My hypothesis, If you want to be considered as "very tall", this is the sweet spot:
I think in Asian country the sweet-spot is 180-183, because in Singapore and South Korea you would be the top 5-15 percent with those figures. 178 cm is pretty common nowadays in Asian countries, I don't know why, but that would be considered above average, that's all.
In a non-Asian country like America, add 4 cm because the average is 4 cm greater (cf, Singapore;s average height is officially 172 but I really doubt it, just as people doubt the average of America as 176). So the sweet spot is probably 184-187.
In Scandinavia, add another 4 cm, and 188-191 cm is pretty much the sweet spot to stand out as "very tall"
IMO, in Asia, if you are 180-183, and in America if you are 184-187 (or slightly below even), I do not think that girls will feel "short changed" if you take off your lifts.
Lets say you are 188cm with lift, and you take off your lifts, you are 185cm, you are still pretty tall. In fact, most girls would not even notice it as you are still towering over them. I doubt a girl would feel short-changed, even if she is 170-175 tall.
IMO, I would not date a girl who is above 175-178. (But it all depends)
IMHO, we doubt the official average figures, because
1) we do not see the short guys or do not notice them
2) we tend to be insecure about our height and each tall person that comes along, we attribute more weight to it and reinforce our self-prophecy.
3) try eye-balling the height of about 100 people or even on dating sites, chances are, in Singapore, the figures as I said above is pretty accurate (when I was 180 cm with shoes, which is 178 without shoes, I was the top 10-15 percent in a shpping mall). dating sites, you take an average using excel, the average is exactly the same as official average. Subtract 1-3 cm off for self-inflation, and it is actually lower than national average(probably because shorter people have to use the apps?)
In essence, our perception about height is skewed and biased. The official figures are accurate.
I also say the above is the sweet-spot because you can always quote your morning height, or as what celebrities do, add 1-2 inches.