Close. It’s vertical stripes and dark colors.
Me too! I got the Canadian lawyer part right, but somehow got the impression he was a female prosecutor.
The key to layering for big people is thin layers…don’t add bulk. Darker pants than shirt draw the eye up. Pleats add bulk and puff to belly. Close-fitting may sound like they’d accent the rolls but close-to-the-body and non-clingy fabrics look much better on a XXL man than a 4XL shirt hanging off his shoulders and drooping around his body like a bag. Ditto huge jeans in a light wash. Faded patches are the enemy. Tailoring works WONDERS—it’s not just for rich people. Clothes shopping takes time more than money and a lot of effort but he’ll give off the vibe that he cares about his look because he’s worth it and confidence is attractive.
I would suggest going to a good department store like Nordstroms and getting some help in the mens ware department. In a good store you’ll be able to find a knowledgeable salesperson who should be able to help your friend put together a nice collection of shirts and pants and maybe a pair of shoes.
im gonna have to veto the shirt tucked in, you look like a douche bag anyway with it tucked in and a big jesus belt buckle shining below. a big guy doling this is just insult to injury. If anything having it tucked it would make the gut look bigger.
A friend of mine used to look like the Comic Book guy from the Simpsons. He’s a recording engineer and really looked the stereotype. He got a new girlfriend who helped him get an all-new wardrobe.
One thing I noticed is that he went and got shirts that were properly cut for his size, and he kept the shirts buttoned up (except for the last couple of buttons at the top). That really made a difference in my mind. When his shirt was loose and/or unbuttoned, it looked like he was busting out of it. A neat tailored look really made him look “cleaned up”. He mostly got solids and vertical stirpes. No plads or fancy patterns. When he first just changed his wardrobe, he looked much better in clothes from the big 'n tall store that were cut to fit his proportions.
Then he took up running and now he’s a scrawny whip of a guy (his dad was a big time marathon runner, so it’s in his jeans to be Mr. SkinnyRunningDude). He also got a haircut and started wearing all black so he looks a little goth. He still looks like a recording engineer, just a different kind of recording engineer. He looks totally different now. I didn’t recognize his recent photo.
No. Not having it tucked it makes the gut look bigger. Because the hanging shirt extends the line of the gut out and down. Shirts aren’t accidentally made to be tucked in, nor is it some fashion whim. They’re tucked in because they look better that way. If anything, not tucking it in makes it look like you’re so huge that your clothes can’t fit.
That’s calling attention to your size. With clothes, you want to call attention to your good features – like, that you have a waist – not to your poor features. Particularly if you might want to impress someone. Like, a potential date.
Big Jesus belt buckles are only appropriate if you are a native Texan who regularly wears either cowboy boots or the cowboy hat. Get a plain belt, one that you could wear as business or casual.
note: generic “you” here; I’m not assuming that any particular poster is full-figured or large-boned. so to speak.
Nah, and in case you are wondering, I use Muffin as my screen name simply out of habbit. My folks started calling me Muffin when I was an infant, and it stuck. (Could be worse – when I was born and first presented to my mom, she screamed out "Eeeek! What is it!) I have relatives that go by names such as Shark, Speck, and Cunny.
Academically a feminist, with family law being a significant chunk of my practice. Aside from that, I’m a typical straight male who paddles down rugged rapids, skis down rugged hills, and farts rugged farts, or whatever it is that males are supposed to do (which tomorrow will include trying to get my women’s paddling crew to introduce me to the visiting team as someone whom they have purchased for the visitors for the evening – I expect that nothing will come of it, not the least of which because I will be wearing a pink T-shirt, rather than something better looking as described in this thread).
Hell, I could’ve sworn he was black…who the hell am I mixing him up with?
Echoing what others have said: buying clothes that fit properly is key. You’ll have to pay more for them, which can mean going to special stores with potentially less selection, but them’s the breaks. I get a big chunk of my wardrobe from Casual Male, because they have ‘tall’ sizes that actually enable me to tuck my shirts in.
Jeans are okay most of the time, as long as you follow the “buy clothes that actually fit” rule. I second the belt, and the call for decent shoes. Because I hate loafers, and sneakers suck, I wear work boots for my everyday casual shoe. Super comfortable, and you can find styles that don’t look overly casual. Plus, I’m prepared if anyone drops a steel girder on my toes.
One ‘fat guy’ trick, although it doesn’t help much in July: get some undershirts that are too small. A tall size is good, since they’ll be long enough to stay tucked in, but get 'em smaller than your actual size. A small, tight undershirt acts a lot like an all-body bra, and keeps at least some of the unattractive jiggling down. You’d be amazed at how it can pull you in. And if you’re going with the shirt-over-shirt look, make the inner shirt a black t-shirt that’s too small. Same effect, and the black is very concealing.
This sounds like a job for the SDSAB
Straight Dope *Style * Advisory Board
Exactamundo, and a look I happen to think is very flattering on bigger guys.
As a larger guy myself (6’1" , 42" waist, 52" chest) I’ll say this:
Postulate #1: You’re fat. You’re not going to fool anyone. The whole point of the dressing well exercise is to show that despite your gut, you care about looking as good as you can, and generally this means properly fitted clothing.
Corollary #1: NO wearing of your pants under your gut- that always draws attention to your gut; men look pregnant when they wear sub-gut pants.
This requires you to wear your proper waist size. If you can’t button your pants an inch or so below your belly-button, they’re too small. Go up sizes until you can. This applies to shorts, pants, jeans, slacks, etc…
Corollary #2: Try and avoid typical “fat guy” looks. Big ass florid Hawaiian shirts with shorts are pretty stereotypical fat guy clothing. No matter how cool the shirt, people are going to make assumptions about that look, and more than likely assume you’re a middle-aged dork, or some kind of drunken party animal.
Corollary #3: Make sure the low-hanging fruit is taken care of. Have a good(my preference is short) haircut, be clean shaven (beards tend to make fat guys look bear-like), be clean, smell nice, have trimmed fingernails, have nice shoes, wear decent clothes, have said decent clothes professionally pressed/cleaned, have a decent looking watch, etc…
This means non-Wal Mart/Arizona Jeans/etc… type off-brand jeans. It doesn’t mean Lucky brand jeans (not that they make them in fat guy sizes anyway), but no cheapo jeans that are in odd colors of blue. This also means no stonewash, acid wash, carpenter’s pants or anything else 80’s/90’s.
you know as an older chick, I think that jeans and tennis shoes are just fine as a look as long as they are clean and well fitting. Shirt tail out with nice slacks are fine as long as they fit. Grooming is a big key, us fat folks can’t afford to look slovenly. An XX shirt is a big canvas to show off a stain. bed head works on Brad Pitt, it makes fat folks look like they don’t care.
Lose the t-shirts for polo type shirts, lose the baseball hat, lose the raggedy jeans and keep in mind that what is stylish and attractive on a skinny person isn’t on a fat person. Classics work much better.
Lastly, the hottest look for any man is a well tailored tuxedo, it makes women swoon. I am not saying he should wear this on a date but the theory of good grooming, and well fitting classic styling are a killer combination.
BMI charts don’t take into account muscle mass so atheltes like Gabriella Reese show to be overweight. And I agree that 156 on a 6’3’ person is way too thin. My Dad was about that while I was growing up and he was way too thin. Then he quit smoking and discovered beer and chocolate. Teh first time he had to go on a diet was almost funny.
The dressy section at L.L. Bean, or (more likely) llbean.com. I’m a big guy and wear L.L.Bean chinos & polos to work. The shirts are from a local outlet store and the pants are from the online store; the outlet store doesn’t have pants in my size. When I order pants, I get a couple sizes too large so I know they’ll fit.
T-shirts that fit are so important! My husband for years bought XL, and even the odd XXL (he isn’t even a big guy!) because he thought that was his size… the seams for the sleeves came halfway down his bicep on some of these shirts! It just made him look big and square, and very sloppy. For the past few years, though, I’ve insisted he try on other sizes, and he is, in fact, either a large M or a small L depending on the shirt, and he looks slimmer and better put together just for having changed the size of his shirts. Now, if we can convince his dad to stop buying him cheesy XXL t-shirts when he goes on vacation, we’ll be all set!
If he is unwilling to change his attire in the long term, simply have him go naked for a couple of weeks, and then revert to his present attire, which in comparision to his buffitude, will make his usual garb appear to his relieved companions be the height of sartorial elegance.
Hey, the worst that could happen is that the fashion police would arrest or commit him, which either way would result in him being provided with appropriate attire at the public’s expense.
I totally agree with the “buy clothes that fit” rule.
Many guys recall buying jeans with a waist size of 32 when they were in high school, and dammit, they can still (suck it in) fit (don’t exhale) in (lay flat on the bed on your back) them…even though the blood no longer runs down past their waist.
Yep, they fit…except now there is 40 pounds of flesh squeezed up over the waist band. Once you have the mindset that you can still fit in, and look good in, those pants that are 8 inches too tight, it is downhill from there.
Of course, then there are those that seem to think their waist is about six inches above their navel and they wind up looking like Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.
Find the happy medium guys, and even though you can fit into 32" pants doesn’t mean you should.