Classic Menswear as muscular guy

[refinery]

Wow, I finally found a thread where people feel my pain when it comes to finding something that fits.
I'm probably the same size as the topicstarter:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 210 lbs (95 kg)
Chest: 48.2"
Waist: 37.8"
Arms: 18.5".
Typically buy shirts 17 34/35, but jackets are next to impossible to buy unaltered. And the tailors have a real hard time taking them in and keeping the shape. The pants are always huge and billowy with the 46R suits, especially since my thighs are not very big. Is a better route to go to Suit Supply and have it made to measure, or do full bespoke? The latter would probably be very expensive, but the options are limited. Can't even imagine what more muscular guys do...

Depending on your city, you might have some places locally that can do MTM/bespoke at much cheaper than the typical names mentioned on StyleForum. My ideal is next time Divij Hemrajani (son of Joe from [the now defunct?] MyTailor) visits my city, I'll probably make an appointment.

@chad_park_ from B&Tailor gives me hope that classic menswear can still look very good on bodybuilders. If I ever get a chance to visit South Korea...

 

[BB_Adept]

B&T does look good, but are unavailable in Europe, at least as of right now.

As I said, I ordered a sport coat from Lopez Aragon and so far the order process is working splendidly fine. Before I ordered we exchanged around 10 emails, pictures, measurements etc. I am excited to see what the sport coat looks like.

 

[refinery]

B&T does look good, but are unavailable in Europe, at least as of right now.

As I said, I ordered a sport coat from Lopez Aragon and so far the order process is working splendidly fine. Before I ordered we exchanged around 10 emails, pictures, measurements etc. I am excited to see what the sport coat looks like.

Interested to see how it turns out. Might be something I'd try at least once. Looking for something that can evoke the softness in Neapolitan jackets.

 

[rosomax]

Guys, any recommendations in the US? I'm in Denver, CO. We have SuitSupply and Indochino here, both not very good for unusual bodies, such as ours.

 

[BB_Adept]

Interested to see how it turns out. Might be something I'd try at least once. Looking for something that can evoke the softness in Neapolitan jackets.

So far I myself did not order neapolitan jackets. The high armhole does not sound like a good idea. I have big lats and can even feel my arms touching the armhole in a conventional jacket.

 

[BB_Adept]

Interested to see how it turns out. Might be something I'd try at least once. Looking for something that can evoke the softness in Neapolitan jackets.

@refinery i posted pictures of the order that we talked about a year ago in the tailors thread. Except for a second hand bow tie, it was the last item of cloathing i bought. I will continue sharing my journey here in order to let the people with odd body shapes and limited funds share the pain.

 

[Dan Dynamic]

@refinery i posted pictures of the order that we talked about a year ago in the tailors thread. Except for a second hand bow tie, it was the last item of cloathing i bought. I will continue sharing my journey here in order to let the people with odd body shapes and limited funds share the pain.

I would not even bother with ready to wear if I were you. In my case, trying to find that one in a million jacket or whatever, is just a waste of time. I have a 12 inch drop and I am slowly transitioning to buying solely MTM.

 

[BB_Adept]

I would not even bother with ready to wear if I were you. In my case, trying to find that one in a million jacket or whatever, is just a waste of time. I have a 12 inch drop and I am slowly transitioning to buying solely MTM.

Dear @Dan Dynamic true as that may be, there are limited MTM options where I live. I find it very difficult to find a good tailor, but to be fair, I only tried one so far. Most tailors in my area (~100km distance) offer great bespoke, but they come in around 3000 per sport coat. Sadly I do not have this kind of money and even if I did, it still would not make sense. I recently put on some muscle around shoulders and pecs, my physique will keep on changing quite a bit over the next decade u reckon.

In Germany there is a company called cove with mixed reviews. Their sartorial sports coat seems to offer a decent value for around 800€ upwards which is quite a steep price. I might try them out at some point.

I still enjoy wearing my Spier and Mackay sports coat in size 44US. I wish there was something like S&M in Europe. Right at the moment S&M always seems a bit risky due to the tax and duties. Also 40€ shipping are pricey, though understandably so.

I recently ordered an Ulster coat from S&M as wells as an Overshirt and a dress shirt. Considering they give have of the paid duties in store credit, they still hold a tremendous value, assuming the pieces actually fit.

 

[Dan Dynamic]

Dear @Dan Dynamic true as that may be, there are limited MTM options where I live. I find it very difficult to find a good tailor, but to be fair, I only tried one so far. Most tailors in my area (~100km distance) offer great bespoke, but they come in around 3000 per sport coat. Sadly I do not have this kind of money and even if I did, it still would not make sense. I recently put on some muscle around shoulders and pecs, my physique will keep on changing quite a bit over the next decade u reckon.

In Germany there is a company called cove with mixed reviews. Their sartorial sports coat seems to offer a decent value for around 800€ upwards which is quite a steep price. I might try them out at some point.

I still enjoy wearing my Spier and Mackay sports coat in size 44US. I wish there was something like S&M in Europe. Right at the moment S&M always seems a bit risky due to the tax and duties. Also 40€ shipping are pricey, though understandably so.

I recently ordered an Ulster coat from S&M as wells as an Overshirt and a dress shirt. Considering they give have of the paid duties in store credit, they still hold a tremendous value, assuming the pieces actually fit.

I take it as you live in Europe then. The closest thing we have to S&M is SuitSupply.

 

[BB_Adept]

Yes, I do live in Europe.
Suitsupply is not something that seems to be what I am looking for. The items are rather "modern" and "slim". I cannot quite describe the style I aspire, but it is definitely not what suitsupply seems to offer on their website.

 

[Dan Dynamic]

Yes, I do live in Europe.
Suitsupply is not something that seems to be what I am looking for. The items are rather "modern" and "slim". I cannot quite describe the style I aspire, but it is definitely not what suitsupply seems to offer on their website.

You could always consult the sales persons for a custom fit. I would do that but the closest SuitSupply for me is in Denmark while I live in Sweden. I would not be too quick to dismiss SuitSupply, especially since the prices are on the lower side. The Havana model fits me quite well in the arm holes.

 

[bicycleradical]

Yes, I do live in Europe.
Suitsupply is not something that seems to be what I am looking for. The items are rather "modern" and "slim". I cannot quite describe the style I aspire, but it is definitely not what suitsupply seems to offer on their website.

I've heard some chatter that SS is going to issue a fit that isn't as slim as the rest of their offerings. It may be worth investigating if there is one near you.

 

[BB_Adept]

I do not think you will convince me to try SuitSupply. Alltogether, i am neither loving the looks, nor the service they offer here in Germany.

This winter i might order another sports coat. There are a couple of tailors around here i found yesterday that offer "Scabal" tailoring which seems quite decent but not cheap. As i said, this is an issue for me because my physique slowly but constantly changes.
I still love Spier and Mackay for some reason. Last year i ordered 2 sports coats, both contemporary classic cut. One was 44R, the other 46R. I sent back the 46 because i felt it was too big around the waist and maybe a bit around the chest. Back was fine. The 44R still gets regular wears but it might be a tiny bit too small at the moment.
I am currently considering trying a 46 Neo cut at some point. However, ordering from S&M always requires me to pay import and tax duties. If i return items, i can get those back, but it does take some bureaucratic work to do that.

Then there is Lopez Aragon in Europe who commissioned my brown sports coat. It`s not perfect, but i think they will be able to improve the next one based on the information at hand.

 

[BB_Adept]

Just wanted to share a brief update. I recently ordered an Ulster coat, an Overshirt and a dress shirt from Spier Mackay (sizes 54, 54 and 17). Their shipping is delayed and I am starting to doubt my order. I needed a long time to decide and do not know if the coat will fit.

Still very frustrating to look for clothes. I wonder if I weren't better of going to a nearby city and just look into different stores. Fitwise this would most likely be easier because i could try on more stuff, but I rarely like clothes offered in cities these days. I am not interested in brands and that's mostly what is offered. What I am looking for is a store like Natalino or Pini Parma but one that I can actually visit. I still do not know any stores like this in my nearby area.

 

[BB_Adept]

I just wanted to update this thread a little to make other athletes know that they are not alone with their pain.

After throwing away a lot of clothes that i dislike or that are damaged i ended up hardly having anything left in my closet. Therefore i ordered a couple of shirts (S&M) and a sport coat (Natalino, also ordered a shirt there). Additionally i finally made it to the alterations tailor and had my Spier&Mackay dress shirt size 17 (far too much fabric around the waist) taken in as well as an S&M Overshirt (dito).

The one sport coat i own from Lopez Aragon is currently in spain for alterations. LA is incredibly responsive and they also offer alteration services on finished garments. The sport coat had some collar gaping and some other minor issues that we are going to address. Those alterations might not make sense financially, but i wanted the sport coat altered in order to see the final result so i can use those alterations on my next garment with Lopez Aragon. If i am fully satisfied i will order another sport coat from them.

Finding/altering shirts and trousers is easier for me. Sport coats are a just a pain in the ***. This is even more frustrating because i adore the look of a good sport coat. It is the most amazing menswear item imho (amongst regular overcoats).