 3.5 inch heels will add the same to your height because it’s unlikely they will unless you have a platform too).

If you don’t believe us, check out the full articles at celeb heights here.

So ladies, now there is no excuse not to grab a pair of fabulously high heels and embrace your height.

Luckily for tall women all over the world, the first ever blog radio broadcasts (just for us) were launched in February. Tall Expression is an online Magazine for tall women but also hosts weekly radio broadcasts discussing tall issues. Founder Adrienne Williams’ aims were to have a place for tall women to express themselves and to find helpful information.

Tall Expression is a place for fashion, shopping tips, advice and information - a community. Like many a tall girl, Adrienne started the magazine after years of trying to find advice on anything from fashion to relationship issues for tall women, and finding very little:

“There are many issues surrounding our unique life experiences, dealing with dating someone taller or shorter than you—finding the right size shoe that is fashionable, and self-esteem issues from teen-to-adult and beyond. This is the place—the moment is now and Tall Expression is here for everyone who continues to see challenges in everyday life and a community where you can meet like-minded people just like you!”

Why don’t you check out Tall Expression and listen to their latest podcast interviewing Roy Parkin of Tall Genez - the first ever designer range of jeans, soon to be launched, which are available in up to a 45 inch inside leg!

OK, so there are times when fashion just gets little too carried away - 10.5cm earrings? Yep, they’d be practical catching the tube or serving someone in a restaurant.

Great big earrings were seen at Stella McCartney, Zac Posen & Louis Vuitton’s SS09 shows while feathers featured on the catwalks of Giles, Celine and Sonia Rykiel.

Grab those trends, hook them up with the current buzz for bold coloured accessories and here you have the perfect antidote to feeling a little under lacking in the style department. Even better, this is one trend that tall women can make the most of with your proportions taking earrings like this better than shorter woman.

It would also cheer me up no end if I wore this pair of peacock blue chandeliers on a miserable Monday morning in London!

£75.00 from www.theearringboutique.com

If you’ve read the previous Amazona blog post on Tailors and have decided you’d like to live like one of the women of Lipstick Jungle and go bespoke, then here are some top tips on how to avoid disasters like mine.

Know Someone who Knows Someone?

Whilst there are many good tailors around, there are also some not-so-good ones. The best way to find your tailor is to ask friends, family or colleagues. You may be surprised who might know a great tailor.  If you’ve tried that and come up with nothing, then do your research. Check out the web and search for reviews. Once you think you’ve found the tailor for you, don’t be afraid to go in to have a chat in the first instance. This will help you get a feel for whether they understand you and what you want. I’ve only ever gone to tailors who I felt a rapport with on the first meeting.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Without fail, the most successful garments I have had made have taken their origins in an existing item of clothing. Whether it’s a favourite pair of trousers which fit you perfectly, a shirt you love but would love even more in a different colour, or your sister’s coat which they didn’t make in tall proportions but you’ve coveted for months, a tailor can use any of these to recreate the fashion-hit you’ve been dreaming of.

Good tailors will also work from drawings, images and photographs. The secret is to give them as much information as possible so that they can understand exactly what you want.

Fittings, Fittings, Fittings

Your tailor should recommend several fittings. I routinely have three fittings for a shirt or top and more for a suit or coat. Some tailors have insisted that I did not need this many, but the outcome was always not quite as I wanted. Insist on as many fittings as you need to get it right.

Brutal Honesty

Whilst you should take advice from your tailor if they suggest something to improve on your ideas, you must always be honest at your fittings. You are paying for a service and it is imperative that you don’t shy away from telling them when it’s wrong. If you don’t tell them and walk out with a garment that isn’t what you wanted, you’ll only have yourself to blame.

Now that I have some great, bespoke shirts and trousers which fit me like a dream, I periodically go back and have them copied in a different fabric. The best place to go fabric hunting is the legendary Joel & Sons in London (near Baker Street). They not only have one of the largest stock of fabrics in London, they are also great with advice as to which one is suitable for your intended garment.

(If you didn’t catch ‘Tailors: Part I’ first time round, click here)

If you’re anything like me, having a ‘bad skin day’ is far worse than having a ‘bad hair day’. Whether it’s a spot of blotchiness, dry patches, sallow skin or spots, when my skin is having an off day (or week!), it robs me of confidence far more than unruly hair or 5 extra pounds on my thighs.

It’s often this time of year, when I’ve been running in and out of air-conditioned office, cars, cold air and centrally heated homes, that my skin rebels most.  With so many creams and serums on the market, it’s nigh-on impossible to know which one to choose - so I thought I’d share my favourite. And it really does work.

Three years ago I tried my first ever Guinot mosturiser and was astounded at the effect it had on my skin. It simply improved my skin in every way. Unfortunately, Guinot Radiance Renewal Cream is an active cream so Guinot recommend that you don’t use it all the time but alternate it with another mosturiser (so buy it, use it and then when you need a new pot, buy something different).

I’ve recommended this cream to all my family and friends and everyone has loved it so far. If your skin can be a little badly behaved from time to time, try this. It really works.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…. We thought that the Oscars, held last night in Hollywood, should provide some excellent guidance to tall girls and women all over the world on evening dress: what to wear and how to wear it. How wrong we were….

The two tallest actresses present (both at 5ft 10.5), Tilda Swinton and Nicole Kidman, both have enviable figures to go with that supermodel-esque height. Did they make the most of it? Hell, No!

Tilda Swinton looked like a ghost - and not in an ethereal, dreamy way. Her skin seemed to actually match her nude-grey blouse from Lanvin. The black skirt had an interesting cut but seemed to hang off the slender Ms Swinton like a potato sack. In fact, her outfit did absolutely nothing for her figure. The slick of bright red lipstick didn’t even liven-up this look, it may even have made the blandness more obvious?

At least Nicole Kidman didn’t manage as many disasters in one outfit. Although, do you find this gown at all inspiring? The epitome of glamour, it most definitely is not. I think the colour is all wrong for Ms Kidman. You’d have thought designer L’Wren Scott might have given the girl a slightly different shade of nude so that she too didn’t seem to merge skin with dress from afar. I also have to say “Nicole! What are those RIDICULOUS feathers doing all over the place?”. It looks like she’s a modern take on cobweb-covered Miss Haversham!

If you’re looking for inspiration for evening or prom wear this year, then look somewhere else. Don’t look to the Oscar’s. Try the Golden Globes or even the BAFTA’s. This years 81st Academy Awards were definitely too tall an order for either of our statuesque girls to pull off, it seems.

Is it true? Could the organiser’s of the 81st Academy Awards really have been a little tardy with their security? Surely this couldn’t really be the list of winners for this Sunday’s awards ceremony?

You may have heard that there is a document flying around the web which claims to be the final list of this years award winners. The likely hood of such a monumental leak is very slim, but what if it is true? Or much worse, what if you are one of the alledged ‘winners’ on that list? How is Kate Winslet going to feel if she doesn’t win? No matter how much you could tell yourself that it was all nonsense, surely one tiny part of you believes it may be? This is particularly true of Kate who, despite being nominated FIVE times, has yet to get her hands on that lovely gold statuette for her downstairs loo.
Oscar winners are chosen by the Academy’s 5,810 members who had to return their ballots by last Tuesday.
The only two people who are supposed to know the results before the envelopes are opened on stage are two partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Here’s some of the (probably fake) list of winners for the 2009 Oscars:

Best Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Best Actress in a supporting role: Amy Adams (Doubt)

Animated Feature film: Wall-E

Original Screenplay: In Bruges

Bookies say that Slumdog Millionaire is the heaviest-backed favourite for over six years. Mind you, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that!

Just in case you girls with large feet were wondering what on earth you were going to wear this summer, here’s a sneak preview of Amazona Style’s new stock (due in at the end of March!). All styles will be available in at UK sizes 8 -11 (US sizes 10-13).

We here at Amazona are fighting over this style (we don’t like own the same styles as each too often!). It’s perfect for hitting the spot with the Spring trends of crazy details on shoes. This is a shoe that girls with larger feet rarely get to wear - sexy, fun and individual.

We don’t need to tell you that metallic accessories are massive for Spring and Summer. This little number will add a little flash to any daytime outfit and will be available in bronze and pale gold (as well as black).

This style is perfect for you girls who we haven’t yet converted to heels (you’re really not too tall if you wear them! No matter what height you are!). A great shoe for looking groomed, elegant and professional.

England’s weather has suddenly lept into Spring with yesterday’s temperature of a whopping 11 degrees. Before we know it lambs will be bounding around the fields and I’ll still be wearing my dark, layered up Winter wardrobe. I don’t know about you, but some light relief from the endless financial doom and gloom is exactly what I need right now - so I’ve been making a shopping list!

This year’s Spring accessories trends are just the tonic for cheering us all up. Too many designers to mention showed big, bright and bold colours on everything from bags and shoes, to hats, scarves and jewellery for SS09. Here’s the first of several posts on Amazona’s pick of what we’ve got our eyes on to work this trend.

Bring a little sunshine into your life for only £14.75. This bright yellow clutch from ASOS will sort out this trend for you, and for less money than a drink with the girls!

Continuing with the ‘bright and bold’ trend, top of the shoe pick is these ultra sexy, purple heels (again from Amazona Style). Putting on an outrageous pair of heels never feels to make me feel like a million dollars! This pair are £69.00 in the sale and available in UK sizes 9-11.

If you’re wanting a daily boost to your commute, how about swapping your standard (no doubt in black or brown) work bag for this bright blue, buttersoft leather bag from Blondie Mania at £82.50.