Big man needs help with dress shirt issue

[bpendrak]

I am 5'11" and weigh 275 pounds. Until VERY recently I did not pay much attention to "fashion" and, rarely had any reason to wear anything more fancy than a pair of Dockers and a golf shirt or button-up. However, with a real chance at moving into a management role with my current employer, I have run into a problem. Once the promotion occurs, I will be required to wear a dress shirt and tie on a daily basis. Therefore, I have decided to start dressing nicer by wearing slacks, dress shirts, and dress shoes in preparation. Here is my main issue: in additon to the measurements above, i have very large shoulders and a thick neck. however, although still fat, my body is disproportinant to my shoulders. in fact, i once had a tailor say "what you need is a 54R athletic cut." For years I have worn an 18 1/2 neck 34/35 because it fit me through the body the best. However, without linking 3 collar extenders together, it is IMPOSSIBLE to wear a tie. Doing this also makes it tough to cover the fact that I am using several collar extenders with the tie knot. This could be embarrassing! I just bought a couple of 19 1/2 34/35 shirts and, as expected, the body swallows me whole. Is there an easy, CHEAP solution to this or am I gonna end up spending tons of money to have all of my shirts tailored? If tailoring is my only choice, is there a good place to have it done online that may be cheaper? All constructive help is greatly appreciated! And, please, don't preach to my about losing weight...

 

[JDMills]

A cheap solution is just to go to an alterationist and have them dart the shirts as much as they can, itll cost you like 10-15$ per shirt which isnt so bad if the rest all fits. Or go the online made to measure route, moderntailor.com lets you put in your measurements and you get a shirt that fits for between 50-75$ each usually, but the darting would be cheapest.

 

[Claghorn]

If you're needing to upgrade your daily attire, you'll be needing to spend serious $$$. Longer ties and, from what it sounds like, mtm shirts (which you can get on the cheap end around $70 from some of the affiliate vendors).

What is your maximum and preferred prices for various items you'll be needing (either to buy or alter)? Also, if you want to hide your weight, both jackets and suspenders are going to be your friends.

 

[bpendrak]

Thanks for the quick response, Gentlemen. I am not familiar with "darting" but did a quick google search for an explanation. Is it obvious from looking at the shirt that it has had This done?

at this point, I have already purchased a nice pair of shoes, one pair of slacks, and a navy blue Ralph Lauren blazer (unplanned purchases due to a death at the company). To start with, I want to get 3-5 dress shirts of various colors, and 2-3 pair of slacks. Once I obtain the position, and the extra money is coming in, I will add a couple of more jackets, etc. I really don't want to sound cheap here... However, I will admit that it is tough for me to spend more than around $30 on a shirt. Pants... About the same. I have had luck in finding pants around my budget. It's really the shirt issue that has me befuddled.

also, can you Gentlemen help me with another question? What is the difference between a sports coat, a blazer, and a suit coat? Please excuse my ignorance in this area.

 

[archibaldleach]

What is your drop (jacket chest measurement minus trouser waist measurement)? It may be possible to get the right dress shirt altered, though a 19.5 inch neck really limits the number of ready to wear makers you can use. I'm afraid made to measure (MTM) is likely your best possible option here. Congratulations on the potential promotion, though.

Where are you located currently? This will help us recommend some potential places to get made to measure shirts done. I would in general avoid online MTM, where you enter your measurements and they send you a shirt. The results are often inconsistent (some have luck, many don't). You are likely to get far better results having a professional measure you. This will cost you a bit more and you're probably looking at around $100+ per shirt for decent cotton. Meeting someone in person also allows you to feel the various fabrics, whereas it can be more difficult to know what you're getting online without a decent amount of research.

 

[JackAndy]

You need to go to a B&T store. They'll help you out.

 

[archibaldleach]



You need to go to a B&T store. They'll help you out.

It can't hurt to look, but I'm not so sure this will do the trick. OPs problem seems to be that the shirts that fit him in the neck are too big for him elsewhere in the body, especially in the waist. A big and tall store will have more shirts with large neck measurements, but there's no guarantee that they will fit him the way he wants them to, even with alterations.

 

[Bmeliamb]

I was recently very similar to your dimensions but with a smaller neck. I wear a suit and tie everyday. I would purchase shirts from Charles Tyrwitt (About $40/each) and have them taken in on the sides. Shirts were always the hardist fit to get down for me. For what it's worth, I also tried online MTM but had very little success.

Thankfully, I've managed to lose significant weight (~70lbs); now I can have a wider variety of sources to throw my money at.