Clothing Sources for Tall and Thin Gentlemen

[mwolcott]

Hi guys,

I thought I would start a (hopefully) ever-ongoing thread where tall and thin guys can share good finds that overcome the specific difficulties we face as orangutan-armed, slim/athletic bodied fellows. What's prompted me to start this is: I'm trying to buy a simple lightweight wool v-neck, but of course Mediums fit around the chest but leave several inches off my appropriate sleeve length. A place like J Crew has the "Tall" sweater option, which is great when they have Mediums in stock. But this is only ONE place I've found. This is one example of a problem that I face all the time, and I know you do too.

Another example: I would LOVE to find a nice Tweed sport coat, but I feel I can't buy online unless it's Made to Measure, because of the proportion issues we all deal with. Does anyone have a good resource for jackets, tweed or otherwise?? This thread is meant to be a source for all finds and tips for the tall and thin gentleman.

Unleash your knowledge gents!

[shad0w4life]

You could inspect jackets to see how much the sleeve can be let out and go to a tailor.

Otherwise welcome to the MTM club :P

[mwolcott]

Yeah I've been getting most of my stuff MTM, but that gets expensive, and sometimes I'd like to snag a good deal that is close enough that it can be tailored. Plus I've been asking around and it's amazing how few MTM places even have tweed cloth!

[mwolcott]

Oh, and another item I have trouble finding is a nice close fitting Henley with long enough sleeves. Anyone have suggestions there?

[shad0w4life]

jcrew henley fit me quite well, may have been a tall size IIR.

I take 36 sleeve in dress shirts normally.

[Longshanks]

At 6'7" and around 190 pounds, I can certainly agree with the sentiment of this thread.

The place that I tend to get a surprising amount of my clothing is JC Penney. I buy pants unhemmed online at my 34" waist size and then have them tailored to my inseam (37") in house. I also tend to be able to find at least a few Stafford dress shirts that work for me (16 1/2" neck and around a 37" sleeve, though these things tend to be real billowy in the body so I'm hoping to get them brought in at the sides at some point). Aside from that, I wear a lot of shorts, don't own any chinos, and thrift most of my outerwear.

As you guys probably know from experience, sleeve length is the eternal bane of a lanky man's wardrobe.

[cwc0004]

I am only 6'4"tall, but only have a 32 inch inseam, so I am all torso. I am a 16.5 neck and 36/37 length shirt and a 43L/44L jacket. Pants are not problem, shirts are though. I need talls for the shirt and sleeve length. Most dress shirts stop the sleeve length at 34/35 for a 16.5, as I am sure you know.

Lately, I have been hitting BR (sometimes Gap and ON too) for shirts. Along with the discounts you can always find, I love that they don't charge extra for talls like everyone else. The only big drawback is they only sell them online, but you can return in store. I go to the store and look around (like I did at lunch today) and then order online. I ordered a tall sweater from them and wore it for the first time today. Honestly, I found the length to be a little on the sort side for a tall. The sleeve length was great though.

I know they get a lot of flack on here, but I have had good luck with Jos A Bank shirts. The tailored fit they have fits me really well. The length is good and they go to 36 sleeve length for a 16.5. They also now have slim fit, but I haven't tried those yet. You can get them for around $24 when they are running their sales, which they always are doing. The quality is decent and they seem to last awhile.

[MaxMan]

H&M, Zara maybe...

[diversification]

Sounds like most of you guys are a till taller and thinner than I am, but I'll weigh in regardless. I'm 6'1", 175 lbs, 16" - 16.5" neck, 36" sleeve, 41" - 42" chest, 35" waist (soon to be decreasing as I've decided to work off the fat I've unfortunately allowed to develop), 31" - 32" inseam. I think that for dress shirts, it's pretty much going to end up being MTM for me. I wear a dress shirt every day and I need them to look good on me. I am either left with the option of trying to get a close-ish fit from places like Charles Tyrwhitt, TM Lewin, Brooks Brothers (on a steep sale) or try to find random pieces of somewhat higher quality at stores which aren't nearly as consistent with the quality or sizing (ie. Macys, Lord & Taylor, etc). At the end of the day, I'm probably going to end up wasting more time and money with the OTR options (especially after tailoring costs) than I will just buying MTM (and there's a good chance I'm going to end up with a better quality product going the MTM route anyway).

For non-dress (work) shirts, things get a bit more complicated. I don't REALLY want to go the MTM route there, but I also hate spending time going through stores, trying everything on, jotting down what was close and then having to go find it online and see if I can get it in a medium-tall or something like that. Having said that, I have had some success with Gap & BR when doing that. Typically most things I find in the brick & mortar stores are also online (save the clearance stuff) which is quite convenient. More recently, they also seem to be trending toward slimmer fits which is great to see.

Another place that isn't often mentioned is Eddie Bauer and the reason is probably because of the limited online selection. However, I went to a brick & mortar the other day and tried on a few shirts. They have 3 fits (something like relaxed, standard and slim IIRC). I honestly believe that if I ordered a medium standard tall, it would be perfect on me (I tried on a medium relaxed). I haven't pulled the trigger on this because I'm looking for certain things right now and they aren't reflected in the online selection.

Target is one that is mentioned around here a lot: I have had some success. I got an Athletic fit thermal recently that works on me quite well. This fit doesn't really translate into their button up shirts though. The one button up I purchased was a medium and though it fits like a glove (almost too much so) through the chest, waist an arm circumference, the arm length would be unacceptable if I ever intended to leave the sleeve unrolled. Their regular fit and fitted stuff just doesn't seem to cut it either because of the waist being too large, the arms being too short, etc. I also just can't convince myself that having tailoring done on a Target piece is worth it.

I can't comment as much on J Crew because I often stay away from them. Most times their prices are just too high with respect to the quality. Also, unlike BR, it seems like the stuff in their brick and mortars doesn't match up very well with what they have online. Perhaps this is because of the poor labeling on the garments themselves (sometimes). I may find myself ordering from them in the future if I can get stuff on a steep discount and with free shipping, but who knows.

Bonobos: haven't tried them. In general, their prices just seem steep.

JackThreads: haven't tried them mainly because IIRC they don't cover shipping. If they did I'd be all over them.

Saks Off 5th, Nordstrom Rack, etc: These places are probably good bets if you can hit them in person. The lines they carry are probably more likely to be more fitted, albeit expensive. You may get lucky.

Zara: If you have one close, I'd check it out. I believe they also do free shipping both ways now. I don't have one near me and I've never ordered from them, although this may change. Not sure about the quality.

Nordstrom: If you have one close, I'd check it out. They have free shipping both ways. I don't have one near be but I'm certain I will order from them in the future. The quality and fit will vary by brand/item.

H&M: The quality is cheap but you may luck out with some fits. Trying things on at the brick and mortar may work. I've tried this and omg the pants are confusing. I found about 5 different types of chinos in maroon, all slightly different. The differences weren't well defined and the fits in relation to their respective fits made no sense (some labeled 'slim' were too baggy and one labeled 'regular' fit almost perfectly...).

JCP: The new jcp line isn't likely to work for you. I tried to trick myself into thinking the shirts would work: I ended up coming to my senses and returning them. The sleeves were too short in relation to the body. I could have sized up and then had the chest/waist brought in, but they aren't worth it quality wise IMO (besides, the shoulders and neck would probably have been off). I haven't really tried on any of their pants.

Depending on where you live, places like Marshalls and TJ Maxx may carry some decent quality stuff (aka, if you live in a relatively wealthy area). Obviously these places are incredibly hit or miss. The same goes for thrift stores.

I'll stop rambling now. Sorry I didn't discuss pants much. I've been shopping more for shirts than anything else.

[mwolcott]

Thanks for the excellent posts so far! I guess I should have mentioned my measurements too, to give an idea for those reading:

6' 3", 165 lbs
Neck: 16"
Sleeve: ~36" (full sleeve)
Chest: 38"
Outseam: 34" (I'm usually a 31/34 or 32/34 depending on the maker and fit of the pants)

Concerning Bonobos, I have tried their pants and I'm really impressed. Paying full price is quite a lot, but I own 4–5 pairs and haven't had to pay full price yet. They usually have a good selection in the sales/clearance section, and they frequently do deals and promotions, like giving you referral codes to get you credit and save the person using the code $ on their purchase. In fact for those of you that are interested in that, here's one you can use: http://bono.bs/x/Je06Q I think that's good for $50 off if you spend $125. (I think it's good through Dec 2, 2012?). You might be able to combine it with the code EFFORTLESSGENT to save an additional 20% but I'm not sure if they can stack. Anyway, finding deals like this still typically leaves them at around $50–$60/pair but as I said, the fit and quality is really quite good, at least for me. Plus returns are SUPER easy and shipping is free both ways. I have not tried their shirts or anything else, as those seem like they are super expensive and yet do not address the same tall/thin issues that the pants do.