# What are your thoughts RE: Fat people in tight clothes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 21, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646 "2014-07-21T04:59:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/81 "2014-07-22T22:37:23Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> Exactly. My belief is that if you are really self conscious about it, you’ll either dress in a more flattering way or you’ll ignore remarks that try to bring you down.
I suspect many fat people do care. But it’s easy to look at yourself and decide you look terrible whatever you do, so there’s no point in making yourself look even more comical by appearing to have tried to look good and failed, as if you believe there might be some potential there.
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### Author:  [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/82 "2014-07-22T23:02:22Z")
> [@Timetrvlr](#):
>
> We see it every day, everywhere; fat people wearing the tightest clothes they can stretch and get into. Is this a game to see who has the most rolls? I understand being fat and unable to lose that extra 50 pounds, **I have that problem but I sure don’t show it off** , I try to hide it by wearing large, loose clothing. Am I out to lunch on this?
I’m not surprised to see that the OP admits to being fat too.
Last year I took a cruise with a three other women–all who were on the chubby side. Not an hour would go by without at least one of them complaining about what some other fat person was wearing on the boat. “OMG, do you see those shorts on her? What is she thinking!” “Why is she wearing that tight dress with all those rolls?” “Gah, she needs to be arrested for that bikini!” You know the drill.
It damn near drove me insane because 1) who the hell goes on a cruise just to focus on some idiot passengers?? and 2) the clothing choices of other people are of zero consequence to me and as topic, it actually bores me to tears. Ultimately, all their commentary told me was that they were so consumed with insecurity and self-loathing that they needed to police what other people wear to feel better about their fat selves. Because Lord knows my cabin mates weren’t brave enough to showcase their bodies like the objects of their scorn were. When we went to the beach, they hid their stomachs and legs behind coverups and yet still were too self-conscious to prance about in the sand. They weren’t under the delusion that anyone could find them sexy, so they stayed away from revealing clothes.
It was like they felt like they deserved a medal for being suitably ashamed. That’s what I think of when I see fat people being critical of other fat people.
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### Author:  [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/83 "2014-07-22T23:12:49Z")
I’m fat. Obese in fact. Have been for 30+ years.
I wear what I find comfortable and for me that is loose but not baggy jeans and tee shirts most of the time. Rarely knee length short in the summer, sweatpants in the cooler weather.
People are free to wear what they choose, within decency and venue limits. If an overweight person wants to wear revealing clothing, I don’t care and if I don’t find it or them attractive, well that’s my problem, not theirs.
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### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/84 "2014-07-22T23:13:55Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> If people don’t want to get made fun of for neglecting their bodies then they should take better care of themselves.
Unless, yanno, they can’t afford to. My husband has gone from ridiculously underweight whilst he was sick one time (and mostly in the hospital, so we didn’t have to do a lot of changing to his wardrobe) to quite a bit overweight because he’s been stuck on steroids to combat another part of his illness for forever. We’re so broke we’ve lost our home, so replacing his clothes with something appealing to others isn’t really very high on our priority list. Something incidental like electricity and insurance are more important.
And whoa be to any moron that dare say something to him about it (like that he’s lazy) because all we can afford are resale shops, the dreaded Walmart and sweat pants (since those accommodate all the fluctuations better)… if that ever happens, I will seriously lose my cool and run their lame asses over with the only vehicle we have left. Hmph.
And I really only popped into this thread because I was hoping for another “F bomb.” Seeing some people get the vapors over it cracks me up.
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/85 "2014-07-22T23:23:31Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> We spend a great deal of time on the SDMB talking about the most mundane of things. You have always been an ardent defender of this, **monstro**. That’s fine. But by that logic, talking about people too lazy to take care of themselves seems to be a weird sticking point for some. The chorus of the SDMB can rail against people they consider anti intellectual, ignorant, super religious, etc. But suddenly when the topic of putting effort in oneself comes up its ironically taboo.
>
> Someone that doesn’t take care of themselves is setting themselves up for being ostracized. Whose actions are easier to change, your own or everybody else’s?
I’m a fan of talking about mundane things, which is why I posted to this thread in the first place.
But there is a difference between offering up your opinion about something mundane and posting “why do inferior people do inferior things?” lameness. Wasn’t it you who created a thread about this type of Doper behavior? Feigning ignorance about why people throw big weddings, watch TV, or drink soda as an excuse to bash them is just as stupid as doing it with regard to dressing preferences. Because the answer is ALWAYS the same. “Everyone has different opinions.” “Everyone likes different things.”
It seems to me you have a problem with people opinionatin’ about your opinions. You are free to think whatever you want about Fat Girl in the hot pants. But if you reveal your harsh opinions on a public message board, people are free to think you’re a jerk. If you can’t handle this, then you are no different from all those “butthurt” fat people you think are looking for a virtual “hugbox.”
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/86 "2014-07-22T23:32:45Z")
I couldn’t care less what anyone else chooses to wear. Honestly, that is about last on my list of things I ponder. The _only_ thought I ever have when I see some of the more extreme examples of ill-fitting clothes (usually found on an overweight person) is whether or not the person is aware of how bad the clothes look on them.
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### Author:  [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/87 "2014-07-22T23:35:04Z")
Monstro, where is your fan club, I will join up. 🙂
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/88 "2014-07-22T23:50:52Z")
Fan club? My head is already too big! We mustn’t make it even bigger so that my hats become tight and ill-fitting. 🙂
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/89 "2014-07-23T01:57:41Z")
A lot of people are assuming that tight clothes = unkempt or poorly dressed. No doubt **Incubus** is imagining his favorite “neckbeard” somehow related to too-tight shirts with stains and rips.
You can talk all day about whether or not it’s ok for someone to be unkempt in the presence of Adonises such as **Incubus** and his very put-together and very Mexican wife, but is that really the topic?
The topic is fat people in tight clothes. Not smelly clothes or ripped clothes. And not particularly grown-out-of clothes.
You can’t equate a fat girl in a pair of $80 “jeggings” with a nice blouse and shoes to someone who isn’t interested in their appearance. You can’t say that because a woman has a tight tanktop on doesn’t care about her appearance because it’s a size 22 tanktop. Fat people can wear tight clothes and make it look good.
People with a few extra pounds who wear last summer’s too-tight clothes, those people probably look bad and don’t have a mirror. Guys who haven’t bought new work shirts since they quit going to the gym and are being held in by two buttons, they probably could use a little help.
But if the OP is asking “should fat people - and you know I mean FAT PEOPLE, like really big whales! - hide themselves under baggy clothes?” I say no. Many of those people can look way better in something skin-tight than people who spent too much time at the ice cream stand this summer and didn’t mean for that skirt to be so tight. There’s a difference.
Hope you never start hanging over the side of your bus driver’s uniform, **Incubus**! Your wife who is also Mexican might have to buy you a new one, lest you go out looking like you don’t take care of yourself.
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### Author:  [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/90 "2014-07-23T02:31:50Z")
Depends on how they are shaped. Orca fat? Michelin Man fat?
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/91 "2014-07-23T03:23:59Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> A lot of people are assuming that tight clothes = unkempt or poorly dressed. No doubt **Incubus** is imagining his favorite “neckbeard” somehow related to too-tight shirts with stains and rips.
>
> You can talk all day about whether or not it’s ok for someone to be unkempt in the presence of Adonises such as **Incubus** and his very put-together and very Mexican wife, but is that really the topic?
>
> The topic is fat people in tight clothes. Not smelly clothes or ripped clothes. And not particularly grown-out-of clothes.
>
> You can’t equate a fat girl in a pair of $80 “jeggings” with a nice blouse and shoes to someone who isn’t interested in their appearance. You can’t say that because a woman has a tight tanktop on doesn’t care about her appearance because it’s a size 22 tanktop. Fat people can wear tight clothes and make it look good.
>
> People with a few extra pounds who wear last summer’s too-tight clothes, those people probably look bad and don’t have a mirror. Guys who haven’t bought new work shirts since they quit going to the gym and are being held in by two buttons, they probably could use a little help.
>
> But if the OP is asking “should fat people - and you know I mean FAT PEOPLE, like really big whales! - hide themselves under baggy clothes?” I say no. Many of those people can look way better in something skin-tight than people who spent too much time at the ice cream stand this summer and didn’t mean for that skirt to be so tight. There’s a difference.
>
> Hope you never start hanging over the side of your bus driver’s uniform, **Incubus**! Your wife who is also Mexican might have to buy you a new one, lest you go out looking like you don’t take care of yourself.
Serious question - when you say “way better” don’t you mean “less fat”? Because looking less obviously fat is the whole point here, right? Anything that disguises the cellulite and rolls and drooping pannus is good, for society’s sake.
Because I am here to tell you that _anyone_ with a BMI of 40 or higher is going to look FAT no matter whether they’re wearing a muu-muu or spandex. And I have respect of sorts (even though it’s not societally PC) for a fat person who says fuck it and doesn’t give a rip about what random strangers think.`I actually respect that a whole lot more than people who spend hours trying to make themselves look like Jersey Shore characters (and I know such people) before leaving the house.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/92 "2014-07-23T03:47:43Z")
> [@chiroptera](#):
>
> Serious question - when you say “way better” don’t you mean “less fat”? Because looking less obviously fat is the whole point here, right? Anything that disguises the cellulite and rolls and drooping pannus is good, for society’s sake.
>
> Because I am here to tell you that _anyone_ with a BMI of 40 or higher is going to look FAT no matter whether they’re wearing a muu-muu or spandex. And I have respect of sorts (even though it’s not societally PC) for a fat person who says fuck it and doesn’t give a rip about what random strangers think.`I actually respect that a whole lot more than people who spend hours trying to make themselves look like Jersey Shore characters (and I know such people) before leaving the house.
I guess I must be typing backwards again because that’s exactly what I was trying to say in this post and my previous post on the first page. I just got drowned out by a lot of whateverishness. As I said in my last post, I am one of those people with a BMI over 40 who looks fat no matter what I wear. There’s no reason for me to dress baggy and no way people won’t hate on it either way.
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### Author:  [@SmallBrownBurro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmallBrownBurro)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/93 "2014-07-23T03:59:30Z")
Can we all just agree that this is not the answer, non-tightness notwithstanding?
[http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/tuckin-em-in/](http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/tuckin-em-in/)
(Seriously though, I hope someone helped this lady, because she is unwell.)
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### Author:  [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/94 "2014-07-23T04:07:07Z")
I think the OP is talking about fat women trying to be sexy
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/95 "2014-07-23T04:07:12Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> I guess I must be typing backwards again because that’s exactly what I was trying to say in this post and my previous post on the first page. I just got drowned out by a lot of whateverishness. As I said in my last post, I am one of those people with a BMI over 40 who looks fat no matter what I wear. There’s no reason for me to dress baggy and no way people won’t hate on it either way.
Yes indeedy and I apologize for missing your initial post.
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### Author:  [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/96 "2014-07-23T04:13:43Z")
> [@SmallBrownBurro](#):
>
> Can we all just agree that this is not the answer, non-tightness notwithstanding?
>
> [http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/tuckin-em-in/](http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/tuckin-em-in/)
>
> (Seriously though, I hope someone helped this lady, because she is unwell.)
You beat me to it. I was meaning to link that.
Also, there is a very easy way fat people can avoid other people judging them and looking good in a variety of clothes- get in shape. Controversial, I know, but by building muscle tone and lowering their BMI there will be more clothes they will look good in.
This board embraces education, curiosity, knowledge, and intellectualism. I don’t see why it can’t be equally laudable to apply the same effort to our own bodies.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/97 "2014-07-23T04:22:00Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> You beat me to it. I was meaning to link that.
>
> Also, there is a very easy way fat people can avoid other people judging them and looking good in a variety of clothes- get in shape. Controversial, I know, but by building muscle tone and lowering their BMI there will be more clothes they will look good in.
>
> This board embraces education, curiosity, knowledge, and intellectualism. I don’t see why it can’t be equally laudable to apply the same effort to our own bodies.
“Very easy”? If it’s so easy, why are all these people still fat? Character flaw? :dubious:
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/98 "2014-07-23T04:35:50Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> If people don’t want to get made fun of for neglecting their bodies then they should take better care of themselves.
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> You beat me to it. I was meaning to link that.
>
> Also, there is a very easy way fat people can avoid other people judging them and looking good in a variety of clothes- get in shape. Controversial, I know, but by building muscle tone and lowering their BMI there will be more clothes they will look good in.
>
> This board embraces education, curiosity, knowledge, and intellectualism. I don’t see why it can’t be equally laudable to apply the same effort to our own bodies.
Let’s cut through the bullshit here. It doesn’t matter to you what a fat person wears–you’re not going to respect them because they’re fat. You’re content to make fun of fat people purely by dint of their fatness, regardless of their wardrobe. There’s no reason a fat person should dress to please you, or others like you, because there _is_ no pleasing you.
So you know, have fun with your shitty opinion. Just don’t expect anyone else to care about it.
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### Author:  [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/99 "2014-07-23T04:38:40Z")
In re: the OP, when I see fat people wearing clothing so tight it’s rucking up and binding, I think the same thing I think when I see anyone wearing that, which is something along the lines of, “My goodness, that looks like it feels awful.”
Occasionally I think people don’t really know how various pieces of clothing are customarily meant to fit, e.g., how much you’re supposed to be able to comfortably swing your arms around in a tailored coat. A lot of ready-to-wear is cut very strangely, to some sort of average measurements that don’t correspond to any actual person, and I wonder if people don’t know it’s not supposed to be that uncomfortable and inconvenient.
I’m allowed to have opinions on the aesthetics of other people’s outfits, as is everyone else. But considering I’m sitting here in a hand-me-down sports bra and a pair of shorts manufactured by a company who thinks that if you need inseams you’re wasting material, I don’t think I’m qualified to lay down any kind of _law_. 😉
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### Author:  [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2014, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-thoughts-re-fat-people-in-tight-clothes/693646/100 "2014-07-23T10:39:18Z")
> [@Incubus](#):
>
> You beat me to it. I was meaning to link that.
>
> Also, there is a very easy way fat people can avoid other people judging them and looking good in a variety of clothes- get in shape. Controversial, I know, but by building muscle tone and lowering their BMI there will be more clothes they will look good in.
This just isn’t so.
I had a wonderful yoga instructor a couple of years ago. She was the first who really made me dig yoga. One day I was chatting with another studio patron about this instructor. At first we were just exchanging praises for her. But then this bitch said, “The only bad thing is that [stage whisper] _she’s a little on the fat side_.”
It’s true that this instructor was larger than the other instructors–who are bone-skinny, some in an unhealthy looking way. She was Colombian, and had the ample booty and thighage and boobage of a woman of Indian and African extraction. But she wasn’t _fat_ fat. She didn’t have a gut. Her thighs were firm and muscular–not dimpled in the least. Her arms had a bit of softness to them, but this was a woman who could do one-handed push-ups. She was curvacious. She was thick. But fat? I don’t know about all that.
What blows my mind is that her body was much more like the catty bitch’s than those waifer thin instructors. She had the body that many of her students would have died to have. Who makes for a more inspirational teacher? An anorexic who lives on spirulina and air molecules? Or someone who knows how to balance good health and comfortable living, and who isn’t going to break a hip if they fall out of a pose?
You said that your wife is skinny in American terms. That makes me think that she’s more of a size 8 than a size 2. Which is fine. But I just want you to know that there are folks who are [negatively judging](http://zepolopez.blogspot.com/2009/02/although-i-am-not-fan-of-jessica.html) her. Because haters gonna hate. They especially hate if you have the audacity to carry your size-8 ass in a confident, unabashed manner. So you may want to inform your wife she needs to lose the high self-esteem and wrap a Mexican sweater around that Mexican waist of hers. Don’t want to give the peanut gallery an excuse to judge her, now do we?
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