A tall girl with long legs has an extra big challenge (or would that be an extra long challenge?) as cooler temperatures settle in: How to cover those long legs and keep them warm.

Do you ever get the feeling that summertime is the only time you don’t feel like such a freak, because you can wear shorts so it doesn’t matter if you show too much ankle? As if we still live in the 1800’s! Back then it was considered indecent to show your ankles. Now—at least when a girl wears “long pants”—it may not be indecent, but a lot of people think it sure is lame.

Once a year the panic sets in: "Fall is here! Time to break out the long pants!" Only what the rest of the world calls “long pants” never seems to be long enough for tall girls with long legs. It’s even more frustrating if you’re a “tween”—too tall for girls’ clothes, but not filled out enough yet to... well... fill out the space provided by grownup junior or misses sizes.

When I was a tall “tween”, my pants were never long enough—and people would yell out to me, "Hey, where’s the flood!?!" I always thought that was a stupid thing to say, because I still wore socks and shoes, and I would take them off if there really was a flood.

Capri pants, or clam diggers, can be a fun and cute alternative for the tall girl with long legs—but they can look totally dorky with socks and shoes. And in cold weather, when you’re more likely to see rain and sleet and snow, you don’t want to go around in open-toed sandals. Yes, when the time comes to break out those jeans that fit around your waist and hips, but never seem to touch the tops of your shoes, long legs take on new meaning.

What can you do? Especially when the next size up might be long enough for your legs, but is still too big in the waist. Do you really want to be like those boys who think it’s cool to let their pants hang down below their underwear? Uh, hello, it’s like you’re begging for a wedgie guys.

Pants with an elasticized waist can be taken in, but jeans are a lot tougher on sewing needles and safety pins. You may want to try a belt, and these days they make all kinds of stretchy ones in different colors and prints.

Pants still too short? Try wearing boots—but not those bulky rubber things your mother makes you wear when it rains in torrents and you’re going to be sloshing through a lot of puddles.

Think about wearing socks as close to the color of your pants as possible, and high top shoes. Or if you’re really bold and daring, try socks with wild prints and let everyone see them anyway.

You can also try sewing extra fabric to the bottom of the pants—either an identical fabric, or you can be creative and try different prints.

It takes a lot of daring to try some of these things, because they will make you stand out all the more, and it’s only natural at your age to want to fit in with your peers.

But being tall means you’re bound to stand out anyway, no matter what you do or what you wear. So use your imagination and have fun with it!

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