When the phone rings at five o'clock in the morning it's usually a bad sign. I answered the phone to find out my mother was in the hospital and I needed to take an emergency trip out of state. I scrambled to make arrangements for my older children while I would be gone. Then I hurriedly packed my suitcase with a few items of clothing for my baby and myself and drove 7 hours to get to the hospital.

What I thought would only be a few days visit, ended up being much longer. Guess what? I did not bring enough clothes and the clothes I brought were pretty strange looking. As a 6'1" tall woman, I prefer to shop online as I can find exactly what I need easily and hassle-free. In my desperation I ventured into the mall to find a few shirts. Luckily I had actually brought some decent tall pants, but I needed a few tops. Here is how I survived shopping in a mall where women's tall sizes are extinct.

I ventured into a department store and immediately tried to find a tall salesperson to assist me in finding some clothing as I figured they would understand how best to help me find clothing that fits my tall stature. To my dismay I could not find anyone tall working there. I quickly scanned the area for the sharpest dressed saleswoman. I finally found one that was extremely helpful.

I explained to her that I needed some tops in longer lengths. She found some great options for me and I even ended up with a few 3/4th sleeves jackets that were really cute over my longer tunics and shirts. As this store did not have tall sizes it took quite a bit of searching to find what I was looking for. Had I not been aided by a friendly salesperson that was familiar with the store, it would have been a nightmare.

I made sure I had an open mind, as some of the items suggested did not look too great on the hanger, but I loved them once I tried them on. I was also able to educate the woman as to what looks great on tall women as she kept handing me small printed shirts and I was able to explain that tall women need to keep everything in proportion to their size- meaning bigger patterns and strips etc. I was pleasantly surprised that what could have been a shopping fiasco turned into a fun experience.

Although I still prefer to buy tall sizes and I have my favorite tall stores to shop in, thanks to the help of a great saleswoman, I was able to survive my shopping trip to the mall.