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Style Help...for a friend.

post #1 of 12
8/21/08 at 4:51pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

I have a friend who's about 5'9", weighs about 210 lbs. BF % is about 25%. He's insistent that he can wear medium-size shirts and size 33 pants. It looks awful. Buttons bursting, pants really tight, stomach hanging over jeans like crazy- but whenever I try to tell him, he doesn't listen, and insists that this is how his clothes should be worn.

I've talked with my other friends, and they agree that he should wear a bigger size. I know this is a stupid question, but do you guys have any ideas on how I convince him to at least try on an XL? Just to see how it looks.

Yes, this is a really dumb question. Perhaps I shouldn't care. Anyways, I'm ready for tips!
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post #2 of 12
8/21/08 at 6:20pm
Take a picture and show it to him.
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post #3 of 12
8/21/08 at 6:43pm
by a bunch of oversized sean john apparel and tell him this is the opposite of what you look like.
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post #4 of 12
8/21/08 at 7:28pm
That's a toughie. Maybe slip him a copy of a good book on dress, with plenty of good pictures. Even something a tad more dressy, like Flusser's dressing the man could help, at least show him when clothes look well, and get him to start comparing himself to classic dressers. Also, perhaps a slower movement - from medium to large would be in order.
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post #5 of 12
8/21/08 at 7:46pm
Well this is an unusual one for SF.
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post #6 of 12
8/21/08 at 8:00pm
Pretending he is Medium size is more important to him than what he actually looks like. Maybe one day his pants will burst and his shirt will rip a seam simultaneously and he will have a realization. Maybe not.


Just leave him alone...
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post #7 of 12
8/21/08 at 8:10pm
Thread Starter 
you're right. I feel like there's deep psychological issues at work. I think he feels "skinny" if he fits himself into a medium, but it just makes me cringe in a "i'm not doing my duty as a friend" sort of way.

I just don't see how this is not blaringly obvious to him. Suits, for example. Claims he's a 42S. Puts it on, can't even close the button. Says it doesn't matter, he's not going to wear the suit like that!

I guess it shouldn't really bother me, but it does. Mainly because he claims to be a paradigm of style. Maybe I'm just venting now!
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post #8 of 12
8/21/08 at 9:11pm
Since he believes he is the epitome of style, what you should have done is introduce him to this site and let things work themselves out. He would have come to realize he needs to adjust either his weight or his clothes. Now you have a potentially embarrassing thread about your friend.

Pictures will only work if the person looks with a critical eye and wants to see the faults. I can always find something wrong with the way I am dressed when caught in a photo, but I am looking for it.

My mother used to say that if people could see what they looked like from behind, many would never leave their house. A couple of unflattering candids might get the ball rolling, but without a place like here to reinforce the pictures, the momentum will be lost.

If this were a poll, I would say direct him here or leave him alone.
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post #9 of 12
8/21/08 at 9:40pm
Thread Starter 
but now he'll be able to read this post!
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post #10 of 12
8/21/08 at 9:49pm
It's natural, fat people always have to find some kind of way to rationalize why their weight isn't so bad.
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post #11 of 12
8/22/08 at 3:29pm
In my experience it'll be very difficult to get this guy to change to the next size. He seems to be more focussed on what the size on the label is more than anything else. Even if he does happen to try on larger sizes and see how well they fit, it may not be enough to completely change his opinion. Even if he does actually even buy a larger size, he'll have to wear it, and gets lots of positive feedback from people around him, and repeatedly with different larger-sized clothing. Then, he might actually concede that fit is more important than what is put on the label.

Might want to start him off with a label that practices vanity sizing. Not sure what brands those would be.
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post #12 of 12
8/22/08 at 3:51pm
Tycoon you got to update your signature.
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