Need help with weird physique

[CLG763]

Hello everyone, I just started a job as a co-op working for a private architect. His dress code is pretty lax, however, I often times have to dress up a little bit for meetings with our clients. I went shopping over Christmas for some slacks, shirts and ties and had a nightmare of a time.

After spending a day shopping in Chicago and having very little luck, I finally just went to Men's Warehouse and explained the situation. (I have been fitted for nearly a dozen weddings there over past few years and they know me by now) Once again, I found them to be quite helpful and they had the some of the best fitting stuff I had tried yet for very decent prices. The problem was that their best fitting stuff was still not very good.

My dimensions are as fallows
52" chest
38" waist
21" neck
36-37" arm/shoulder

The problem is that many brands don't carry neck sizes that are my size, and those that do are simply way too big, I literally look like I am wearing a sail even with the fitted shirts. What I had to do was take shirts with 20" necks and use a button extender to help out. Still the shirts are way too big, they cannot even be tailored enough to fit me. They had the store manager come out and help me and he said they don't carry anything that would fit me, nor can they alter their clothes enough to fit me, this is the same story I got at all the stores in Chicago. Nonetheless, I did find that if I got Joseph and Feiss fitted 20" shirts, they could be altered to a modestly acceptable fit. Unfortunately I had to get some Pronto and Uamo shirts as well to complete my gamut and even after tailoring, the fitted ones are a stretch to get to work, maybe I am just being overly critical I don't know, I'll take some pics to show you guys.

I went through the slim fit shirt sticky and after a lot of reading, I didn't see much that was promising, many of the brands discussed don't help me much because they didn't have my neck size, or if the did, at my size the shirts are made differently and are no longer slim. Also, many of the brands there are for folks over the pond or they cost a lot more than I can afford. Ideally I would get all my clothes completely custom made, I just don't have $250-400 to spend on each shirt. Any help would be appreciated, I am extremely new to all of this.

BTW, I feel a tad out of place here, all of you guys are fashion buffs, I don't know squat, I am just trying to look good.

 

[Dewey]

You must go made to measure with dress shirts. You might look at bestcustomshirt (also called giorgenti), tailorstore, or I think landsend offers made to measure. Each of those will make a shirt under $100. You might be able to get good $50 shirts from Jantzen Tailor in Hong Kong if you are patient and lucky. I don't have the URLs handy but these websites are easy to find with Google.

There's a lot of discussion about MTM internet-order custom shirts in the archives. Search for the names of those companies

 

[CLG763]

Ahh, so that's what MTM means around here, lol. I come from the speaker land, where MTM means mid-tweeter-mid. Its always interesting to see what shortened lingo various forums come up with, the regulars toss them around like loose change and the newb's are stuck with a glazed look in our eyes.

 

[constant struggle]

made to measure is your only way to go

 

[topcatny]

Made to measure is going to give you the best fit. A 21" neck is difficult to find. Lands End only goes up to a 20" neck.

Did you try Rochester Big & Tall? They have better quality big & tall clothing. They will definitely have things in your size. How well they will fit you, I am not sure. They can probably help you and give you advice. I am sure they have encountered people your size in the past.

 

[sloaney]

There's no one quite like you.

 

[bobbers]

WW Chan, a Hong Kong tailor who is held in high regard by forum members here (including me), is visiting Chicago on March 8. In case you feel uneasy about measuring yourself and ordering online, Patrick can measure you and also you can peruse the shirt/suit fabric swatches.

 

[CLG763]

The manager at Men's Warehouse mentioned that a hong kong tailor would be in chicago that week, I am sure it is the same guy. I will see if I can make it there, its tough because I am living in Cincinnati, Chicago is a lot of time and gas.

 

[lee_44106]

Short of going custom made, Made-to-measure (MTM) with any of the touted shirt makers is the ONLY way to go for you. NO off the rack shirt is going to fit you.

 

[gvibes]

Originally Posted by bobbers

WW Chan, a Hong Kong tailor who is held in high regard by forum members here (including me), is visiting Chicago on March 8. In case you feel uneasy about measuring yourself and ordering online, Patrick can measure you and also you can peruse the shirt/suit fabric swatches.
Also, Joe Hemrajani from mytailor.com will be in town in May - a bit of a ways off, but another option.

 

[bobbers]

The tour schedule from Mytailor.com says they'll be in Cincinnati Feb 27 - 28.

 

[gvibes]

Originally Posted by bobbers

The tour schedule from Mytailor.com says they'll be in Cincinnati Feb 27 - 28.
Oh, I missed the fact that he was from Cincy, and not Chicago.

 

[CLG763]

So, if I can just take my basic measurements, is there any benefit to having him measure me as opposed to sending my info off to one of these sites and having them make me some MTM shirts? I mean, I know he will do it right, but do people run into problems with sending their measurements in?

 

[Tiberias]

Yes, it would help to have the tailor measure you directly. I am at the opposite end--very narrow through the whole body--and it helps a lot for the tailor to see me firsthand and realize, yes, I really do have a body that looks like what the measurements say. Also, the tailor (should) take some time to get measurements right, while if it's your roommate or significant other, they could be off by an inch or more, which could throw off the fit on the shirt.

Even more important, however, is going to a follow-up meeting with the tailor after you get the first one done, and having him or her take a close look and see if it fits or not. After a round or two of adjustments, they should have your measurements down and you should be able to start filling out your wardrobe.

 

[CLG763]

Hmm, so after he sizes me up, he makes the first shirt, then I return to him for a recap afterwords for future shirts, yikes! I never knew this stuff would be so complicated. This all sounds pretty difficult if I am trying to catch up with him as he tours the country, and even more difficult if I am just doing internet direct. Do people have much success getting their clothes MTM over internet direct? It seems the ideal thing would be to find a tailor in Cincinnati and have them do all my clothing. From what I have seen, local tailors cost a lot of money though.