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Tips on Buying Clothes for Big Guys
Posted by Chris in Apparel, Clothing, Featured, Style, Tips
I received an email from a PGG reader asking some tips on how fat or chubby guys can get into style. Read his email here.
“Hi Chris! I just want to commend you for a nice blog you have and I need some help in choosing fashionable clothes for fat/chubby guy like me. I am wondering where can I buy fashionable clothes for myself. Because when I go to F&H, People are People, Refill, etc.. there are no clothes that fits me. Can you help me? Thanks in advance.”
-ASH
Thanks Ash for your email and for the compliment. As you wish, here is my response to you. I have provided here some tips to help you and the other big guys in choosing comfortable and stylish clothes.
1. Don’t buy too loose or too fit.
When chubby guys buy clothes, they have a tendency to buy either clothes which are too fit or too loose to prove that they are not too big. However, I think this is a wrong move in choosing clothes.
If you happen to be a chubby guy, go for clothes which are one size bigger than your actual size BUT choose a slim fit version.
Confused?
Let’s say you go shopping for a shirt. You know that you are a size XL. So what you need to do is to find nice clothes on size XXL which are SLIM FIT. Once again read: SLIM FIT! So what will happen is that you will end up buying clothes which are just about right for your size and since it is slim fit, it will make you look slimmer.
2. Vertical Patterns
If you have attended Psychology 101 you should remember a topic their called visual illusions. During my freshman year in college, I clearly remember my Psych professor teaching us how to wear good clothes which will make short guys appear taller, fat guys appear slimmer, skinny guys appear bigger and so on and so forth.
I will not go over all of them. But what I remember is that, if you are a chubby guy, you should avoid horizontal prints on clothes because it only will make you look bigger and yes, fatter. Instead, what you should do is to wear vertical prints because the length of the prints will produce an illusion that you are taller and slimmer than you actually are. Choose a variety of vertical prints and not just plain stripes. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to find your wardrobe full of vertically-striped clothes would you?
3. Buy from shops like…
…Jag, Lee, Penshoppe, Bench, Human, RRJ, Tribal etc. They have tons of stylish and inexpensive clothes available up to XL (and in some cases even XXL). I also recommend that you go shopping for clothes in department stores rather than stand-alone shops for variety and for size availability. And if you can find American and foreign brands like TopMan, Van Heusen, Izod and Von Dutch – it would be much better because American sizes are naturally bigger.
You mentioned in your email some brands that you like. However, People are People, Folded & Hung, Refill, Mint, Oxygen and other similar brands rarely have BIG sizes. Yes, their clothes are very modern and chic but their target market is for slim guys. So I suggest you go for the previous ones I have mentioned.
4. Try MaxWear at SM Department Store
If you have some time, try to drop by SM Department Store one of these days. They have a section there called MaxWear and they have a wide variety of inexpensive clothes for big men. Check out a few photos below:
They have plenty of clothes for both casual and formal wear and most of the designs are the latest ones which you will also see from the other brands.
Anyway, I hope you and the other guys will find this post useful and helpful in a way. If the other readers have some tips also, please don’t hesitate to post a comment below.
Want more tips on men’s fashion? Subscribe to Pinoy Guy Guide by email or discuss more about style at the PGG Forums.
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Hey Chris, Thank you for this one. It really help me in choosing the right clothes. Can I wear checkered clothes(polo) and slim fit pants?
Thanks Chris for the tips and for this article. I’ll avoid wearing horizontal stripes shirts from now on and start looking for vertical pattern shirts so I will look slim a bit.
astig to. sana mayroon mag post sa “show your style” na isang big guy.
very nice there… keep it up
the author seems to have the right ideas in mind, but i don’t think he really answered the guy’s question. he focused so much on the “how” rather than the “where” side of the question. i have to admit that his advice is sound (especially about ordering one size larger, and getting vintage or slim fits… that’s pure genius)… but the guy asked WHERE can he buy clothes.
oh yeah… he said “maxwear”… but COME ON!!! max wear is lame. for some silly reason, SM seems to think that chubs love in dull colored plains and plaids all the time. just like anybody else, a fashionable chubby guys likes color and good classic designs.
another thing too… maxwear DOES NOT have a good concept of what plus size is. PLUS and EXTENDED sizes range anywhere beyond 50inches for chest sizes, and should have adjusted arm holes for extra arm girth. they DON’T have that. i should know, because i’ve been there… and i’m plus size, and i know they can’t cater to my needs.
most stores locally don’t carry plus or extended sizes… in fact, it’s an under-serviced market. the only commercial store i know that carry something near my size (which is a 2XL american size based on nautica, and 3XL-4XL local size, chest size 52-54 inches) is Marks and Spencer. Even brands that are known in the US to carry plus and extended sizes don’t bring their wears locally… like the GAP, and NAUTICA (Nautica just recently stopped sending american sizes to their local stores last year).
it’s understandable though; asians are smaller, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a market for bigger guys. it’s frustrating really. in the end you eventually end up exploring online stores. american eagle’s online store (www.ae.com) and aeropostale (www.aeropostale.com) is my favorite since they carry my size in inventory, and they have great designs (i go to the GAP too… they nice designs every now and then, and they have great polo shirts); and there’s Casual Male XL (which ships to the Philippines too). here’s the problem though… INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING (which is usually $50 / Php2000+ … just as pricey as the stuff you’re buying). what’s worse, some online stores don’t ship internationally — so you’ll have to have family to ship to in the US who can ship it to you in turn.
hope this information helps those who, like me, are happy the way we are, but would just like the big corporate eggheads to realize that not everyone in the Philippines is sized like pygmy dwarfs.
Nice tip! I’ll go there this coming payday!