Clothes for the Short Guy - Stores, Brands/Lines, Websites

[enofile]

I am envious of all you thin guys. Yet, I am 64, so there is a feasible excuse.
Short of stature has been an impediment in my quest to dress fashionably for most of my life. While I have been 5 feet 4 inches tall since Fifth Grade, my weight and girth have fluctuated from 125 pounds when I played point guard for George Washington University to 190 pounds after I discovered French food and wine. Today, with a ludicrous amount of exercise, I am about 5 feet 3.5 inches tall (yes, you will shrink as you get older) and 155 pounds. Unfortunately, age widens your stature in spite of aerobics and weight lifting. I can wear a 40 to 42 Regular and have a tailor shorten the jacket. Sized "Short" jackets simply do not fit an athletic body very well and have the tendency to make me look stockier then I am. I have had clothes made to order in NYC and Savile Row. However, to look the most stylish, I depend on the following designers and manufacturers:
Giorgio Armani
Paul Smith
Canali
Theory
Hugo Boss
As for shirts, I used a shirt maker in NYC for one custom made shirt and then sent that shirt to "Modern Tailor" in China. They now use those measurements to create great fitting shirts for around $50.00. They did send my $200.00 shirt back to me.

Pants are almost impossible since I wear a 34 waist and I have a 27 inch inseam. I try to wear slim jeans with a short rise. Joe's Jeans and 3 X 1 OTR jeans fit me best.

If you have suggestions, let me know. Thanks

 

[CaptainMiguel]

Hey all. I am 5'5" and slim with a fit and semi-athletic build. I usually wear a size 29 or 30 waist trousers, depending on the brand and I like my clothes to look tailored and slim but not skin tight.

I've been experimenting a bit with casual shirts and oxfords and have had good results with the following:

J Crew Slim Fit (XS) - I believe these are designed for someone who is around 5’8” so they required some tailoring - sleeve length and shirt length. They fit very well after that. These are probably the slimmest of all of the shirts listed, so watch for this. The arm holes are higher than typical shirts so they work well for a short guy. The collar height on most of these shirts is sort of a medium height and seems to work well for me. A couple of others had a higher collar that I don’t like as much. My only beef with the J Crew shirts is that the button spacing down the front of the shirt is proportioned for a taller guy so, after shortening the shirt a bit, the bottom button lands closer to the bottom of the shirt. Though, this isn't a problem for shirts that I tuck in. www.jcrew.com

Peter Manning Slim (Size 2) - Bought online. I can’t imagine it getting much better than this, right off the bat, with the exception of Jimmy Au. These are almost perfect in length and overall fit but a slightly looser fit than what I prefer so I took mine in for some very minor tailoring around the torso to make them more slim. The collar height is a tad bit larger than the J Crew shirts which is okay. The spacing of the buttons down the front is perfect for a guy my height and just looks right. Arm holes, pocket placement, etc all great. Highly recommended. www.petermanningnyc.com

Brooks Brothers Black Fleece (XS) - Bought online. Similar to J Crew but baggier in the sleeves and torso. A couple of these were great after some minor tailoring (overall length, sleeve length and sleeve width) but others took quite a bit of darting in the back area to remove some billowy sack-like bagginess. This might be okay for someone who likes a looser fit but I had to spend quite a bit of money getting these to look as good as the other brands, which required much less tailoring. Collar height is higher than the J Crew and Peter Manning... probably the highest that I would ever want to go. The button spacing isn’t ideal for a short guy - once I shorten the length of these, the last button looks too close to the bottom of the shirt. When I’m not tucking in, I will usually leave the bottom button unbuttoned so it looks more natural. www.brooksbrothers.com

Jimmy Au's (XS) - Bought in-store. The closest to being perfect right off the rack. Very similar to Peter Manning in that the proportions are all designed with a short guy in mind. The button spacing, arm holes, and pocket placement are all great. Collar height seems perfectly proportional for me. They did some minor tailoring for me right on the spot - just a little bit of shortening and a tiny bit of slimming around the torso. These are probably my best fitting casual shirts at the moment. Again, highly recommended. www.jimmyaus.com

Hugh and Crye (Short Skinny) - Bought online. Out of the box, these probably would fit a slim 5’7” guy perfectly. The fit falls somewhere between the J Crew XS and the Black Fleece shirts. I needed to get the shirt length and sleeve length shortened a bit. The shoulder and torso fit is great. The collar height falls somewhere between Black Fleece and Jimmy Au - totally fine. Arm holes are in a good spot for a short guy and the button spacing isn’t perfect but, after some tailoring, the shirts look more natural than the Black Fleece and J Crew shirts. www.hughandcrye.com

Salt Valley - Urban Outfitters (XS) - Like the J Crew shirts, the Salt Valley shirts fit well and look very good after a tiny bit of tailoring on the sleeve length and overall length. I've taken some out of the sides on a few of these too. Arm holes, button spacing, pocket placement, collar height, etc are all very good. In fact, I think these shirts look more "right" than the J Crew or Brooks Brothers, similar to the Jimmy Au and Peter Manning, but Salt Valley's quality isn't quite there with the other brands I've listed and they offer flannel western shirts as well as patterned spring/summer casual lightweight shirts. I don't think they do basic oxfords, etc. www.urbanoutfitters.com


I hope this is helpful. I'll continue to post my findings.

 

[holymoly]

Thanks CaptainMiguel for contributing to this thread. I have a couple of JCrew Slim Fit XS. The sleeve lengths need to be shortened but I can live with the shirt length by tucking in. The quality of fabric and the sewing are pretty good. The Regular and Tailored Fits are still too baggy for me.

 

[coloRLOw]

FYI, i just list 2 Mario Muscariello sportcoats in size 34 on B&S
maybe can meet your need.
Thanks

 

[themodestman]

Great post!

 

[Master-Classter]

I just visited NYC and made my pilgrimage to Uniqlo. I know it's not 'fancy' stuff, but honestly every time I go, I walk out with a huge pile of stuff for a little pile of money and everything just fits perfectly. Their OCBD's, Sportscoat, pants, everything in XS and 28/29 waist and it's all just perfect. If you have one near you or can do internet orders with returns, I highly recommend trying their stuff.

 

[themodestman]

How is the sleeve and hem length on their casual button up shirts (worn untucked)? Also, how tall are you again (if you don't mind me asking)?

 

[Sybaris]

I'm 5'6", usually weigh in around 160. 32" waist X 30" inseam, 40" chest. I seem to have pretty good luck with designers who produce a slim fit model in their shirts and pants.

For shirts BB slim fit 15 1/2 neck, 32" sleeve fits perfect. Tommy Hilfiger shirts fit me well also.

For pants Ballin Soho slim fit Super 120's from Bradshaw Forbes fit well but of course they have to be hemmed. For casual office wear Dockers Iron Free Khaki D2 Straight Fit Flat Front need no alterations for me.

As mentioned before Canali suites fit short guys pretty good and I have several of those that only needed minor alterations in sleeve and pants length.

Someone asked about ties. I've gotten all of my ties from Forzieri. They have slimmer, shorter ties that match our stature.

 

[singjai]



I'm 5'6", usually weigh in around 160. 32" waist X 30" inseam, 40" chest. I seem to have pretty good luck with designers who produce a slim fit model in their shirts and pants.

For shirts BB slim fit 15 1/2 neck, 32" sleeve fits perfect. Tommy Hilfiger shirts fit me well also.

For pants Ballin Soho slim fit Super 120's from Bradshaw Forbes fit well but of course they have to be hemmed. For casual office wear Dockers Iron Free Khaki D2 Straight Fit Flat Front need no alterations for me.

As mentioned before Canali suites fit short guys pretty good and I have several of those that only needed minor alterations in sleeve and pants length.

Someone asked about ties. I've gotten all of my ties from Forzieri. They have slimmer, shorter ties that match our stature.

What size in Tommy Hilfiger dress shirts are you.? I'm almost the same exact size as you. Have you tried banana republic? How do those shirts fit? I really like 7 Diamond short sleeve shirts in Medium. They fit me the best so far casual wise.

 

[Sybaris]

What size in Tommy Hilfiger dress shirts are you.? I'm almost the same exact size as you. Have you tried banana republic? How do those shirts fit? I really like 7 Diamond short sleeve shirts in Medium. They fit me the best so far casual wise.

In TH the slim fit 16 32/33. Haven't tried BR. For short sleeve the BB slim fit polo's in medium fit me well.

 

[P12OFIT]

Have you guys had any luck finding sweatpants that fit appropriately? It seems as though most sweatpants are a 32" inseam at best, which is most likely too long for the majority of us.

 

[DayTripper]



Have you guys had any luck finding sweatpants that fit appropriately?  It seems as though most sweatpants are a 32" inseam at best, which is most likely too long for the majority of us.

The sweatpants at Uniqlo for me okay. I'm 5'4" and wear a size S

 

[Master-Classter]

yeah was just going to say, I'm not much of a sweatpants guy but actually the uniqlo ones in small work pretty well. The inseam is a little long, but not much, and I wouldn't bother shortening and tapering them. Even a little hot soak might take up an inch there as needed.


At this point I've pretty much switched most of my sweaters and shirts to slim fit XS from Uniqlo and Club Monaco and most of my pants are 28 Club Monaco Davis slim fit chinos and Wings&Horns Khakies and Nudie Slim Jims (28-29) or Grim Timms, and APC Petite Standards in 27.
The above is like 90% of my rather large wardrobe.

 

[P12OFIT]

Not necessarily "short guy" related but I am having a hard time finding OTC sock recommendations on the forum. My main concerns are staying power because I cannot stand when socks fall down and cost. What brands do you guys prefer?

 

[Master-Classter]

and size! How can you sell shoes down to the half size, but then for socks it's just like sorry, size 8-12 for everyone good luck. I've started buying womens socks since technically I'm a 10 in womens so at the upper end of their range. All the good ones like Gold Toe, or even Uniqlo are all way way too big (I'm a size 8)