I don’t know about some of you, but I’m finding it harder and harder these days to find clothes that fit my body-shape and still look nice as well. Everywhere I look these days, all the shops seem to only be selling clothes marketed at the ‘skinny’ man.
Skinny jeans. Skinny-fit suits. Skinny-tailored dress shirts.
It’s like the ‘fashion’ world has decided the only acceptable shape a man should be is a ‘carrot’. That we should all look like lanky, prepubescent teenagers.
Or maybe this is just something that’s occurring in London/UK. The whole skinny jean look is very East London gay-chic, and seems to be gaining in popularity. Unfortunately.
Now I admit, I’m no fashionista in any sense of the word, but I know what looks right and feels right for me. Though it isn’t easy, since I’m probably shaped more like a pear. 😉
A few weeks back I went shopping for a new suit so I’d look presentable for any upcoming interviews. As I’ve written before (Click HERE for past post), I’ve been out of work for months now and really need a job so decided I’d do my best to look the part at least.
Previously for interviews, I’d wear whatever smart trousers I had with a suit jacket I’d bought at Primark when I first moved to London almost 5 years ago (it was cheap and I’d never owned a suit before). Problem is, the jacket doesn’t fit at all – the sleeves are too long and it won’t button up because of my belly. And that store only stocks up to a certain size, but it was the closest fit I could find at the time.
Which I realised was true of most high-street retailers when it comes to things like a suit. Some had some nice deals on cheap suits (£49 to £79 at BHS and M&S), but they weren’t quite big enough. And the ones that did stock something my size wanted to charge upwards of £250 for one suit.. something I definitely can’t afford.
And oh boy, did I ever get attitude and the cold shoulder from that shop once I said I was looking for something under £100. LOL
In the end, I did find something at a discount suit shop towards Tottenham Court Road.. once they added in the tailoring costs, it was just over £100 (though now I think the trousers are too short lol).
More than anything lately, I’m finding it increasingly expensive to find clothes to fit for whatever the purpose.
I used to like the clothes in Burton’s as they had a clean style to them and weren’t too expensive. But now I’m finding they’re all about a certain look, and you’re lucky if you can find a pair of jeans above a 38 inch waist, or a t-shirt with a silly design on it bigger than a large (and even then, they seem to be cut like a medium..). Their online store (http://www.burton.co.uk) has some bigger sizes, but it’s hit and miss for anything decent.
Their line of suits only go so large, and even then they’re pretty much all skinny-cut.
Instead I’ve had to resort to shopping online for clothes with Jacamo (http://www.jacamo.co.uk/shop/home), who specialise in larger sizes.. but with that you really have to make sure you’ve selected the right size since you can’t exactly go into a shop to try things on (they only have stores in Liverpool, Leicester, and Gateshead).
But even with them, although they have a larger waist-size selection, they don’t always have them in the shorter leg-length I need or in a style I like. Or even at a price I can afford.
I think we all deserve to look and dress how we want to, and to feel comfortable in what we wear.
Ramblings of a Supposed Disease Free Mind 