# Fat Fashion.



## RobitusinZ (May 14, 2010)

Why does Casual Male XL (note the *XL* part) send me advertisements like this? Every time I walk into their store, most of the other guys I see there look like *ME* (not Ad Guy).

It's tough to pimp out when you're 5'10", 350. I try hard to stay fly, but damn, it'd be great to see some heavier models advertising this stuff, so that I can at least tell what my rolls will look like sandwiched into the packaging. I tried on a freaking Roc-A-Wear shirt that looked great on the rack and on the model, but when I put it on, I looked like a Macy's Day Parade balloon wearing one of the "exceptional" shirts from Mervyn's.

This is more rant than discussion, sorry guys. Don't you just hate having no market? "Here fat guy, tag along with this...you're so fat, you can go out looking ridiculous, it's ok, we'll be judging you first by your fatness than your clothes, so it's all good..." ARG!


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## Stevenz1inoc (May 14, 2010)

RobitusinZ said:


> Why does Casual Male XL (note the *XL* part) send me advertisements like this? Every time I walk into their store, most of the other guys I see there look like *ME* (not Ad Guy).
> 
> It's tough to pimp out when you're 5'10", 350. I try hard to stay fly, but damn, it'd be great to see some heavier models advertising this stuff, so that I can at least tell what my rolls will look like sandwiched into the packaging. I tried on a freaking Roc-A-Wear shirt that looked great on the rack and on the model, but when I put it on, I looked like a Macy's Day Parade balloon wearing one of the "exceptional" shirts from Mervyn's.
> 
> This is more rant than discussion, sorry guys. Don't you just hate having no market? "Here fat guy, tag along with this...you're so fat, you can go out looking ridiculous, it's ok, we'll be judging you first by your fatness than your clothes, so it's all good..." ARG!



I'm with you on the fact that their models are not XL size guys. They may be tall but yeah, not big.

With thst said, I still feel they do have some great clothes. I'm 6' tall and at my heaviest I was 440lbs. I'm about 360-380lbs right now and I find it's hit or miss with how their clothes look. But it's that way too for anybody of any size. In casual male I find I just have to look at all the racks until I find something that looks right.

I do think their Harbor Bay line fits well and looks good. And they carry Levi's that fit well too!


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## veil (May 14, 2010)

RobitusinZ said:


> Why does Casual Male XL (note the *XL* part) send me advertisements like this? Every time I walk into their store, most of the other guys I see there look like *ME* (not Ad Guy).
> 
> It's tough to pimp out when you're 5'10", 350. I try hard to stay fly, but damn, it'd be great to see some heavier models advertising this stuff, so that I can at least tell what my rolls will look like sandwiched into the packaging. I tried on a freaking Roc-A-Wear shirt that looked great on the rack and on the model, but when I put it on, I looked like a Macy's Day Parade balloon wearing one of the "exceptional" shirts from Mervyn's.
> 
> This is more rant than discussion, sorry guys. Don't you just hate having no market? "Here fat guy, tag along with this...you're so fat, you can go out looking ridiculous, it's ok, we'll be judging you first by your fatness than your clothes, so it's all good..." ARG!



amen! i went shopping with my boyfriend at a tj maxx or whatnot pretty recently, and it's the first time we've gone shopping together, and he's really the first BHM i've ever dated. i could not believe the horrible selection; my guy wears a slightly skater punk, slightly hip hop look when not in his corporate dudes and everything there was a friggin' polo shirt. literally. there was nothing in his size that was cool or interesting or even slightly flattering.


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## fat hiker (May 14, 2010)

veil said:


> amen! i went shopping with my boyfriend at a tj maxx or whatnot pretty recently, and it's the first time we've gone shopping together, and he's really the first BHM i've ever dated. i could not believe the horrible selection; my guy wears a slightly skater punk, slightly hip hop look when not in his corporate dudes and everything there was a friggin' polo shirt. literally. there was nothing in his size that was cool or interesting or even slightly flattering.



Ah, the dangers of being on the 'fringe' in fashion - when you're a ten percent of a ten percent, the market gets small....

Avoid the big chain stores - they're only marketing to that ten percent. Do fairs, trade shows, small stores, local makers and on-line. That's where the 'cool, interesting' stuff resides....


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## RobitusinZ (May 14, 2010)

veil said:


> amen! i went shopping with my boyfriend at a tj maxx or whatnot pretty recently, and it's the first time we've gone shopping together, and he's really the first BHM i've ever dated. i could not believe the horrible selection; my guy wears a slightly skater punk, slightly hip hop look when not in his corporate dudes and everything there was a friggin' polo shirt. literally. there was nothing in his size that was cool or interesting or even slightly flattering.



LOL, the good ol' Polo. Yup...that's my "default" too. I also dress in a subdued urban/hip hop fashion, but yeah, barring a gem found at random somewhere, it's all Polo n' Jeans.


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## Melian (May 14, 2010)

Gotta sympathize with you guys. I'm a 5'9 woman with slightly less than a 22 inch waist, and wear mostly cyberpunk looking gear....nothing fits or looks the way I want. Ever. It all has to be imported, custom made or altered.

Lame.


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## CastingPearls (May 14, 2010)

King Size catalog shows a wider (ahem) variety of BHMs --much more representative of the group.

According to the advertisers they claim that market research shows even BBWs and BHM, when given side to side comparisons overwhelming choose the smaller (and often photoshopped) version. How old the research they're relying on is a mystery to me considering something like 85% of Americans are now considered overweight.


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## Bearsy (May 14, 2010)

Melian said:


> wear mostly *cyberpunk *looking gear....(



I just fell in love


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## Jes (May 14, 2010)

CastingPearls said:


> How old the research they're relying on is a mystery to me considering something like 85% of Americans are now considered overweight.



I don't doubt for a second that this research isn't accurate. 

Guys, do you pay more for items in the higher range? Like in, say, a catalog, or a dept. store? Are LLBean polos above a certain size $5 more? that's how it is for women's clothes, the bastards!


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## Bearsy (May 14, 2010)

The cheapest pair of jeans(of which my store has only two options[color, not cut] for people my size) are $70 and they're ugly as hell.
Shirts are like 10 dollars extra too for my size.


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## gobettiepurple (May 14, 2010)

*Welcome to the ladies world, BHM's . . . 

Seriously, since when is a size 12/14 in women's clothing a "plus size"? 

Plus, I have to wonder [someone in an earlier post mentioned that in marketing research polls, even BBWs/BHMs preferred the smaller, photo-shopped images] what sort of questions are those market researchers really asking? 

I was watching the Blind Side the other day, and there is a part in the movie where Sandra Bullock's character takes her new "son" clothes shopping and he picks stripped polos in different colors, basically all the same shirt. I feel bad for the guys out there - I always take my brother shopping because he never cares what he wears, and he is a big guy. Your fashion options are seriously limited. Perhaps someone should change that, make their own clothing line for big, tall men and take the market by storm?

Women's plus size fashion has come a long way, shouldn't men take a stand and fight for their right to look "fly" . . . lol.

Good luck with finding some hot clothes, because we all know how much men love to shop . . . *


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## Sasquatch! (May 14, 2010)

The store I visit (and order from online) uses LARGE models for their larger clobber. And it makes me far more confident when buying stuff.

Of course, I love going down there in person as it's a gentleman's outfitters. But I can't get there that often because it's up in the valleys and takes hours by bus. Still, at least when I order online I know it'll fit.


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## escapist (May 14, 2010)

Well I've said it before I shop almost exclusively at Casual Male, love the selection, and I do see lots of guys like that here in Vegas at the store.

I love the way I dress lol:












...all Casual Male XL, all the time lol


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## Fat Brian (May 14, 2010)

I shop at Casual Male when I have the coin but here is a huge tip, if your city has more than one go to the on run by black people. My local shop had the most amazing clothes when it was run by a black SSBBW, she transferred and so did the nice clothes. I have not spent nearly as much money there since she has been gone and I wonder if I am the only one.


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## BigChaz (May 14, 2010)

Fat Brian said:


> I shop at Casual Male when I have the coin but here is a huge tip, if your city has more than one go to the on run by black people. My local shop had the most amazing clothes when it was run by a black SSBBW, she transferred and so did the nice clothes. I have not spent nearly as much money there since she has been gone and I wonder if I am the only one.



Haha, what the hell. You probably shouldn't have written this post.

I only shop at casual male as well.


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## Fat Brian (May 14, 2010)

All I'm saying is that in my personal experience stores in this chain run by black people have more stylish clothes. I found it to be a pretty benign, even complimentary post.


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## escapist (May 14, 2010)

Actually the one by me was run by a small black BHM and it sucked till this little skinny white boy took over who was cool as hell. He cleaned the whole store up and did a great job. Great clothes, great style, great everything....I don't think color had anything to do with it, I think it was just style and fashion. Some have it some don't.


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## Paquito (May 15, 2010)

Yea, so I'm on the fringe of shopping for clothes in department stores vs. specialty shops, and I'm dreading trying to find some good fashionable clothes in the seas of polos, blank t-shirts, and unflattering jeans. I'm not a happy camper really.

I mean my current style is pretty much exclusively American Eagle graphic shirts and cargo shorts, but I refuse to spend the rest of my life buying the exact same polos in different colors.


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## escapist (May 15, 2010)

free2beme04 said:


> Yea, so I'm on the fringe of shopping for clothes in department stores vs. specialty shops, and I'm dreading trying to find some good fashionable clothes in the seas of polos, blank t-shirts, and unflattering jeans. I'm not a happy camper really.
> 
> I mean my current style is pretty much exclusively American Eagle graphic shirts and cargo shorts, but I refuse to spend the rest of my life buying the exact same polos in different colors.



ROFL, I thought that was you I saw at the last Pow Wow I went to! lol.

I admit I have a hard time spending more than $12 on a T-Shirt but if you want the good looking ones and the nice dress shirts its gonna cost $35-50 per shirt. I think when I discovered the Nautica, Cubavera and Synrgy stuff is when I really started putting stuff together that looked good. Don't forget a great watch, wrist-cuff, and other Jewelry really can pull it all together. If you can find it I'm a HUGE fan of Inox Jewelry for men.


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## veil (May 15, 2010)

what other places do you guys recommend? my boyfriend has good luck with karmaloop.com and threadless.com does have shirts up to 3XL.


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## rellis10 (May 15, 2010)

I posted a link in the fashion section for a company called Big Ozzy. Now as far as i know they are exclusively British, i dont know if they sell abroad or not.

I rarely go anywhere else with my clothes shopping as they give great delivery times and have a pretty good range of shirts, T-Shirts, jeans and trousers. I will say that if you like 'fringe' fashions you probably wont find much here. It's a pretty middle of the road look it caters to which is more to my taste anyway.

Here's the link for those who are curious: http://www.bigozzy.com/


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## Sasquatch! (May 15, 2010)

Feast your sartorial senses on this!


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## rellis10 (May 15, 2010)

Sasquatch! said:


> Feast your sartorial senses on this!



My friend, that site looks great. Much rep must go to you for showing this.


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## olwen (May 15, 2010)

I have tried to start looking for certain brand names because some designers will carry larger sizes than others. I imagine it would be the same for men's clothes. I haven't been inside a Big and tall Shop for a while, so I don't know what brands those shops would carry, but I know if I want to find a funky shirt in a really large size I can go up to harlem and look in any shop and find a men's 4XL with an awesome design. I've noticed that the super baggy clothes guys wear sometimes might look ridiculous on a smaller guy but would fit a bigger guy rather well. The brands I find are Roca, Sean Jean, Fila, etc...I know Harlem isn't everywhere, but I dunno, maybe shops that cater to "urban" buyers might have larger sizes....


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## Sasquatch! (May 15, 2010)

rellis10 said:


> My friend, that site looks great. Much rep must go to you for showing this.



No problem :happy: I just got an email from them saying they're having a sale. My bank account is going to suffer!


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## escapist (May 15, 2010)

Sasquatch! said:


> Feast your sartorial senses on this!



WOW, its so cold in you have "Summer Jackets"? YIKES. Granted I live in Las Vegas so that might be your equivalent to hell on Earth. I've seen more than a few summer days of 118 Degree's and higher.


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## JenFromOC (May 15, 2010)

escapist said:


> WOW, its so cold in you have "Summer Jackets"? YIKES. Granted I live in Las Vegas so that might be your equivalent to hell on Earth. I've seen more than a few summer days of 118 Degree's and higher.



But...but...it's a dry heat!!! LOL


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## BigChaz (May 15, 2010)

I'm having a hard time with clothes right now. I was trying on clothes the other day and in some brands I was a 50 and in another I was a 54 or somewhere in between. How can it be that wildly inconsistent? The difference between 50 and 54 is huge! I don't understand this at all.

Right now I am wearing a pair of size 54 pants. I have a big belly but I don't have gigantic legs, so they kinda look parachutey on me. It's mildly frustrating that most pants I find seem to assume my legs must be as big around as a tree.


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## WillSpark (May 15, 2010)

BigChaz said:


> I'm having a hard time with clothes right now. I was trying on clothes the other day and in some brands I was a 50 and in another I was a 54 or somewhere in between. How can it be that wildly inconsistent? The difference between 50 and 54 is huge! I don't understand this at all.
> 
> Right now I am wearing a pair of size 54 pants. I have a big belly but I don't have gigantic legs, so they kinda look parachutey on me. It's mildly frustrating that most pants I find seem to assume my legs must be as big around as a tree.



I hear girl's clothing sizes are even more retardedly varied than that.


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## gobettiepurple (May 15, 2010)

BigChaz said:


> I'm having a hard time with clothes right now. I was trying on clothes the other day and in some brands I was a 50 and in another I was a 54 or somewhere in between. How can it be that wildly inconsistent? The difference between 50 and 54 is huge! I don't understand this at all.
> 
> Right now I am wearing a pair of size 54 pants. I have a big belly but I don't have gigantic legs, so they kinda look parachutey on me. It's mildly frustrating that most pants I find seem to assume my legs must be as big around as a tree.



* One word: Tailoring. Get them tailored. All manufacturers/brands have different sizing standards. There is no "industry standard" for size charts for clothing. Also, depending on how they make the clothing, the measurments do not fit every body type. There is a similar post about plus sizes in the clothing/fashion section, where a plus size designer explains some of the reasoning for the seemingly inconsistencies of sizing.

You should really consider getting them tailored so they fit the way you want them to fit. If you want to pay cheaper, mass produced prices then you have to deal with mass produced sizing - one size fits as many people as they can fit.

I wish you luck in your future fashion endeavors! *


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## BigChaz (May 15, 2010)

gobettiepurple said:


> * One word: Tailoring. Get them tailored. All manufacturers/brands have different sizing standards. There is no "industry standard" for size charts for clothing. Also, depending on how they make the clothing, the measurments do not fit every body type. There is a similar post about plus sizes in the clothing/fashion section, where a plus size designer explains some of the reasoning for the seemingly inconsistencies of sizing.
> 
> You should really consider getting them tailored so they fit the way you want them to fit. If you want to pay cheaper, mass produced prices then you have to deal with mass produced sizing - one size fits as many people as they can fit.
> 
> I wish you luck in your future fashion endeavors! *



Yeah, I have two pairs of pants I had tailored to fit me so far. I'm working my way through my wardrobe. I went to a local place and paid a heckuva lot more, but they look a heckuva lot better.


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## Sasquatch! (May 16, 2010)

escapist said:


> WOW, its so cold in you have "Summer Jackets"? YIKES. Granted I live in Las Vegas so that might be your equivalent to hell on Earth. I've seen more than a few summer days of 118 Degree's and higher.



It's to fight off summer breezes, and wear out in the evenings!


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## escapist (May 16, 2010)

JenFromOC said:


> But...but...it's a dry heat!!! LOL



Don't laugh, its serious man. I won't go swimming unless its over 90. The second you get out of the pool you start freezing because the water evaporates off you so fast it has a very fast chilling effect.


...oh and the evening here, we are lucky when its down to 80 in the summer. Its 80-90 on Average after 11pm.


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## Surlysomething (May 16, 2010)

WillSpark said:


> I hear girl's clothing sizes are even more retardedly varied than that.




It's insane. Even shoes! Sometimes I wear a six, other times a 8-9. WTF?


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## JenFromOC (May 17, 2010)

escapist said:


> Don't laugh, its serious man. I won't go swimming unless its over 90. The second you get out of the pool you start freezing because the water evaporates off you so fast it has a very fast chilling effect.
> 
> 
> ...oh and the evening here, we are lucky when its down to 80 in the summer. Its 80-90 on Average after 11pm.



Really? Cuz I've never been to Vegas...or Lake Havasu. Or anywhere hot...


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## escapist (May 17, 2010)

JenFromOC said:


> Really? Cuz I've never been to Vegas...or Lake Havasu. Or anywhere hot...



Well I'm sure if you were here you would have called.....


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## fat hiker (May 17, 2010)

Sasquatch! said:


> Feast your sartorial senses on this!



I note the 'Pegasus Classic Swim Brief' in sizes up to 5XL - aren't European swimming pools great!


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## RJI (May 17, 2010)

Best part about shopping in Casual Male are the FFA's working there!


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## BigChaz (May 17, 2010)

RJI said:


> Best part about shopping in Casual Male are the FFA's working there!



I wonder what percentage of women working at casual male find large guys attractive? It probably isn't as high as want to fantasize about 

edit: Anyone who posts that they met an FFA at their local Casual Male as an example of proving that Casual Male is FFA central better get driving and sample every casual male within 500 miles then get back to me.


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## Zowie (May 17, 2010)

BigChaz said:


> I wonder what percentage of women working at casual male find large guys attractive? It probably isn't as high as want to fantasize about
> 
> edit: Anyone who posts that they met an FFA at their local Casual Male as an example of proving that Casual Male is FFA central better get driving and sample every casual male within 500 miles then get back to me.



What you should be asking is, would the FFAs present here work for a Casual Male -type store?


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## Power_Metal_Kitsune (May 17, 2010)

I used to be an 18 plus and the selection of clothes in my size were nothing great, but what do you expect when all that were around you were Wal-Mart, Kmart, Lane Bryant, Target, The Avenue, Value City and A.J. Wright? Plus-size clothing choices tend to be more repugnant the smaller the town is.


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## Tad (May 18, 2010)

I'm at the size where I can buy clothes at plus-size men's stores, but I can still also buy from department stores a good number of chain stores, and an occasional independent (although they generally stop at a 38 or 40). 

My biggest clothing complaint is that with the combo of being a little on the short side (5'8"), and being short waisted, most trousers in my size either belt up over my ribs, or else the crotch is hitting well down my thighs. I did try some big-guys stores at one point, thinking that they would accept that just because you are big around you aren't necessarily tall, but I found the same fit....in fact for the most part I found the same brands of clothes that I found in some of the mall chain stores, just ten dollars more expensive. :doh: In general I was disappointed that they didn't seem to have more than one fit model in their selection--by contrast a lot of the women's plus size chains now have a number of fits for at least some of their pants.

I have other fit issues as well, but the rise in trousers is the biggest one, since it makes so many completely unwearable, and it is not easily altered by a tailor either.

I've had shirts made to measure by an off-shore tailoring company, and those are pretty sweet (and the price is not bad). I'm considering getting trousers made to measure, but they only deal in dressier trousers, which is not really what I'm looking for (I'm at a little tech company so seldom get dressier than slightly dressy cotton pants, and wear jeans a fair bit).

I did try to give up all sartorial vanity some years ago, so these days I'm not so much trying to look hot, or hip, or anything like that. I just don't want to draw attention for the poor level of fit or jarringly bad fashion.


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