Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with clothing and men

I'm right, but lack visual evidence of my rightness

B-squared — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:07 -0800

Help me find images of handsome, manly men in white sweaters. I'm trying to convince my husband that a white sweater is as versatile as his dour browns, blacks and grays. If they are layered with shirts under or jackets over, all the better. Thank you!

Describing a dress shirt.

phrontist — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:25:31 -0800

I'm sartorially clueless. How would you describe this kind of shirt? It's a "dress shirt", sure, but how would you specify the fabric and cut (particularly that type of collar)? Here is another example. I'm looking to buy some shirts like these but when I go to department stores I can only find this sort of thing - which is cut completely differently and uses an extremely thin fabric. Help me articulate the differences.

Unique men's clothing resale in Manhattan or Brooklyn?

4midori — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:01:16 -0800

Recommend unique, affordable men's clothing resale stores in Manhattan or Brooklyn? Hipster ok, or vintage. I'm looking mainly for short- and long-sleeve collared shirts.

Dressing for success

Bardolph — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:24:04 -0800

Help me learn to dress my husband! Tips/tricks/resources on developing a good eye for men's business attire? Over a few decades as a girl, I've acquired tons of specialized knowledge about how to dress women in general and myself in particular-- I know, for instance, that pencil skirts make me look thick-waisted, that certain prints look elegant while others scream "Wal-mart!", etc., etc. Having recently acquired a male second half (who's begged me to look after his wardrobe), I'm looking for ways to gather the same sort of information about men's clothing, and business attire in particular.

Areas of special concern are:

Body shape/tailoring. Suits all look the same to me-- kind of absurd and stubby-legged-- so I'd love to find out which lines/proportions will make suits look "right", and what specific adjustments to the garment can help make the most of my husband's adorable, but not 100% modelesque, body proportions. I'm looking to go beyond the basics here: something like this , with a discussion of specific waist/shoulder/arm/leg proportions, would be ideal, not just the standard "heavier gentlemen should wear double-breasted suits" or whatever. Hubby is 6'2, 200lbs, broad shoulders, short legs, small pot-belly, if that helps at all.

Colors. I have a decent eye for matching women's clothing, but men's shirt/tie/suit combos seem to follow subtly different norms. Exactly what shirt colors can one wear with navy, for instance? Is the shirt meant to be the accent color, or the tie? Are there any general rules to help one figure this out?

Ties. Once we move past the novelty-Simpsons-tie range, these all seem to be some variation of geometric print/stripe, more or less bright-colored, 100% silk. Whence, then, all the jokes about "that hideous tie"? What exactly distinguishes a cool, expensive-looking tie from a $10 Sears special?

None of the research avenues I've tried so far-- Google, salespeople, menswear catalogues, What Not To Wear, this, this-- has yielded much in the way of specific, comprehensive and ~scientific info on these issues. Would love any combination of direct advice/resource referrals to help me understand what looks good on real men!

Help me dress my husband!

pywacket — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:04:33 -0800

I got him out of black t shirts all the time (they are fine, but not for everything) and into bowling shirts, camp shirts, cubavera shirts, or short sleeve guayabera type shirts (usually in black, only sometimes with a pinup girl on them). Now he needs something just like that but with LONG sleeves. What is the name for that type of shirt? I've tried long sleeve camp shirt, and that is close BUT--I'd like a kind of swing/lounge lizard feel to the shirts (my exgoth boyo won't wear a button down or 'sport shirt' ). These shirts are cut loose, not meant to be tucked in...kind of a monochrome Hawaiian shirt style but with long sleeves. And sometimes something funny on the back.

Like this: http://www.daddyos.com/bowl/bowlmain.html
but with long sleeves? And only two colors, black and grey or dark blue and black , dark green (just not neon colors or two many at a time, his head would explode)

What do I search for? Any online stores?

What looks good on a heavyset 30ish guy?

zek — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:01:23 -0800

What kind of clothing looks best on a thirtysomething guy who is heavy but not obese? I am in a fashion rut and don't trust my judgement, and want to see some pictures. Yeah, I'm talking about myself. I am in my 30s, 5'9", 200 lbs, and BMI of 29 (heavy, but definitely not obese) and am physically active. I have descended into an awful fashion rut which basically consists of shorts and an untucked T-shirt similar to this (this is NOT me). I am not confident wearing anything else except for formal businesswear. Neither is good for fun social events.

I would be grateful for (A) links to random pics of heavyset guys who, according to your refined sense of fashion, look good and are not trying to make a fashion statement, and (B) advice and observations about what to wear.

Yes, I've seen this thread. All the advice is a definite slide to first base, but falls short of giving specifics and contains almost no visual examples (which I need to see details like what is tucked in, if there is a belt, and so on). Ugh's advice there was best but sadly the example has expired off the casualmale.com site.

To summarize, I need to snap myself out of this and start dressing good again. I need visual examples I can emulate, as I think my fashion sense is severely corrupted -- I have worn stupid stuff in the past thinking it looked good and I don't wish to repeat that mistake. I need your help! And yeah, I'm working on losing the weight, but that will take time.

Also I'm in Texas, which limits my ability to wear cold weather fashions. Because Wal-Mart is the only store in my town I'll most likely have to buy off the Internet, though I do make it to the Plano TX area often.

Pajamas, but not on TV.

anildash — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:56:53 -0800

Do any men actually wear old-school pajamas to bed? Take a look at these plain-old men's pajamas. I don't wear something like that to bed, and never have. I don't know of any of my male friends who do, either.

We've been watching The Wire. In the DVDs for season 1, they mention that the male characters wear these kinds of old-school pajamas, though nobody actually does that in real life. We're watching the show again, and the question came up again. So, hive mind, has anybody spotted these in the wild? Anybody under the age of 40? Once in a while, or every night?

Where can I buy Men's Bell Bottoms?

lukeomalley — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 06:45:28 -0800

Where can I buy men's bell bottoms? I am not interested in boot cut or flared jeans. Hopefully the source will be new so that I can buy from them from now on. I am currently wearing the extreme flared jeans that H&M sold for women. They have since discontinued them and my current pairs are getting threadbare.

I am not above wearing women's bells, but they have to be more on the plain side (no glitter and no surplus grommets).

Please don't say ebay. I know it is tempting, but don't do it.

Men's Summer Wardrobe

1024x768 — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 09:40:33 -0800

Help me develop my summer wardrobe I have no summer wardrobe to speak of and am clueless as to how to go about buying one.

Here's the specifics:
-I work in a casual business environment. Most of my coworkers, including management, wear golf shirts and kahkis for summer wear. Nobody wears ties or suits at my work. I'd go with the kahki and golf shirt myself except I hate that look, to be honest.
-I'm a slim 6'2" 180lbs, young (25yo) male.
-I don't care for blousy american cut shirts (slim fit stuff tends to fit reasonably well, however).
-I like reasonably slick looks, my generic winter look is a flat-front black trousers and snazzy shirt (collared; not button down).
-I work in IT so it has to tolerate the occaisional under-desk-crawl.
-My clothing is typically in the $20-40 per item range, I would consider going over that, but would like to keep the price down.

I'm open to just about any suggestions: what items to buy, where to buy them, sources for more info, materials, rules of thumb, etc.

I only know the very basics of fashion (flat front pants, eschew button downs, shoes match belt, etc.) but not much more. I tend to play it safe in my look a bit, I'm far from a fashionista and am not looking for a haute-coutre look, just a solid wardrobe I can mix and match that's reasonably comfortable and won't make me look doofy.

I like european-style looks like Zara, but there isn't one anywhere near here, and am very wary about shopping for cloths online (want to try on before I buy). I'm willing to visit stores anywhere in the general chicagoland area.

One caveat, please don't suggest thrift stores, I already check them periodically but seldom find anything.

Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

Dressing well for the large man?

callmejay — Mon, 26 Dec 2005 14:50:30 -0800

Where can I learn about dressing well as an overweight man? I'm more interested in casual clothes than in formal ones.

Men's Fashion

matthelm — Tue, 17 May 2005 13:27:00 -0800

I have never been the best in fashion, but I would like to be able to start to dress better. Is there a website out there that makes understanding men's fashion a bit easier? What goes with what, fashion from certain time periods, how to thrift shop and make it work for you... I just want to be able to be creative, but I just need some help getting started...any sites that are heavy on men's fashion tips for matching clothing and accessories would be great...

Khaki Pants for Men

symbebekos — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 12:41:17 -0800

Clothesfilter: I'm looking for low-rise chinos/khakis for men. Banana/J Crew/etc fail me. Any ideas? I wear Levi's 527s in jeans, which fit perfectly. Bonus points: I've been thinking of trying Land's End's custom option, but I'm suspicious - does anyone have experience with that?

Where do I find pants in my size (30" waist)?

geoff. — Wed, 21 Apr 2004 17:35:44 -0800

Well never thought I'd ask metafilter about this, but does anyone else have trouble finding pant sizes that fit? I'm a 30 waist which apparently is so skinny no stores carry it. Actually I can find stores that carry 30 inches but they don't fit, and when I measure they're always 1-2 inches larger. Which is a lot. It's as if stores have forgo a standard measurement sizes in favor of letting people fit into "smaller" sizes. My question is what to do? I've tried everywhere, from department stores to boutiques. Boutiques are the worst, because they only have a small selection of sizes even in "small European" fits(which isn't small if they buy for larger Americans). Plus I am not inclined to buy $285 Prada pants.

I found that tailors claim to be able to adjust the waist but won't this look funky? And won't I have to stick to boring, vanilla corporate looking khaki pants? I mean they say they can make any fashion look right, but I am leary of changing waist sizes. I don't want to waste money on pants and taloring before asking the great green.

And in case anyone is wondering, I would gladly try 28 (the next size down). No stores carry anything below 30, even if they do, the 28s aren't true. I just ordered some online (armani exchange... no jokes I was frusterated) and they came back measuring 32. I of course thought it was a defect but the guy on the phone said their fits run "larger", I guess larger means 4 inches. Taking it to a store to measure against stock verified this claim.

It seems like there is a giant conspiracy against anyone below 31/32 inch male waist. I get the subliminal society messages but some of us just aren't big.