Tall or petite? A guideline for buying scrubs

Scrubs Fashion Tips for Tall Nurses

Do you have long arms and legs? Most likely you fit into the tall category. There is nothing like an outfit that has sleeves that are too short—or worse, pants that are too short—to throw off your look. Warning: Rolling up your sleeves or pulling down your pants to get the proper length is not the solution. So what is? Accepting your unique size and buying clothes that are made for your body type are imperative for looking your best.

Retail companies acknowledge the different body types of their customers and now supply tall versions of their latest fashions. However, if the clothes don’t come in tall, check the clothes to see if they can be tailored to fit. If you love a scrubs top that fits well, but the sleeves are too short, inspect the hems of the sleeves. Is there enough extra fabric to bring down the sleeve length? If so, you can have the top tailored to the correct sleeve length. Just a small alteration can make any piece of clothing fit like it was cut just for you.

Check out this photo gallery of some of my favorite ‘tall nurse’ scrubs for Spring 2010:

tall scrubs

Tall Scrubs

Are you a petite nurse? Continue to Scrubs Fashion Tips for Petite Nurses

Katie Sparks

Katie Sparks has been a renowned television show costume designer for 22 years. Her credits include Just Shoot Me and Arrested Development. She received a nomination from the Costume Designers Guild for excellent costume design for Arrested Development. Katie writes, "For the last year and a half, I have been freelance writing for the Palisades Post. I loved the TV business, but writing gives me the flexibility I need to raise my daughter. Writing for the Post has been great, but I haven’t been able to use my expertise in fashion. Writing for Scrubs gives me the opportunity to write and give fashion tips! A perfect combo." More

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10 Responses to Tall or petite? A guideline for buying scrubs

  1. Marie

    Yes, because of course I want advice from someone who dresses Hollywood stars….I’ll just run down to my personal tailor now, in fact.

    Ridiculous article. Show us some REAL nurses, and other medical professionals, in the clothes available for us to buy, and then give us pointers.

  2. Your name

    The article failed to mention that an XL petite is not the same as an XL. All around it is made smaller, not just in length.

  3. Your name

    Where are the scrubs for nurses that work with real people? Low cut V neck so my patient can see to my navel every time I lean over? How about we try a little realism.

  4. Long limbs

    This article was pretty useless. I have a 34″ inseam and most tall scrubs are 32″ or less… and you obviuosly haven’t looked very closely at any of the hems…most are less than 1/2 inch sothere is nothing there to work with…Short is easy -you can shorten and hem them, but you can;t add material where none exists. The fashion world does not realize height differences for women…most women’s clothing does NOT come in talls. Womens should besold like men’s…waist and length SO FRUSTRATING

  5. Al

    I couldn’t agree with the previous comments more, it’s so hard to find scrubs that are tall/long enough in the legs and arms. It’s even harder to find the really cute styles in longer lengths. And long sleeve t-shirts to wear under scrub tops!!! Almost never long enough in the torso as well as the arm length. How about talking to some real nurses before publishing such a useless article.

  6. VetNurse

    I agree with the above! I am a tall and lean woman and finding good quality scrubs that won’t break the bank is nearly impossible! When will someone realize that not one size fits all? Is it really too much to ask for scrub pants that don’t make me look like I’m waiting for a flood?

  7. Your name

    I’m 5’10″ and about 120#. The ONLY, and I mean ONLY, scrubs I can wear are Cherokee brand. They are one of the few companies that make an XS in a tall length (33.5″ inseam). Their low-rise flare pant (style 4101T) is wonderful AND affordable, around 17.99 per pair. Tops are hard for me to find as well. I feel like I’m drowning in them most of the time. Luckily, my workplace allows us to wear scrub tees if we choose. Hope this helps all you lankies like me out there :0)

  8. Amy

    Hey gals! I completely agree that it is soooooo hard to find tall scrunbs that are actually tall!! I have actually found cherokee brand has the best “tall” pants but make sure it’s style #4101T , trust me, I’m about 6′ and not lean at all, these pants are perfect and they have not turned into floods as many times as I have washed them!! Try them out and let me know how it goes!!!

  9. Cherokee has the tallest scrubs. In fact, it has ultra tall pants for women reaching 36″. Those who have hard time finding scrubs with the right length and size can get them by MTO. I am with a scrubs store, and we have that service.

  10. For those tall people frustrated at not having long enough scrubs pant, take a look at Cherokee WorkWear 4200UT. It has a 36″ unhemmed length. Some stores probably carry them or you can get them online at http://www.so-scrubs.com/Scrubs/Work-Wear-Scrubs/Work-Wear-Scrubs-Pant-4200UT-WHTW-M