Activewear is where tall sizing goes to die. Leggings are sold as one length that’s supposed to fit everyone; at 5’10” and up, “full-length” really means shin-length.
Athleta is the exception: the only premium activewear brand running a real tall program, with the same technical fabrics as its regular line. One framing note up front: “gold standard” is graded on activewear’s curve. The numbers below are the longest the category makes, and still short of what we’d call long. This guide covers what the program includes, how the sizing works, and where it stops.
Who Athleta tall is cut for
Athleta’s tall sizes add length to the brand’s activewear for women roughly 5’9” and up. In one-pieces, dresses and fitted tops, extra torso length is the difference between a piece that sits at your waist and one that’s perpetually riding up. In leggings, extra length is the difference between a 7/8 legging that’s 7/8 on you and one that’s suddenly a capri.
On a 6’0” frame, Athleta’s tall full-length reaches the top of your foot. Anything taller and we’re in ankle territory: still the longest thing in activewear, but we’re not going to call a 31 inch inseam great. It’s the tallest of the short, and we’d buy a longer cut the day Athleta cuts one.
How the size runs work
- Letters for knits, numbers for wovens. Leggings and tops run XS to XL in tall; woven pants (Brooklyn, Retreat and friends) often run numeric 0 to 16.
- Runs are narrow and shallow. Tall gets fewer units per size than regular. XS, XL and numeric 14 to 16 vanish first, and mid-run sizes follow during sales.
- Tall is a subset, not the full line. We track around 270 tall style-colors at any given time, versus 1,300+ at Old Navy. The concentration is leggings, pants and roomier or longer tops.
Athleta tall vs regular: what actually changes
Its helpful to see the difference between the tall sizes and the regular sizes:
| What changes | Regular cut | Tall cut | What you gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-length leggings | about 28.5 inch inseam | about 31 to 32 inch inseam | ankle length at 6’0” |
| 7/8 leggings | about 25 inch inseam | about 27 to 28 inch inseam | 7/8 that is actually 7/8 |
| Woven pants | standard | about 3 inches longer | pants that break at the shoe |
| Tops and one-pieces | standard torso | added torso length | no ride-up, no gap |
What does not change: the fabric or the build. Powervital, Elation and Salutation tall pieces use the same technical fabrics as their regular counterparts. Tall is not a cheapened variant, which is exactly why it sells out at full price.
Who each fit is for: regular is cut for roughly 5’4” to 5’8”. Tall is cut for 5’9” and up.
The real difference is selection. Regular covers the whole line; tall is a subset of about 270 style-colors at any given time, concentrated in leggings, pants and longer tops. Runs are also shallower, so XS, XL and numeric 14 to 16 go first.
Numbers vary by style; Athleta’s per-product size charts are good and worth reading.
What to buy in Athleta tall
Leggings first. This is the core of the program and the reason it exists. The technical fabrics (Powervital, Elation, Salutation lines) are identical to regular; tall is not a cheapened variant, which is why it sells out at full price.
Woven pants are the sleeper. Wide-leg and jogger silhouettes in tall, in fabrics you can wear to an office, are close to unicorns. When a linen or travel pant shows up in tall, it does not survive the month (our weekly report flags them when they land).
Dresses and one-pieces when they appear. Tall coverage here is thin but the torso scaling makes them the best-fitting knit dresses in the rotation.
Don’t expect tall everything. Sports bras don’t need it, but shorts and many fashion tops simply never get a tall cut. If a style has tall, that’s already a signal the length matters in it.
When tall is missing or sold out
Two situations come up constantly, so here’s the playbook:
The style has no tall cut. Check the regular version’s size chart anyway. A handful of Athleta’s wide-leg and flare styles cut generous inseams in regular (some reach 33+ inches in the taller letter sizes), and on those the regular cut can work to about 6’0”. The chart tells you; the style name doesn’t.
Your tall size is gone. Do not size up to get length. Athleta’s grading adds width with each size, not meaningful inseam, so an XL tall need is not solved by an XXL regular. Set the restock alert instead; Athleta does trickle returns back into inventory, and tall pieces reappear in ones and twos.
The guarantee changes the math
Athleta’s Give-It-A-Workout guarantee means you can put tall gear through a real workout and return it if it doesn’t perform. Combined with Gap Inc’s in-store return counters (shared with Gap and Old Navy), Athleta is the zero-risk way to find your tall activewear size. First order: get your usual size and one adjacent, work out in the keeper’s rival, return what loses.
How to shop it
- Buy at full price when it’s right. Advice we give nowhere else in the mall. Tall runs are too shallow to gamble on a markdown appearing in your size, and the guarantee removes the fit risk that usually justifies waiting.
- Watch the sale section anyway. Athleta marks down deeply but quietly; 60 to 75% off tall happens in brief windows. Our sale radar exists for exactly these.
- Know your line names. Athleta reuses fabric platforms across styles. Once you know your size in one Elation piece, you know it in all of them.
Comparing programs? The tall sizing comparison lines Athleta up against Old Navy, Gap and J.Crew, and the newsletter gets you each week’s tall drops before the size runs thin out.
Frequently asked questions
How much longer is Athleta tall than regular?
Roughly three inches of inseam, plus added torso length in tops and one-pieces. A full-length tall legging runs about a 31 to 32 inch inseam versus about 28.5 regular, and a tall 7/8 legging lands around 27 to 28 inches. Honesty note: 31 to 32 inches only works because leggings are cut to end at the ankle; on a 6'2" frame the tall full-length reads closer to 7/8. It's the longest activewear made, not actually long.
What sizes does Athleta tall come in?
Leggings and tops generally run XS to XL in tall letters; woven pants often use numeric sizing around 0 to 16. Tall runs are narrower than regular, and the ends of the run (XS, XL, 14, 16) disappear first.
Can I return Athleta tall leggings after wearing them?
Yes. Athleta's Give-It-A-Workout guarantee applies to tall: if the gear doesn't perform after a real workout, you can return it. That makes Athleta the only store in our rotation where trying tall sizing carries essentially zero risk.
Does Athleta make every style in tall?
No, and this is the main limitation. Tall covers a subset of the line (we track around 270 tall style-colors at any time), concentrated in leggings, pants and longer tops. Sports bras, most shorts and many fashion pieces never get a tall cut.
What height is Athleta tall for?
Athleta doesn't publish a strict range, but the added inseam and torso length are built for roughly 5'9" and up. To about 6'0" the tall full-length reaches the ankle; anything taller, expect a 7/8 read. That's still more length than anything else in activewear offers, which is the category's problem in a sentence.