Slimmest Sweaters?

I know I am not alone in the "too skinny to fit into most clothes" camp. Being not of the wealthiest background I don't have the options of going Sufu/gothninja/Dior/expensiveJapanaeseBrands.

So I make do with what I can (lot's of layering, MTM, forum-based-clothiers such as Tat & MJK) so I do fine with shirts, pants, jackets, shoes, etc.

However one area that is impossible for me are sweaters. It seems that no retailers are capable of making simple plain v-neck sweaters. No elbow patches, funky shoulder details or weird seams, just a nice well fitting sweater. No, not GAP or Jcrew sized down. I cannot size down, the smallest size is too big. I have a JCrew sweater in XS, it's ok, but I would feel weird wearing it by itself. I tend to wear it beneath a jacket to layer and hide the bagginess.

Band of Outsiders creates a nice fit for shirts and recently I discovered, for sweaters too. Slim but broad shoulders, skinny arms, nice taper, high armholes. Unfortunately the price tag is insane, ~800-900. Now I will say this, *if* I had the money, I would have snatched it up. Excellent fit, feel, materials, and color.

Now that is essentially what I am looking for, just not quite so expensive. I am fine with paying a fair amount of money for a good quality sweater, but I need fit. All sweaters are baggy around the waist, which I find is weird. I need a sweater that's slimming around my waist because well that's how my body is. It's weird that I can get tees, shirts, suits, and even jackets are are slim/hug my waist but not sweaters.

One option I have is to browse cheap Japanese sites (yesstyle) but the problem is that these are quick, lazy "tight" fits. I am not looking like I sized down to a medium in the boys department. I have a shirt from such sites, sized medium, and it's just tight and square-ish in the chest. It looks and feels cheap, that's not the look I want. I want to be comfortable, but to have the shoulder lines match up with mine, the arms be slim, etc.

Are there any brands whatsoever that describe what I want? Probably nothing American, other than BoO, but European and possibly Japanese? I would like some degree of quality too, and not something ****** that will fall apart on me or be uncomfortable. Also with a reasonable price, I don't mind a 100-200 retail, but cheaper is better.

I'd say B.Son but they are pretty basic and sell out very quick, especially in the smaller sizes.

Another source, believe it or not, is AX. Their XS sweaters fit me extremely well. Yeah the quality is ****** but for $40 (on sale), I can afford to throw them away after 1 or 2 seasons.

Have you looked at John Smedley?

http://www.johnsmedley.com/shop/

Fred Perry fits slim, too.

Lel you're talking about my favorite subject. If I were you I would pick up some basic jil sander beaters like the guys here have but on sale. They're normally 395 for merino wool but @ 40 off they are a great staple and will last forever.

You will be a happy man.

Yours,
Sweater King

Call Uniqlo up and order their merino wool sweaters or cashmere sweaters in XS. A much better fitter than a jcrew xs and they're $40.

Originally Posted by EdenResident

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I'd say B.Son but they are pretty basic and sell out very quick, especially in the smaller sizes.

Another source, believe it or not, is AX. Their XS sweaters fit me extremely well. Yeah the quality is ****** but for $40 (on sale), I can afford to throw them away after 1 or 2 seasons.

Yes I think that AX actually would have small sizes. It's worth checking out. However even the tame ones I see usually have some weird patches, stupid material, or other dumb irritating details. And I'm thinking it would lean more towards "tight" than "fitted" if you understand what I mean.

Originally Posted by JustinW

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Have you looked at John Smedley?

http://www.johnsmedley.com/shop/

Fred Perry fits slim, too.

Eh, generally I tend to distrust sites/brands that don't offer XS. And I'm not a fan of the FP logo.

Originally Posted by jet

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Lel you're talking about my favorite subject. If I were you I would pick up some basic jil sander beaters like the guys here have but on sale. They're normally 395 for merino wool but @ 40 off they are a great staple and will last forever.

You will be a happy man.

Yours,
Sweater King

I will have to see in person. I thought that Jil Sander always tended towards a more minimalistic fit and I'm looking for something with a heavy taper but we shall see.

Originally Posted by WhoKnewI

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Call Uniqlo up and order their merino wool sweaters or cashmere sweaters in XS. A much better fitter than a jcrew xs and they're $40.

Yes this idea popped into my head and may be worth a try. Any idea how sizing runs vs H&M? It's unfortunate that I don't live in New York to try it on myself but I'm sure there are H&M's nearby.

Come to korea. (or pay me lots to proxy you hundreds of sweaters )

order from rakuten!

good topic. i'm in the market too. i'd be interested in jil sander, but there are no JS stores here and i don't understand where to buy it online...yoox rarely has it in 44.

you know the target merino wool sweaters in small are a honestly pretty great fit for me (for under 20 bucks)

Originally Posted by Eason

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Come to korea. (or pay me lots to proxy you hundreds of sweaters

)

When you coming back to Seattle? Might not need to ship, you can just bring 'em with you next time you're back...

Originally Posted by stickonatree

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order from rakuten!

Yes! Except, I have no familiarity with any of the brands. Any ones that are "good for sweaters"?

Originally Posted by mainy

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good topic. i'm in the market too. i'd be interested in jil sander, but there are no JS stores here and i don't understand where to buy it online...yoox rarely has it in 44.

No idea JS made it in 44.

Originally Posted by illegalcheeser

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you know the target merino wool sweaters in small are a honestly pretty great fit for me (for under 20 bucks)

I think I tried on a small and it was ok... but I would definitely need XS, or smaller. The fit was medicore, and I would rather put $100-200 to good us than waste $20.

Just how small are you right now, a 34 chest? Are you still fairly young, like in high school?.. Hope I remembering alright. I realize you may not like this comment, but I found it was much easier finding clothes that fit once I moved up a size from a 35-36 chest to a solid 38. It was now possible to find a waaaay broader selection of clothes that fit from different sweaters, to shirts to suits. Not only did I fill out better, I found that I liked the size and allowed me to eat a generous diet with my weight and still be able to be really active. Not to mention, you'll inevitably gain some weight once you get to college. Well unless you become vegan or fast all the time. I understand your goals may be vastly different than mine, but it's atleast worth a second to consider. Please don't hate me too much.

I've never purchased a sweater from H&M, but If you are a 34 chest I am certain that an XS from Uniqlo will be fine. their sweaters tend to run smaller than their other items.

Originally Posted by erdawe

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Just how small are you right now, a 34 chest? Are you still fairly young, like in high school?.. Hope I remembering alright.

I realize you may not like this comment, but I found it was much easier finding clothes that fit once I moved up a size from a 35-36 chest to a solid 38. It was now possible to find a waaaay broader selection of clothes that fit from different sweaters, to shirts to suits. Not only did I fill out better, I found that I liked the size and allowed me to eat a generous diet with my weight and still be able to be really active. Not to mention, you'll inevitably gain some weight once you get to college. Well unless you become vegan or fast all the time.

I understand your goals may be vastly different than mine, but it's atleast worth a second to consider. Please don't hate me too much.

College now =)

And I understand your comment, but realize I get it a lot. I did go through a period of weight lifting and my drop is something like 7 inches right now even though I'm "skinny". Proportionally I am pretty good, it's just my waist is so small. If it was proportional to a more normal lean sized guy I would be good. Basically, I should be something like a 32 chest but I did heavy weights until I reached 34-35.

Also I am Asian, I eat so much, my meal plan is almost gone. It's actually interesting because one day I wore a fairly fitted AA v-neck (over a polo, relax) and my female friend commented, "Wow, you actually have pecs, and they're nice."

For me it's not a matter of being out of shape (which I am) it's just that American clothing doesn't accurately fit me. I probably wouldn't be having this problem in Japan.

Originally Posted by WhoKnewI

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I've never purchased a sweater from H&M, but If you are a 34 chest I am certain that an XS from Uniqlo will be fine. their sweaters tend to run smaller than their other items.

It's more a matter of waist taper than chest.

Originally Posted by Lel

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When you coming back to Seattle? Might not need to ship, you can just bring 'em with you next time you're back...



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