5 Tips To Get A Great Fit For Big & Tall Menswear

You can know every single twist and turn in the trendy world of men’s fashion, but all of that knowledge will do you no good if you don’t know how clothes should fit on a man in the first place. Fit should always be the top priority whenever you go clothes shopping, especially if you’re a big & tall man.

Know the basics

Your first instinct as a big & tall man might be to overcompensate with baggier, bigger clothes. That’s not necessarily a great idea. The more fabric, the more fabric folding over itself whenever you sit down (making you look bigger than you actually are) and the more shapeless you’ll look throughout the day. Comfort in this case isn’t worth it.
It might sound a bit counter-intuitive, but the truth is that big men should always wear clothes that hew a bit closer to your shape than you might expect. Instead of highlighting your size, clothes that adhere to your dimensions actually have a strange slimming effect. When you start thinking and dressing this way you might be surprised how many people will think you’ve lost weight or don’t need to at all. And it wasn’t darker colors that did it, either. It was just making sure your clothes weren’t too baggy.
Of course, you don’t want to get too snug. Outlines of your body aren’t what we’re going for here; make sure you look slimmer than in those baggy clothes and feel comfortable.

Know your measurements

Guys may not think about their measurements as much as women do, but they should. Big & Tall men in particular will want to get a good idea of their chest, neck, waist, sleeve and inseam measurements before they hit the stores. Those numbers will give you a general range of options you should consider, which will save you a ton of time. Finding big and tall menswear is arduous enough, right?
You’re not going to need all of those measurements for everything, mind you. The neck and sleeves are for dress shirts and pants require the waist and inseam sizes. Maybe jot down your numbers on your phone and refer to the in-store size charts.

Make sure you try it on first

We know. Fitting rooms are kind of a chore. Life would be great if clothes shopping was an in-and-out endeavor, but it isn’t, and that’s true for men and women of all shapes and sizes.
Just because you have the measurements doesn’t mean it fits. Hop in the dressing rooms and make sure you know how you feel wearing it before you head to the cashier. Do the long sleeves on that dress shirt come up to the end of your wrist bone? Do they look too short when you raise your arms up? Are the shoulder seams on that tee-shirt hanging off your shoulder (a no-no) or are they well-aligned with your bone? How does that pants waist feel? Too snug? Too loose? Is the bottom hem too short?
You can kind of see how knowing your measurements will save you a ton of time here. And once you know what you’re looking for in the dressing room those fitting sessions will fly by.

Remember shrinkage

Humanity has sent multiple men to the moon but hasn’t figured out how to prevent clothes from shrinking in the wash. Keep that in mind whenever you’re buying new clothes; if it feels too snug now, just wait until you’ve washed it. Try a size higher!

Don’t think about this too much

This seems like a lot of steps, but it’s more about a routine. Now that you know what to look for, you can make sure your big and tall men’s clothing fits well.
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