Ask Dethroner: Stylish Clothes for the Big and Tall?
Published by Joel September 26th, 2006 in Ask Dethroner, Clothes. Share This
Jim D. writes:
I’m about six foot eight and have almost never owned more than a few moderately cool t-shirts in my entire life. I also am a web designer / programmer and have a job where I can wear cool t-shirts every day. But I do not own cool t-shirts. Thusly my life sucks and is hollow.Could you do an article on where the huge and gigantic can find sweet clothes? I’m looking for 3X-Tall here.
Wow, it’s rough out there for the big and tall. I spent a good part of the day trying to find good looking clothes for someone your size and I can’t say I found much to speak of. Sure, there’s the standard khakis and casual shirts, but not that’s really swish. I’m going to have to put this one out to the readers and hope for the best!
You have a great website, but this is truly uninspired. I think that big and tall is really overplayed. What about doing an article about where to shop if you are not gangly and obese? Do something for the short dudes. I seriously stalk Asian people and try and follow them into stores so I can see if they stock clothes that don’t just start at “medium”.
Big and tall man, you should just ask people on the subway where the hell they got there clothes because I see people that are normal with Gigantic clothing on everywhere. It’s ok man. Just go outside. Talk to people. You won’t scare them. Although you are freakishly tall.
Being a large man myself, I often am lacking for clothes (big men in small clothes is not a good thing). Now, I’m not sure if this is what your reader is looking for but Rochester Big and Tall (http://www.rochesterclothing.com/) stocks a wide variety of designer duds for the discerning fat fellow. Luckily, they were bought by Casual Male XL. Why is that lucky? Because there is probably a mall in your area with a Casual Male XL, and they are now stocking some of the things that Rochesters has. Still, Rochester is the place to go.
If you’re in Philly, Boyd’s has a nice big and tall shop too, but they aren’t national.
Being a big dude isn’t easy and those of us without an NBA/NFL income can’t really afford custom clothes. I’m 6′1″/300lbs (more OddJob than Homer Simpson) and shirts that fit my neck are tent-like in the body. What I do is then take the ones that fit my neck and have them taken in by the local dry cleaner/alteration joint. Now I have a shirt that fits for $20 extra bucks. You just have to accept that you’re not going to be the pinnacle of style every day out but if you find a couple of good pieces, you’ll at least have something to wear on occasions or nights out on the town.
Also, a lot of the make-your-own t-shirt sites on the Web offer every size on the planet so make your own “cool” shirts and be the envy of all your friends.
Express for men offers their line of MX dress shirts in XXL in store. I’m 6′8″ 240lbs and they fit and look great. When it come to Big and Tall shops, it has been my experience that the pendulum has swung way towards the “Big” folks (probably something to do with their larger gravitational pull), and the stuff that does fit regular tall people tends to look like dog shit. Gap and Banana Republic offer a lot of their stuff in tall sizes online also. As far as t-shirts go, I’ve found that online is the best route. There are approximately 5 gillion t-shirt websites (a lot of them suck all types of balls, but many are good) and the vast majority offer their shirts in XXL or larger. I don’t know what type of t-shirt you’re looking for (funny, stylish, hypercolor, etc.) but just throw “t-shirts” into a search engine and start perusing. Hope this helped you out some, sorry if I offended any fat people.
the gay man says -
i’m 6′7″ so i can relate. i don’t have trouble with t-shirts being too short like you seem to but i know the whole feeling of having to buy things from a world that fits different.
my suggestions -
buy some white (or black) long sleeved t-shirts in a huge size. you can wear these under your favorite tees and the extra length will allow for shortage. stretch tank tops can also handle the same damage control.
work your abs more at the gym. if people are going to see them, at least give them a cheap thrill.
low slung pants are (hopefully) not your friend. if you can see the anatomical lines that lead to your yaya, then they are too low.
get a proper fitting blazer you can wear over your tees when you need to. not only will you hide the midsection but you’ll look snazzy for meetings. for winter, try and find a herringbone tweed or something with a muted pattern that plays off your tee.
shop online. there are more options out there for us tall drinks of water more than ever now. good luck!
just shop at ECKO.com http://www.shopecko.com/
there clothing is just huge. I wear Large all the time - buy mediom from them still looks like XL on me. wtf?
and they carry XXXL too.
Not the best choice of clothing for office? True. Have to order normal clothing custom made then.. I order my shirts from China.. custom sizing plus your initials on the cuffs. pretty neat and not expesive at all.
I hounded Joel about this yesterday, but if you are of varying sizes from xs to THE THING, Tactical Clothing can be your salvation. As cops come in all shapes from the “picked on in high school” short prick to the “whatchu lookin at boy” big belly officers of the deep south. http://www.511tactical.com/ has really well made t-shirts, shirts, pants, jackets, and even sportcoats with places to hide your piece. They were founded by Royal Robbins (nice travel wear).
I’ve actually experienced this problem (trying to shop for Lurch).
The point is for you people who keep suggesting places that sell XXXL- when you’re tall and skinny XXXL makes you look like you just lost 200 pounds but didn’t bother to update your wardrobe.
Big and Tall stores usually stock 1 pair of extra long pants with a waist size under 48″ so they can technically meet the Tall requirement. And that pair of pants is pleated, shiny brown, is proportioned wrong and is stained because it’s sat around the store for 6 years.
Jim D. here: Wow, thanks Joel for doing this. It isn’t that it is hard to find clothes at my size. I want cool T-shirts. I wrote in to Dethroner after reading the “Kindred T-Shirts: Like a Scrapbooking Class Got in a Paste Fight (In a Good Way)” article. That’s it, just some cool big and tall T-shirts.
The problem is that most big and tall stores seem to place the emphasis on the “and”. Casual Male is a great example… as Catnip said, the waist sizes for pants usually start well above 40″. I need to find a place that caters to big and/or tall customers — I am 6′5″ but only 200lbs.
Thus far, for most anything, all I can find online (or, frequently in the store) is Eddie Bauer. But, like the original poster, I am interested in cool t-shirts of the type from bustedtees and the like. But, I need XL-T, not XXXXL.
Hip-hop lines like Ecko and LRG usually have large size clothing. But if your looking for something more trendy then try Target. Yes I’m 6′4, and 240 and I found some great t-shirts and a sports coat out of Target for nothing.
I am 6′6″ and have 36″ waist… shirt size 16.6 / 37″ I find most my clothers from the following:
markshale.com
nordstroms.com
bananarepublic.com
jcrew.com
ctshirts.co.uk
paulfrederick.com
josabank.com
brooksbrothers.com
I also have size 14 shoe… Allenedmonds.com, zappos.com, nordstroms.com, oddballshoe.com
JC
Hit tshirthell.com they have up to 5XL.
~Brian
not big or tall but I still can’t find stuff that fits correctly … 5′11″ 125 lbs. Try finding jeans in like a 29/34. The normal jean stores seem to carry one pair that size like once a year (and I buy it then I have to wait another year). btw what is it with the carpenter pants and being really big in the waist… I finally found a pair or two that said they were a 29 waist and I could fit in them twice. If I want to by carpenter pants I have to shop in the kids section *yah … good luck finding a 34 length in the kids section* … Sigh.
At 6′ 6′ and 185 I’d love to find some shirts that fit. I went into a “big and tall” shop once and got laughed out, I’m not scrawny this is like spring steel ask my wife. But really how ’bout some clothes that don’t hang like an anorexic runway models couture.
i am 5′10″ and weigh 375. i look like the short fat guy henchman from every crime movie. i have found that casual male has some pretty good stuff as far as work and dresss. as far as casual, reebok, ecko and pelle pelle seem to fit pretty well also.
ok…..this is the problem…..i am really into high fashion….but it seems that none of the clothes that i find will ever fit me. unlike most of you guys(and i certainly feel your pain) im neither really tall….or really fat. im only 6′1″ and 275. size 46 waist. no one has my size. why does all big and tall have to damn near start at a 48 and up and then when they do have a 46 its in no type of decent style. i mean dammit people im only 21. help me out!!!!
Here’s the thing- BIG and TALL can be mutually exclusive. The BIG guys out there have a fair amount of options. Tall guys? Not as much. My boyfriend is 6′6″ and 215 lbs- where does he shop? With me, at http://www.averytallman.com. I started this clothing store to cater to tall men- not big & tall, just TALL. Hopefully this helps some people out! Good luck, tall ones!
K
well i know exactly how Jim D. feels.. to tell you the truth, i was looking at all the cool shirts that Ed Hardy has, but i know for a fact that they dont have my size.. and im sure they are the type of shirts Jim would have liked. Im 6′5, 340 lbs. so i have a pretty hard time shopping for clothes. yea yea yea.. there’s the big and tall stores, but i find those stores to be more for older men (i am 20 years old). I want to be in cool looking t-shirts with cool designs like tattoos and all that on them, but the companies who make them dont make them for people of my size, and i think thats why i look into alot of hip-hop/urban stores to look for cool looking shirts. either that of just go to my local Burlington Coat Factory and just look for shirts there. you might find what you need there, even though there is not a MEN’s section on their website, they still have a BIG AND TALL section in all their stores with some cool shirts. but there is also this store in houston call Suit Mart. they carry some nice shirts some times too, you can try to order something online if you want, but im not sure if you can (http://www.suitmart.com/index.html). but yea, im tired of going to the same stores to find NOTHING.. i want shirts that i actually like, not shirts that i only where because they fit me.
you can often distinguish between the tall people and the not-tall people in these sorts of discussions as the not-tall people generally suggest various superlatives of the XL shirt.
the more Xs means that the shirt gets wider; therefore, the shoulder line goes past the tall man’s shoulder, and starts running down the arm, giving the illusion that the shirt actually fits. but it doesn’t, as they’re never long enough in the mid-section, which many people have broached so far in this discussion. and those sleeves just look weird on a 30-year old man. i got away with it when i was 20, but i’m tired of looking like an asshole.
i’m 6 foot 8 inches, 287 lbs. i have a 38″ to 40″ waist and a 36″ inseam (i think). i say ‘i think’ because i’ve actually never worn jeans or pants in this size. my demographic, as far as i can tell, does not exist. the exceptions to this rule are ‘the gap’, but a) they don’t ship to canada, where i live and b) i am hesitant to purchase something online as i would prefer to try it on; additionally, i can’t help be worry that returning something that didn’t fit would bite me in the ass in terms of return shipping.
i’ve often said that someone would make a mint if they offered an online service (with hassle-free returns) that specializes in tall clothing that does not look like the oversized errors of a clothing company. and doesn’t carry ecko or phat farm or sean john. those labels have their place, and i envy those that can wear those comfortably, but i’m not going to be wearing those denim tents, thanks.
I’m 6′7″ 270lbs, and I’ve actually had a lot of good luck with GAP. They let you return the stuff at the stores if it doesn’t fit you right. Luckybrandjeans.com is the only place I can find jeans that fit right (shirts probably won’t fit you there though). And if you do get a pair that doesn’t fit, then they make it real easy to return the stuff. Zappos is great for shoes, but you’ll pay a little more. I get almost everything tailored. The most I ever had to pay for a tailoring was probably $30 for a blazer. So, I think it’s totally worth it. Hard part is trying to find a good tailor. I’ve also had some luck at JCPenny stores, but you’ll for sure want to go to tailor for their stuff.
I feel your pain. As a 6′4″ 330 pound man I find it extremely hard to find anything that fits right. I usually order from oldnavy.com since they carry 3XL tall clothing. Some seem to fit alright and other are no good. I just retrun them to the store with no problems.
For tee shirts I have had luck at this site http://flippinsweetgear.com and bought 3xl shirts that aren’t exactly talls, but they aren’t tents either. The dark colored shirts have held up in the wash and didn’t shrink too much vertically. They have tons of vintage pop culture tees that are probably what you are looking for.
Hey Jim D. i hear ya all the way. I am am 6′7 315 with a 42inch waist 36in inseam. I normally wear 2x xtra tall if i can find it. I have long arms 37to371/2 length so i now what you mean trying to find cool clothing. Its soo hard, surprised the industry havent opened there eyes yet to realized there is a market out there for bigntall guys. If it was like 10-15 years ago i would say okay but this size is not uncommon these days. I wish Levis would get on the ball and market there vintage line towards us fellas. If you go to the websit Cultizm.com they have vintage levis. For a while they had big sizes for awhile. I bought repros 1955 and 1936 buttonflys but the only problem is they are shrink to fit. I actually bought a 44×38 and 42×38. I havent washed them yet until i lose a few pounds more. My only concern is the length, i hope they dont get shorter than 35inch. Actually today they added 1966 preshrunk in size 38×38. Really cool jeans the repros are. Affliction clothing has jeans up to a 42 waist but the length is only 34inch, not quite there yet. There shirts run up to 3x but are very small still, i bought one and its undersized. They have boardshorts which are very cool too, up to 42waist. Most of my shopping is done at casual male. They come the closest to whats hip today and its really not much. I hope it gets better soon but i really dont see that happening quick.