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Work wear advice for an overweight guy

cogitoergo

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bit scarred, please be gentle!

So I've been poking around on here for a little while and while this is my first post I wanted to use it to ask for some help that I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

For starters I'm a heavier guy, I wouldn't say obese, but definitely fat. I stand 5'11 and I wear a size 56 regular suit. I have a 20 inch neck and 36 inch arms. I've seen folks on here complain about getting tents when they buy dress shirts, try buying a dress shirt with a 20 inch neck, they could cover a boat and I always have trouble with these and either fold them in the back or have them cut down. I have a 44 inch waist and a 30 inch inseam.

This is what I have:
Blue sports coat(I normally wear with charcoal pants)
Charcoal pin stripe suit
Olive suit
Collection of white/light blue and standard color men's dress shirts
Collection of khaki, brown, black standard men's slacks - pleated
Simple Brown dressier shoes
Simple Black dressier shoes

The pants are tailored to my leg length, slight break. The suits are tailored, but I wouldn't say well. Buying at my size off the rack is VERY difficult, my shoulder size necessitates a much bigger suit than the rest of my body and so I get a lot of excess fabric around my midsection that no tailor has been able to sufficiently remove. Additionally, I have quite big fore and upper arms which means most suits bind up in this area.

I always wear braces when I wear a coat as I feel it makes wearing slacks much more comfortable, they sit at the right height, they don't slide down a lot, and I feel more importantly I don't look like I've got this strap tied around my middle squeezing me. I like the idea of wearing vests but have heard they are over done.

So what's the advice I'm looking for? Well I'm starting a new job soon in a major US city. I'm not doing marketing or working in some swanky law firm, but I am doing IT work for a Govt agency. I need to wear a button down shirt, slacks and a tie to work daily but don't need to wear a coat and I believe wearing a suit would be over dressed.

I could of course go in every day in my white or light blue shirt and khaki/brown/grey pants, comfortable but dressy brown shoes, neutral colored tie, but I don't want to wear that. I want to look better than that and be more comfortable than that.

So can you all help me?
Where do I start?
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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The only advice I can really give is to get everything made to measure. I have the same problem but at the opposite end of the scale, everything OTR is too big so I have to get most things MTM. It's a ***** but there's not much else you can do if you want everything to fit properly.

Originally Posted by cogitoergo
I wouldn't say obese, but definitely fat.

I don't wanna sound harsh, but technically obesity only requires a BMI of >30. At your height if you weigh much more than 95kg then you're obese, and judging by your measurements that sounds likely?
 

Wolfador

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Welcome, you are actually almost the same measurements as me.

For shirts I do Special Order ones from Brooks where I can get an "slim" body customized with my neck and sleeve measurements. Cuts down on the "tenting."
 

JubeiSpiegel

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Same as the first comment, made to measure is going to have to be your answer. It can be a pain, I've been there, losing a bit of weight did wonders for the range of clothing now available to me. Chin up though, let us know how your MTM search goes, and welcome to SF
smile.gif
 

cogitoergo

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Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum
I don't wanna sound harsh, but technically obesity only requires a BMI of >30. At your height if you weigh much more than 95kg then you're obese, and judging by your measurements that sounds likely?

Yes, by the BMI scale I am obese, however I'm not out of shape really. My Doctor actually described me as the most in shape obese person he's ever seen. I'm very active, soccer, rugby, scuba diving biking, hiking. I just have the body of a rugby prop if anyone is familiar with that and can't seem to get rid of it. Massive thighs, all muscle, go figure.

Thanks though, I figured MTM would be the only way to go.
 

cogitoergo

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Any ideas on colors, styles, fabrics, that kind of thing. Summer where I live can be 100 degrees with 90% humidity and winters are below zero and painfully dreary.
 

Mac

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http://www.beachbody.com/product/fit...ms/insanity.do No, I'm not kidding. Yes, it does work. I lost two stone in two months. EDIT: Apparently you are in shape. I know the BMI scale isn't conclusive as (for example) bodybuilders according to their BMI are clinically obese.
 

Renton

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I too fall into the overweight category, so most things are mtm. Cost can be an issue, but it causes me to choose my clothing carefully.
 

JubeiSpiegel

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Originally Posted by cogitoergo
Any ideas on colors, styles, fabrics, that kind of thing. Summer where I live can be 100 degrees with 90% humidity and winters are below zero and painfully dreary.

By SF standards, anything synthetic is not worth buying, clothing wise. I know dark colors on shirts are slimming, but it makes for horrible contrast, and style. Pastel colors are safe for the most part. I would ramble about good shoes, but since you do I. T., you might be doing all kinds of things in all sorts of places. So get something comfortable, Hope that helps a little.
 

cogitoergo

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Originally Posted by Mac
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fit...ms/insanity.do

No, I'm not kidding. Yes, it does work. I lost two stone in two months.

EDIT: Apparently you are in shape. I know the BMI scale isn't conclusive as (for example) bodybuilders according to their BMI are clinically obese.


I actually did recently lose some weight, lost 4 inches from my waist and 2 inches from my shoulders. Made finding clothing that fit even harder!
 

cogitoergo

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Originally Posted by JubeiSpiegel
By SF standards, anything synthetic is not worth buying, clothing wise. I know dark colors on shirts are slimming, but it makes for horrible contrast, and style. Pastel colors are safe for the most part. I would ramble about good shoes, but since you do I. T., you might be doing all kinds of things in all sorts of places. So get something comfortable, Hope that helps a little.

My father always taught me you can tell more about a man from the shoes he wears than any other piece of clothing.

Any suggestions on functional without looking like work boots? Someone suggested Allen Edmonds casual. Thoughts?
 

cogitoergo

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Oh, and I can't believe I've forgotten this but HUGE THANK YOU to everyone so far. I really appreciate the advice and the welcome!
 

GBR

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Dificult to say and another seeking advice as an early post...

You are I'm afraid all you don';t want to face up to so maybe some exercise would help you achieve your objective.

There are shops which cater for the overweight and MTM tailors.

The issue is not what you own but how you fit it I'm afraid. Face up to reality?
 

gotlighters

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honestly, the first thing you should do is work out and lose some weight. There's no point in spending all that money into nice clothes cause once you lose that weight, they won't fit correctly anymore. Buying a nice wardrobe should be your incentive.
 

LanceW

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I'm in IT and went from a 56L in '09 to my current 52L in '10. Anything that can be slimmed and trimmed helps me from looking any bigger than I already am. Shirts are MTM. I wear Bill's Khakis most days. Try the M2 fit but if they are too narrow for your thighs you can slim some M1s a bit.
 

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