I disagree. I think there are regional differences. When I was in Boston, I saw scads of very small caucasian people–most of them dark haired and I am guessing lots from Eastern European descent. I live in the Deep South where a lot of the caucasian people are of Scotch Irish descent–big raw-boned people-like me–I’m 5’8"–average sized woman for my family where women range from 5’4" to 6’1".
Lots of the African Americans down here are very tall and large, too.
If I’m not mistaken, in areas of the US where lots of Swedes settled like Minnesota and Nebraska, people are apt to be taller.
I’m re-thinking my notion that a clothing outlet could not feasibly cater to all sizes of people.
What if an already successful mainstream retailer, say Old Navy (owned by…The Gap! [damn, techchik, you’re right about my brain :)]), started carrying extra extra big-n-small clothes? What if they just started doing it, without a lot of big fanfare? Are there enough Biggies and Smallies to support such a move (there would seem to be, if the SDMB is any indication)? Would standard sized shoppers lay eye upon the big pants and think they had stumbled into Lane Bryant? Or would it perhaps fly?
My original thinking was that, at some point in the history of retail apparel, the extreme sizes must have been driven from the mainstream, presumably for lack of demand. But I don’t know, maybe they’ve never been in the mainstream. Maybe nobody has tried an Old Navy scenario. Maybe the “Big-n-Tall” field has been sufficiently stigmatized (for its aforementioned style handicaps) that few standard-size folks would patronize. But maybe not.
Could it work?
Trust me, tc, 12 little steps ain’t gonna do it. It’ll take miles and miles of vigorous fashion re-programming before I’m ready to play with civilized folk again.
I have to start out and say that I love all you big guys. 
Anyway, my boyfriend buys a lot of his shirts from Old Navy. He is 6’1 ir 2" and over 300 lbs. He typically wears betweent a XXL or a XXXL shirt which Old Navy actually carries. Finding a good pair of pants is a different story especially if finances are a consideration. Big and Tall Casual Male is good for some dressier clothes and pants and is often moderately priced.
I belong to a digest called the “Chubs and Chasers Digest” where they often discuss the hardships of finding clothes in larger sizes. There are certain by-mail retailers that are also good and inexpensive but the vast majority of those sell crappy merchandise (according to the people on the list).
I can say from the perspective of someone who dates exclusively large people that it is getting much easier to shop for sizes of clothes up to around the 3X point but after that you have to go to a specialty store typically speaking.
HUGS!
Sqrl
I’m not argumentative, just right. -Me
It’s not just clothes, either. I’m not that tall, 5’10", but it took me forever to find a stroller that was comfortable for me to push. They seem to size them for the “average” sized woman, I guess it never occured to them that fathers (and tall women) might want to push them.
I don’t even want to talk about kitchen counters! Suffice it to say, I can’t wait until I buy my own home and can get everything built to my specifications.
This might be getting into MPSIMS, but I’ve been having a lot of trouble finding children’s shoes and clothes for my son. He’s four, and they don’t seem to make “husky” (man I hate that term) sizes, or wide shoes. He’s not fat, but he is built like a mini-linebacker, and I have to buy size 7s and fold them up to have anything fit. Shoes are just hopeless, I can’t seem to find them wide enough, even in Stride Rite. The poor thing will probably have to get everything specially made when he gets older.
tatertot wrote:
Yeah, and don’t get me started on bathrooms, either. They sure aren’t built with us tall folk in mind. Mirrors are always set too low – I have to bend over to shave. Same story with shower heads; I have to slump over to get my head and shoulders wet.
I bought a luggage cart and then realized the handle was so low (even fully extended) that I had to walk stooped over to use the thing.
[/rant]
Well, looks like I was right, there are positively LOADS of people out there who canb’t find decent clothes/shoes/hats etc. to wear.
By the way, sory if I phrased the OP badly; singling out only big & tall people fore this thread was not my intent (but that seems to have been realised by just about everyone here).
I know all about small size problems as well, since my girlfriend is only 5’4" (I think). Being 6’5" myslef, we have the problem at both ends of the scale. At least she doesn’t have trouble finding shoes…
On that note; an update on the shoe problem. Since I live in the UK it’s virtually impossible to find big shoe suppliers. Recently, I ordered a pair of trainers and a pair of boots from a mail order company that imports from the US. Obviously, the prices verged on extortion, but after they first sent me the wrong pairs (as they were “out of stock”) then made me pay for them to be sent back, I started to feel a little bit peeved. Finally, I got the shoes through, so there is a happy ending.
The point of all that was that basically even if I find a supplier of big sizes (jeans are now becoming a problem, as well as other makes), there’s no guarantee that I’ll a) get what I order b) pay a reasonable price or c) get a response from them AT ALL (which has happened several times before).
I never thought I’d see the world where people changed faster than products (it’s usually the reverse), but obviously I was wrong. 
Can anyone out there in that vast crowd of people give me the addresses of big sized clothes suppliers that ship over to here (from the US) or already are here (in the UK)???
“The only good impression he can do is of a man with no talent” - Edmund Blackadder
I am tall for a woman (5’9 1/2"), and I too run into problems with bathroom sinks, etc. What really annoys me is in public restrooms, where EVERYthing is sized down for people who are in wheelchairs to be able to access it. I’m thinking specifically of those nasty little blow-drier thingies, but it’s also sometimes true of the paper towel dispenser, etc. Grrr! I hate the blow driers to begin with, but when I have to bend down to use them it’s worse, especially if I’m dealing with a pulled muscle in my back.
Accomodations should of course be made to those who need them, but not in such a way as to negatively impact those who don’t.
-Melin
Voted Best Moderator
Siamese attack puppet – California
They’re not, at least not in terms of fabric use. I can occasionally find 2XL shirts at Target for about $17 (whereas the same shirt in XL will run about $14) only to find the same shirt at a big and tall store for $35. Shorts at Target, $15. The same shorts at B&T, $40. Pants are outrageous. $50 or $60 for one pair of jeans! And the 2XL shirts at B&T are the same price as the 6XLs, so it’s not a fabric issue. The markup is because, as specialty stores, the B&Ts are smaller and have more overhead, and can’t get the kind of volume pricing that chain department stores get.