Some London rooms were built to be entered slowly: the ballrooms along Park Lane, the long approach into the Savoy from the Strand, the chandeliered corridors of the older Mayfair hotels. These are places where height and posture are quietly noticed. Nine girls on our route stand between 172 and 178 cm, and they wear that height the way a good coat is worn, without effort and without apology.
In heels they meet most eyes across a reception. In flats, strolling the Embankment after dinner, they make easy walking partners who never need to hurry to keep up. Either way, what people remember is their composure more than the measuring tape.
Violetta stands 178 cm, with sleek black hair falling straight, and lives in Belgravia; stand-up comedy and bookshops keep her conversation sharp. Stacy follows at 176 cm, slim with near-black brown hair and a quick wit, living in Chelsea, where snowboarding plans and street photography fill her free days. Milena, 175 cm, pairs a statuesque frame with curves, black hair and a love of tennis and ceramics in South Kensington.
Karolina and Samanta both stand 174 cm. Karolina plays piano and adores opera, and Samanta, who lives in Mayfair, plays violin and has an expert eye for a well designed hotel.
Michelle and Vanessa are 173 cm. Michelle, curvy with straight dark brown hair, sails and mixes cocktails from her Chelsea home, and Vanessa, slim with a sandy balayage, cycles the canal paths near her home in Paddington.
Angelika, athletic with long straight black hair, keeps her tennis sharp and her evenings full of jazz and contemporary art. Patricia, slim with auburn brown hair, paints watercolours in Belgravia and knows her film noir by heart. Both carry their height with a relaxed ease that looks as right in a hotel bar as it does on a gallery floor.
Height reads well in a crowded room, which is why this look so often answers an event companion request: a charity gala, an awards dinner, a client reception where you would like someone beside you who is comfortable being introduced. The four hour rate of £1,300 covers most receptions. An event booking asks for a 50 percent deposit, its travel share non-refundable, exactly as the rates page sets out.
For any formal evening, tell the desk the venue and its dress code, and whether she should be introduced as a friend, a partner for the night or simply by her first name. Ten minutes over a drink beforehand, in the bar at The Dorchester or a quiet corner of your own hotel, lets you both walk in already at ease. Tall girls in evening dress are noticed, so a little shared story makes the whole night flow.
Most statuesque girls also ride another line. Karolina, Patricia, Samanta, Stacy, Vanessa and Violetta are among the slim and slender, Michelle and Milena among the curvaceous, and Angelika with the toned and athletic. For contrast, the petite page gathers the girls at the other end of the scale.
Say where tonight finds you and roughly what time, and the desk replies with the names of who can meet you there. WhatsApp or Telegram, answered all night long.