Morbidly Obese in the Public Eye, Is It Possible to Look Professional?

[MrDaniels]

Now, I don't want to be a shithead about fat people, because keeping my own weight within bounds has always been something I need to actively work on. But, as New Jersey's Governor Christie has been in the spotlight this week it has illuminated something I think could be discussed here: How much does being extremely overweight work against one ability to present themselves as being professional and competent, and how much can the right suit help?


And since it's Friday, feel free to make fat jokes if you are a Democrat....

 

[Quadcammer]

you can certainly try, but even well tailored clothing isn't going to look real good due to all the unusual buldges, rolls, etc.

Christie tries, but he can't help but not look very good.

 

[Joenobody0]



you can certainly try, but even well tailored clothing isn't going to look real good due to all the unusual buldges, rolls, etc.
Christie tries, but he can't help but not look very good.

He looks so fat without the jacket on. With the jacket, he just looks fat.

One thing to keep in mind is height. Being "big" and fat always looks better than being short and fat.

 

[Sonny58]

Christie is shockingly heavy yet I think he comes across as professional. He talks a good game which helps. Nevertheless, when I see pictures of him, especially without a jacket, I wonder what he eats every day to have reached that state.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

You can certainly look imposing... though of course we'd all rather be Bogie.

 

[ddonicht]

I think part of it is the fit of the shirts. They seem to have more fabric than necessary which makes him appear even heavier.

 

[LeviMay]

As was mentioned above, he most certainly looks better with his jacket on. As a gentleman of... Ahem... Some size, I always find I look better fully dressed, rather than sans jacket. Shirts never stay tucked in properly around a soggy, over-sized middle, and this results in unsightly wrinkles and creases that call attention to that area.

 

[Achilles_]



Christie is shockingly heavy yet I think he comes across as professional. He talks a good game which helps. Nevertheless, when I see pictures of him, especially without a jacket, I wonder what he eats every day to have reached that state.

x2

That one by the bridge looks bad.

OT: He said he's not going to run correct?

 

[jrd617]

If he gets elected, he needs to stay away from the bathtub:

 

[chogall]



I think part of it is the fit of the shirts. They seem to have more fabric than necessary which makes him appear even heavier.

fitting a big man is much much harder than fitting a slender guy.

 

[JayJay]

Competence covers a multitude of sartorial faults. If he can lead well, then no one will care about his size. Suits do look as well as expected on him for a guy of his size; I don't think his skills as a good leader will be questioned if he demonstrates competency.

 

[Hayward]

Having gotten up to 230ish (now 200 and hitting the wall in efforts to get below that) I found good tailoring and braces an absolute must. Shirts are difficult because the 18 inch collar ready to wear shirt is essentially a yurt, it makes you look bigger than you are already, especially when you make the mistake of wearing belts and constantly hiking them back up. In short, get your biggie shirts altered to fit and forget about belts with a suit. For casual, invest in bowling and aloha shirts, even if you do not bowl or are not Hawaiian.

I suppose you could take the route Churchill did and have SIren Suits made up -



Alternate between meetings in those and the bath.

 

[Maquis]

Perhaps a bit off-topic, but there's an informative thread on tailoring for corpulent men over at Cutter & Tailor:
http://bit.ly/oDc0Xj

The photos are historical (mostly from East & West Germany in the 60s), but they show nonetheless that good tailoring can do a lot to help. And the rest has to come from how you rock it...

 

[MrDaniels]

I think the weight is so out of control I would have a hard time accepting him as the leader of anything. It's not like he just "has a gut."

 

[Texastyle]



I think the weight is so out of control I would have a hard time accepting him as the leader of anything. It's not like he just "has a gut."

How does his weight have anything to do with his stance on the issues?

Not that it really matters, but I think he should make a point to keep the jacket on. It keeps everything in place and you don't see all the bulging