We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Whitney Jennings. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Whitney below.

Whitney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Most companies standardize their brand’s sizing according out an outdated, World War 2-era, non-inclusive idea of the average woman’s body measurements. But there’s a gap between this 1940s standard and today’s reality of American women. If you’re a woman 5’9″ or taller, the gap becomes a chasm.

At Whitney Allysyn, we are laser focused on designing timeless, high quality pieces for the tall woman’s wardrobe. Our unique sizing system not only accounts for the bust, waist and hip measurements we are used to capturing, but we also account for the length of a woman’s legs, arms and torso. Walk into any mall store in America and ask for pants that are above 33″ inseam and sales associates do one of 3 things: scramble for an answer that ultimately leads to “no”, point to a corner of the floor that may or may not have “long” pants, or scoff in embarrassment for the questioner.

By my calculation, there are more than 8 million American women who are over 5’8″ tall and if they’re anything like me, they’ve spent their whole lives settling for clothes that don’t truly fit them. With my brand, I’m looking to change the fashion status quo for tall women by offering them the experience everyone else has with the added joy that their longer proportions are top of mind. My goal is to take the dread out of fashion and make it something tall women look forward to.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I knew I wanted to work in fashion when I was a biology student at New Mexico State University, but my network at the time had a very narrow view of how, or even if it was worth it, to make that a career choice. When my mother demanded I get a master’s degree, I figured that a business education would be the first step to breaking into the fashion world. My first fashion job was in the sister industry, working for the retail side of Chanel cosmetics. After graduating and teaching middle school math and science, I found myself constantly gravitating toward fashion — from the PR internships with fashion and beauty clients to being the costume designer for school plays. Working with clothing was top of mind for me. When I was 27, I decided to attend Parsons School of Design to study fashion marketing.

I have been tall my whole life and have always had to compromise on fashion. I settled for pants that weren’t long enough for my 35” inseam. I dealt with long sleeve tops that never reached my wrists. I reluctantly wore dresses that fell short of being maxi when I wished they would drag on the ground just a bit so I could wear heels. These were all problems I was better equipped to solve after Parsons.

With Whitney Allysyn, my philosophy is that building a robust wardrobe can be streamlined, minimalistic, formulaic and above all, chic. This is for the women who don’t have time to always think about fashion, but they always want to look polished and effortlessly put together. I’ve identified 7 pieces that tall women can prioritize when clothes shopping in order to build a wardrobe that is versatile, interesting and timeless. These pieces — blazer, blouse, pants, jumpsuit, skirt, dress and jumpsuit — are the basis for our capsule collection and we aim to show women how the pieces can be mixed together to form a number of combinations. By offering pants and jumpsuits in 36″ – 38″ inseams, and blazers and blouses with 27″ – 28.5″ sleeves, tall women no longer have to compromise on the stylish staples they add to their closets.

At the beginning of the day, I’m proud of the product development process. For example, to see where we started with creating the blazer to where we’ve come as the final product felt like a feat of epic proportions! It’s the difference between seeing the stitching on the lapel and communicating to artisans why the stitching should be hidden for a more luxurious look. Working with a talented pattern maker and skilled factory, we’ve delivered comfort, fit, functionality and style — the main elements the tall women I surveyed pointed out as fashion priorities. At the end of the day, I’m proud that every time a tall woman puts on a Whitney Allysyn piece, she gets a jolt of validation and confidence. Average sized women take for granted being able to walk into any store and not be limited by the sizing. I’m excited to be part of a wave of designers who are normalizing tall women and giving them a chance to shine.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I’ve always known that I wanted my business to have a direct to consumer element as well as a wholesale element. In the summer of 2024, I started working with TallSize.com, which is a platform that hosts multiple tall women clothing brands. They have a wholesale feel with a D2C ROI. Through their robust and smart marketing efforts and in-person pop-up shops across North America, Whitney Allysyn has been introduced to so many more women who appreciate our aesthetic, fit and quality. I’m always excited to pack an order that comes from Tall Size because I may not have met that customer otherwise.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I’m aware that there are aspects of my personality that display innate leadership qualities, but I have learned and applied psychological and behavioral science strategies along the way — lessons learned from teaching children and managing multiple generations of adults in the office. I’ve had a lot of experience managing teams in my professional career and, while my tactics are continuously evolving, at the core of my leadership, I center kindness and positive reinforcement. My “please and thank you’s” are doled out in abundance, critiques are delivered in a good news-bad news-good news sandwich, and I always make sure I know how employees are doing — mentally, physically, spiritually — outside of work. We are all balancing work and life, and I think it’s important as a leader to know what the people on my team are juggling and help them mitigate issues where I can, even if it’s just listening to the problem. I think it’s equally important for my team to know what my challenges are. If I’m not having a good morning, I let the team know (without putting a damper on the whole day). Employees want to know that I’m a human who experiences the same emotions and life challenges they do. Showing my vulnerability builds trust. Being transparent about the realities of the business and the problem we’re solving boosts morale. In 2025, I’ve significantly grown my team. The goals we aim to meet are big, but attainable, and I know I cannot do that as a solo-entrepreneur. As we live in a time of uncertainty, unsure of what new obstacle is going to get in the way of reaching our goals, my advice for managing a team is to not lose the humanity in the work and you’ll get the best out of your people. Be flexible, be helpful and be thankful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whitneyallysyn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneyallysyn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitneyallysyn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/86715436/admin/dashboard/

Image Credits

Headshot credit: Luis Aragon
Runway credit: Vonecia Carswell
Product and editorial credit: Jurien Huggins; Tall Size