I Never Thought I Was Short

It never occurred to me while growing up. There were too many other insecurities I was focused on. Besides, I come from great stock, but not one of them is over 5’6. A few are way under 5 feet. It didn’t stop me, and going to the dressmaker, as my mom called it, was normal in our house.

However, it hit me when I moved to NY in the 80s and entered the fashion scene. Suddenly it was ‘yikes’. I have more pictures of me doing models' makeup touch-ups looking up. I definitely did a better job when I sat them down.

I remember finding a great-looking pair of jeans and asked who made them and bought them. Somehow, they didn’t look the same on me. Sweaters or t-shirts either. Our torsos were quite different too, as you can imagine.

So I tried to compensate with high shoes. I remember seeing Sheryl Crow in Saint Laurent tribute heels. She wore them with jeans and a rock-and-roll tee shirt and looked incredibly cool.

So…I bought those too, and that was a big failure. I couldn’t walk. Plus, my legs are muscular and not pencil-thin like hers. The good news is sneakers are accepted, and clogs are in. I can wear platforms in place of Louboutins at the chicest parties.

It was a bummer in the comparison department, but quite unbelievable and funny. As you can see, I compare myself to the tallest of tall. I treasure the photo of Yao Ming, whom I met in a Houston hotel. I also cherish the one I took with Dr. Ruth. Thank you to the teams who arranged these photo ops.