Creative Destruction

OK, so we’re all aware that Americans are fat. Now that doesn’t really bother me so much, except for the nausea that sometimes results from a particular specimen. However, one problem I’ve noticed is that it prevents me from finding clothes that fit. Most people are fat, so the clothes that are sold are designed for fat people. It is difficult to find clothes to fit someone like me who is trim yet fairly muscular. I am posting here in the hopes that

1) I will find people who have tips for me
2) The discoveries I have made will help some people out there

OK, so here are some of the problems:

Waist size. My waist is 28″. Most pants/jeans available for sale only come in 30″ or larger. My legs have not yet grown to the point where I can deadlift 3x my body weight, but once I can (like one of my fellow CrossFitters who is about my weight and size), I will not be able to fit into even 28″ pants/jeans because the legs will be too small. Then if I get 30″ pants/jeans and have the waist brought in, the shape will be all screwed up. I have found this one company (advertised on Facebook, actually), Bonobos, that claims to sell pants that work for guys like me, and they do stock 28″ waist pants. I get the impression that they are indirectly targeting gay guys, but whatever, as long as the pants fit. I have one pair of pants from these people, they are great. I love them. They fit really well and are very comfortable. I am not sure that these pants will continue to fit once my DL gets up to 3x my bodyweight, however.

Belts: Belts are only sold down to 32″. I have found one belt at Men’s Wearhouse that was in size 30, which fits me fine, but that is rare. I have drilled a hole into one of my belts so that I can wear it okay but the tail is really long. I don’t know if I should cut the end because then won’t it start to “fray” or something? I know that leather doesn’t fray, but the ends are right now “finished” in some fashion, so I don’t know.

Dress/work clothes: This situation doesn’t seem too bad. Off-the-rack suits are horrible. They only sell the 38″ jacket with a 32″ pant so the pants have to be taken in a full 4″ and the jacket makes me feel like I am swimming around my waist, even though they fit okay around my shoulders. I have found a fairly reasonably priced place to get a custom tailored suit here in NYC, Michael Andrews. I’ll be taking delivery of a suit from these people this week. I am fairly confident it will work. But still, it is fairly expensive, I can’t afford to buy more than one suit and a couple shirts from these people, so when I get a job that requires I wear professional clothes every day to work, I will need a cheaper option for my day-to-day clothes, vs my top-end interview-wear. (Also via a facebook ad) I discovered Indochino. This place seems promising, but I haven’t tried anything from them yet.

Casual/fun/party-type clothes: This is where the real dilemma lies. I need to find nice clothes that look good, but aren’t formal, and also fit. The Bonobos may work for regular pants, but I want to find a good source of jeans that fit well. (All the jeans I own right now are way too big, and the only reason they don’t fall to my ankles is because the waist is scrunched up under a belt– not the most comfortable thing either.) Also I need to find casual shirts and jackets that are designed properly. I have no ideas on that one. I been told that if I go around to all the stores and keep trying on clothes then eventually I’ll find some that fit me well. I do not have the time nor the patience for that approach.

So that’s my Tuesday night rant. I’ll continue to update here with discoveries that I make, so that others who happen upon my blog may learn, and hope that people who happen here have more information than me so I can learn from them as well.

What do you know?