Buying clothes for an unaverage man

[Deleted User]

Sorry that sounds like my hubbie has 4 arms and 2 heads but i assure you that isn't the case.

Tonight he was on his way out and said "how do i look?". I said "ok but i think you need to change your jumper". It was an oversized zip up hoodie and he was going to a chinese restaurant. He dissapeared and returned with a v neck fitted wollen jumper over the shirt he'd previously been wearing. It looked much better and i commented so.

He has literally just got back, so nearly midnight and hes just said to me that despite the fact he doesn't mind wearing his M&S v necks, they don't properly fit. He is slim-medium build but long in the arms, so if he wears anything bigger than medium to get the cuff length, the body is baggy or vice versa.

Has anyone got any experience of styles, stores or shops that cater for the medium build man with longer than average arms. "or as he calls it baboon monkey arms?".

Gloomendoom

I think I must be the same build as your husband and to be honest I think you are going to struggle. Dress suits and shirts are not so bad because it is possible to get them in 'long' or made to measure (not as expensive as you would think.) Casual stuff is just a case of trying everything on and picking the best compromise. Before meeting my wife I always used to take the easy option and buy XL in everything just so that the arms would be long enough. Needless to say, I usually looked like a sack of spuds... but I spent a lot less time in the shop.

There are (or were) specialist shops like High & Mighty but I found that they mainly catered for excessively stout clientèle with stubby limbs or extremely tall people with normal length arms.

peachyprice

What age is your OH and how trendy is he?

Have you tried Next, I might be completley wrong, but it their mens clothes are anything like the ladies the arms will be of baboonesque proportions.

dibuzz

I have the same problem with my son.
My son has a 28" waist and 34" inside leg but most manufacturers think if you've got long legs you must be fat. He has the same trouble with sleeves so tops have to be baggy if he doesnt want the sleeves half mast.

angelil

Sounds like my husband - tall, slim, long arms and legs...sound familiar?
He gets his suits and shirts made to measure (again, it's not as expensive as you might think, especially compared to other high-end brands that may have a chance of fitting well, such as Boss or Corneliani).
For his jeans, he wears Levi's; try Ralph Lauren or Façonnable for jumpers and polo shirts.

Gloomendoom

dibuzz wrote: »

I have the same problem with my son.
My son has a 28" waist and 34" inside leg but most manufacturers think if you've got long legs you must be fat. He has the same trouble with sleeves so tops have to be baggy if he doesnt want the sleeves half mast.

If he is following the current trends, trousers shouldn't be a problem...

Callie22

There's a shirt brand called Eterna that do shirts with extra long arms but 'normal' everything else, but they're not cheap. However they are incredibly good quality and last forever.

fannyanna

I think Next do a kinda tall and slim range. My BIL is tall and very slim and he has the same trouble. I know one year he asked for some specific shirts from Next because of the way that they were made.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Ex has Marfan's, one of the markers of which is armspan greater than overall height (which was 6'5" in itself), and he had to buy the larger sizes to get the length. Had it been anything of reasonable value, rather than his weekend customary band T-Shirt and 34" waist/34" leg jeans, he would have either bought something more expensive (from one of those posher shirt places that have all the different brands - as taller people tend to be wealthier/vice versa, they are used to getting clients like that) or got larger and then get it altered to fit at the tailor's in the market.

Lunar_Eclipse

My husband is 6'2" and a long, slim fit. He has experienced exactly the same thing.

We have found that more expensive clothes brands are a much better (ie slimmer) fit. GANT or Hackett jumpers come up a much slimmer fit with the longer arms than the likes of M&S (although he has a great pair of slim fit jeans from their Autograph range.) He also likes Timberland slim fit shirts and jeans. Sometimes he can buy a medium in better quality clothing whereas something from a supermarket would need to be an XL for sleeve length whilst fitting two of his bodies.

So whenever he needs a new jumper, we would go to a department store like House of Fraser, instead of a high street chain like Next. The jumper will cost 2-4 times the price, but it's worth it (I find him very attractive) and he buys much less. One good quality item instead of 3 cheap ones.

LondonDreamer

M&S actually have a newish line which has an extra 2" in sleeve and body length. My DH doesn't need this but has several of the £15 Cashmilon jumpers that he loves, and they do the longer length version of those - but only available on the website so you'd have to order to collect in store. Might be worth looking into as a cheaper alternative to other suggestions?

It's called 2" Longer, funnily enough.