Introduction and Questions

I have been lurking in the forum for several weeks, and it is an awesome resource. It is good to get recommendations and suggestions from others about what they have tried and like/dislike. I personally find shopping for clothes difficult as I am tall and skinny which puts me in the "odd size" category. For shirts I wear 15/34.5 (can do 34 or 35) shirts and that is a somewhat rare size. What is worse though is when buying non-dress shirts and sweaters. In the body I am a Medium, but in the sleeves I am a large (or a little bigger depending on the cut). I usually buy large, but either the sleeves get too short after washing, or I get alot of extra material in the body. For Jackets, I am a 38 Long which is also a pretty rare size (I almost never see the size in stores). For pants, I wear a 32x34, so jackets need to be slim fitting as well. Having an odd size can make discount shopping difficult, but can also get some good deals when something turns up since there is little competition.

Ok, on to my questions:

Given my odd preportions, do you guys have any suggestions for polo shirt or sweater companies which have a very slim cut in the body, but still long sleeves? (I have tried FCUK slim fit sweaters, but there is something off about them).

I have a pair of double-pleated wool Armani (Mani line) pants which I absolutely love - they are comftorable and look good on me. However, they are starting to wear a little and I would like to expand the trouser choices in my wardrobe. Do you have any suggestions for pants that are of comparable quality (or better)?

Thanks for the suggestions.

incotex is good quality for trousers

Both Dries Van Noten and Paul Smith cut sweaters sufficiently slim that someone who usually wears a medium can wear a large.

Welcome, jj4. Where in Philly are you from?

I actually live in Doylestown (suburb), but I go to school in the city.

Do you know Perry Ercolino, the Doylestown-based custom shoemaker?

Do you know Perry Ercolino, the Doylestown-based custom shoemaker?

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No, I don't, unfortuniatly. I will have to change that though and stop by his shop at some point.

I was in Doylestown yesterday and may be again Tuesday.  Nice place to live and visit.  I was thinking of checking out Perry Ercolino, but didn't have the time. I understand his shoes are very expensive.

BTW, if you're interested, I have a brand new Paul Stuart shirt that's 15 x 35. My arms are long, but not that long, so it's been hanging in my closet for a while.

bananarepublic.com and gap.com offer dress shirts, casual shirts, and sweaters in medium-tall, which is supposed to be about 15X35.

I actually live in Doylestown (suburb), but I go to school in the city.

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I am from Malvern/Paoli/Berwyn (Conestoga) area. I went to Haverford school for some time. Where are you going to school?

I go to Drexel.

Charles Rogers, I wonder if I actually know you, or your family. I'm from Berwyn, went to Devon Prep. Course, I've been outta there for awhile.

Major in engineering?

jj4, it sounds like you have a very similar body type to mine. I recently found that sweaters generally have longer sleeves than shirts, so a small will usually fit well in the body and have sleeves just barely long enough for my 35" arms. Definitely easier than trying to find shirts that fit. Try one on and see.

jj4, I should add that the most important thing I've done, and suggest you do, is to find a good alterations shop in the area. They taper the bodies of my RTW dress shirts and add $9.50 to the cost of every one, but it's worth it to improve the fit (though the armholes are still cut too low). BTW, welcome to the forum, all the experts make it quite an education..