Dressing well is a lot tougher...

[bigbadbuff]

I know others here have complained about it as well, but it is seriously frustrating me lately. I am a bigger guy than what is typically designed for by the makers we discuss here. And the thing is, I'm not that big a guy. I'm 5'11", 215 lbs. I wear 36 waist, 30-32" inseam pants. Since I do have broad shoulders and a bigger upper body I usually wear XL in shirts, sweaters, etc. but can occasionally get a L. Dress shirts, usually a 17-35. Sportcoats I take a 44-46R. That does NOT sound so out of the ordinary to me, but it is SO hard to find well made clothing in those sizes at decent prices that FIT well. I have been fawning over Prada dress shirts and a cashmere turtleneck by them for weeks now... but I know to not even try them on, way too trim. Most dress shirts in my neck size have a 34 inch sleeve, too short for my tastes. Suits? The toughest of all due to the 10" difference in my waist/chest. Can't afford to have trousers recut every time I get a suit.

Maybe I am preaching to the choir, and every size and shape has similiar gripes.

 

[Alias]

I can't buy many of the things they have on eBay or most online sites. Try being 5'4" with US size 7 feet. I wear waist 30 and I think my chest size is less than 36.

To my credit, I'm full-on Japanese-Korean, and am now living in a city full of people as short as I am.

 

[LabelKing]

Quite frankly most things either don't fit me or then the cost is considerably higher than most other designer clothing. For example I am 5'7 with a 27 inch waist, 36 inch chest, and 14/14.5 neck or shirt size. Dior Homme is what I find fits best. Shoes I can find fairly easy as having size 9/9.5 depending on designers though. For example Prada I would wear a size 8, and Gucci 8.5 or 9.

But as for your sizings I frequently see 44R, and 36 waist pants.

 

[The_Foxx]

Some of the best things on ebay are often 44Reg, although I see your problem with the trousers of suits....42Reg (my size) comes standard with 36 inch trousers. If i don't wear braces with the suit (thus wearing them on the natural waist), I have to recut as you do. However, if i were a 44Reg, i would never pay retail for a sportcoat again.. GREAT stuff on ebay all the time by Brioni, Kiton, Oxxford.

 

[matadorpoeta]

for some reason i find it easy to find rtw suits that fit well (40/33), but very difficult to find rtw dress shirts that fit. the shoulder seems hang down halfway down my arms and the waist is very baggy. robert talbotts make me look like a little kid in his father's shirt. my neck is not big proportionally to the rest of me. trendy shirts fit much better, but i don't like most of those.

bigbadbuff, most european dress shirts are made with longer sleeves. you know the ones that just have the neck size on the label without the sleeve length? i would try one of those.

 

[LA Guy]

matador,

I am nearly exactly the same size as you (40R/32-33) 5'11" 170 lbs, and don't really have a problem finding shirts. I used to wear Costume National shirts nearly exclusively, but I find that Prada, Miu Miu, HL, and a Dries van Noten fit me to a t. If you don't like these, try Borrelli, Charvet or Barba. I really the the cut of the latter two brands. At double discount time, there are plenty of styles to be found at 70-100$, so they won't even cost you a fortune. Honestly though, swallow your prejudices and try a plain Prada dress shirt (Barney's should be discounting them right now.)

 

[Kai]

I know others here have complained about it as well, but it is seriously frustrating me lately. I am a bigger guy than what is typically designed for by the makers we discuss here. And the thing is, I'm not that big a guy. I'm 5'11", 215 lbs. I wear 36 waist, 30-32" inseam pants. Since I do have broad shoulders and a bigger upper body I usually wear XL in shirts, sweaters, etc. but can occasionally get a L. Dress shirts, usually a 17-35. Sportcoats I take a 44-46R. That does NOT sound so out of the ordinary to me, but it is SO hard to find well made clothing in those sizes at decent prices that FIT well. I have been fawning over Prada dress shirts and a cashmere turtleneck by them for weeks now... but I know to not even try them on, way too trim. Most dress shirts in my neck size have a 34 inch sleeve, too short for my tastes. Suits? The toughest of all due to the 10" difference in my waist/chest. Can't afford to have trousers recut every time I get a suit.

Maybe I am preaching to the choir, and every size and shape has similiar gripes.

You and I have about the same problems. For me, just getting the trousers taken in doesn't solve the problem, as I have a 36 inch waist, but my thighs and butt are big, so if the waist fits, the seat and legs almost certainly don't. Also, a typical 46r jacket fits in the shoulders, but otherwise is too big on me.

Go bespoke.

This is what I did. I was amazed at the difference that a suit that was made for my body makes. I will not buy an off the rack suit ever again. No amount of tailoring makes my off the rack suit look as good as my bespoke suits. I have a Kiton suit, off the rack, expertly altered by a competent tailor. It does not look as good on me as my WW Chan bespoke suit that cost 1/3 as much.
I am now a believer that fit is everything in suits.
Until lately, I thought that an off the rack Canali was as good as I was going to get to fit my body type. (they have a somewhat trim cut compared to many other brands I've tried, and look the best on my frame of any off the rack suit). Bespoke has changed my mind.

For casual clothing, I've found that some of the larger catalog retailers (such as Lands End) have a better mix of sizes and cuts, such that I can usually find something that either fits or can be altered to fit. They tend to carry casual clothing in mixtures of short, tall, slim fit, relaxed fit, etc.

 

[matadorpoeta]

la guy,
when i said trendy shirts, i was referring to more casual ones, not the type you would normally wear with a tie. i've never tried on a prada or miu miu dress shirt, so i'm open to checking them out.

i am prejudiced against spending more than $100 on rtw shirts though. i have some shirts that were custom made here in town for $100 each, and this way, i get to wear my own design. (or i can copy someone else's)

not that this has to do with the subject, but what exactly is the relationship between prada and miu miu? there's a miu miu store on beverly, and i've never seen anything prada in there, but they are related right?

 

[LA Guy]

Miu Miu is the other Prada diffusion line (the other being Prada Sport.) It sells at a relatively lower pricepoint, and the styles are a little funkier (most diffusion lines are like that - Emporio Armani, DKNY, you get the idea...) Miu Miu is apparently an affectionate form of Miuccia Prada's name.

The beauty of a Prada dress shirt (especially the stretch ones) is that it can also be worn casually. The cut is trim at the waist and through the body, with high, trim arm holes, but slightly roomier sleeves than say, a Helmut Lang (which generally make me feel like a he-man, and I'm not that big.)They are usually really expensive ($300+) but I usually pick them up for under $150 at second discount time at Maxfield Bleu. You should really check out that place. They sometimes have Barba shirts too, which may be more your thing.

 

[bigbadbuff]

I believe Miu is under the Prada umbrella, which is of course under something itself.

Almost every Prada dress shirt I have seen in the mags lately I LOVE. I am definitely going to try one. Any chance Off Saks carries them? That is the closest to me, no Barneys here in VA.