Finding Clothes That Fit

By Gentleman's Best Friend Image Consulting Services

Believe it or not, very few men have ideal body proportions. Believe it or not, standardized clothing sizes continue to be determined mostly by tradition and guesswork, with a focus on maximizing profit.

Between that and inattentiveness, many men have trouble finding clothes that fit them properly. Some settle for a poor fit and an impression of carelessness, being out of shape, or something similarly unacceptable. There is a better way, friends.

CASUAL SHIRTS

Usual problem areas

* Waist

* Length

* Collar

* Shoulder line

* Sleeves (width and length)

If you include tricks such as rolling up sleeves (but not at the office), leaving shirts untucked, layering, and shopping at specialty retailers (European brands usually are cut slimmer), it should be possible to find casual shirts that fit decently.

If not, there are the following options:

Improving physical fitness

* can eventually help with some problems

Modification

* can be costly, depending on the changes made

Custom-made

* expensive and hard to arrange for casual shirts

DRESS SHIRTS

The standards are higher, and workplace penalties for a bad fit can be severe (like no raise, pal).

Usual problem areas

* Waist

* Length

* Collar

* Shoulder line

* Sleeves (width and length)

European dress shirts are a fine option for many thinner men. Other possibilities are:

Improving physical fitness

* can eventually help with a few problems

Modification

* shirt length cannot be increased and shoulder width seldom can be changed, but almost anything else can be done (including collar replacement)

* normally, only worthwhile for correcting a problem or two

Custom-made

* fits best, especially for slender men

* if ordered in bulk (after having seen that the prototype is right), can be nearly the same price as similar-quality off-the-rack shirts

Brooks Brothers, DeSantis Collection, and some other online/catalog clothing retailers will construct shirts for you, but for now going to a tailor remains your best custom-made option.

PANTS

Usual problem areas

* Waist

* Length (inseam)

* Leg width

Pants that fit poorly often will wear out faster (due to pressure on the waistband or dragging of leg bottoms on the floor).

Poor solutions

* Sweatpants and other drawstring pants - do you really need to be told why they're unacceptable for most situations?

* Adjustable-waist pants are an overrated trend.

* Generic sizing (S, M, L, XL) isn't a realistic fix, because it's even more for standard shapes.

Improving physical fitness

* can eventually help with some problems

Modification

* Waist modification is limited and usually costly.

* Leg width cannot be increased.

* Length (inseam) of cotton pants cannot be increased (except for uncuffing).

* If you are going to buy an item you know needs adjustments, make sure it has the correct leg width and waist size and, ideally, comes unhemmed. (If you'd be changing the waist size and inseam, you might as well keep shopping, even if it means buying something that costs more.)

Custom-made

* For pants separates (no suit jacket), very expensive and hard to find

Some retailers that carry a decent selection of odd-sized pants:

J.Crew (http://www.jcrew.com)

L.L.Bean (http://www.llbean.com)

Eddie Bauer (has quarter-length inseam option) (http://www.eddiebauer.com)

Lands' End (free hemming) (http://www.landsend.com)

Banana Republic (selection somewhat limited) (http://www.bananarepublic.com)

Casual Male Big & Tall (http://www.casualmale.com)

Dahle's Big & Tall (http://www.dahles-bigandtall.com)

Repp Big & Tall (http://www.reppbigandtall.com)

Short Sizes Inc. (http://www.shortsizesinc.com)

And most designer clothing retailers.