As a fat man, it can be really hard to find clothes that fit well and look good and it can leave you wondering how to find men’s clothes that fit. How many times have you gone into a high street shop and been left disappointed by the selection available to those who need clothes bigger than an XL? It’s even more frustrating when you’re losing weight and steadily ticking those Xs off your size, because how do you know if you need an XXXL or an XXL, and more importantly, how will you know that they’re actually going to look good on you?
Luckily it’s easy to find fashionable clothes for the bigger man online, so we asked the guys at BigClothing4U, who specialise in clothes for the bigger man, how you can get to know your new size and find something that fits and actually looks good. Scroll to the bottom of the page to enter a competition to win £500 to spend on their site!
How to find men’s clothes that fit
Different brands, different size
We were pleasantly surprised to find that Superdry offers their t-shirts in sizes up to XXL, but when we got home £50 lighter we were pretty dismayed to find that the sizes run quite small. Yes, we should have tried things on, but an XXL is an XXL, right? Not exactly. All brands have different size guides, which is frustrating. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’ve dropped a size, celebrating by buying new clothes, and then finding that what you’ve bought is ill-fitting because one shop’s XL is another shop’s XXL. It’s a dent to your ego and self-confidence as well as a dent to your wallet.
This is something to keep in mind when you’re shopping for clothes – if you’re in the shop, try it on. If you’re shopping online, check out the size guides, which you can usually find in the menu or on product pages.
The importance of measuring yourself
In truth, clothes sizes can be pretty arbitrary, especially if you’re going from shop to shop. An XXXL casual shirt from Marks & Spencer fits a chest size of 50-52 inches, but in Topman the same size casual shirt fits a chest of 46-48 inches. If you’re shopping in Next, your XXXL casual shirt will fit well if your chest measures 51-53 inches. River Island’s casual shirts don’t go up to an XXXL, but the biggest size they do will fit you if your chest measures between 47-49 inches, making their XXL bigger than Topman’s XXXL. As mentioned above, Superdry do sizes up to XXL, but their XXL is a chest size of just 44 inches. See what we mean?!
The way around this is to measure yourself and go off your measurements. It’s pretty boring, but it doesn’t take long and then at least you’ll know that your clothes will fit properly.
Grab a tape measure
Before you can check your size using a sizing guide, you’re going to need to know a few of your vital stats. First up, if you don’t own a measuring tape, or you don’t know anyone with a sewing box you can nick one off, buy one: make it a soft one, anything you’ve got from B&Q lying around isn’t going to work here. You can get a pack of 2 from Poundland (for £1, no less) and they’ll do the job.
How to measure correctly
Pic from BigClothing4U
Collar
To measure your collar size, measure around your neck where the collar of your shirt will naturally lie. Pull the tape measure as tight as a completely fastened collar would be comfortable, but be sure not to make it too restrictive.
Chest size
Measure your chest size by wrapping the tape measure around your chest under your armpits and across your nipples. This should ensure that you measure the fullest part of your chest.
Waist size
To measure your waist size, generally, you should wrap the tape measure halfway between the bottom of your ribs and just above your hip bones, or around the navel. Make sure the tape measure is level all around.
If you’re measuring your waist for trousers, remember to keep in mind how you’ll wear them – the above is fine if you’ll be wearing them over your stomach but if you’d rather wear them under your stomach then that’s where you should measure.
Leg length
Keeping your leg straight, measure your inside leg length from your crotch down to the ankle, stopping where you want the hem of your trousers to sit.
Other reasons you should measure yourself
As you lose weight, be sure to measure yourself every few months. Not only will it help when you come to buying new clothes, but your waist size is actually an important health marker. It’s a good way of checking how much body fat you’re carrying around your belly, as too much can raise your risk of things like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. You can read more about the importance of your waist size here.
Go for it
If you’re worried about your new clothes not fitting and the hassle of finding bigger clothes is putting you off even trying, don’t underestimate how much of a confidence boost it will give you to wear comfortable clothes that actually fit, even if your size is a little bigger than you were hoping for. If you’ve ever tried squeezing yourself into a t-shirt from a shop’s biggest size that still doesn’t fit, you’ll know that it doesn’t feel good.
And it doesn’t look good either. If you’re embarrassed about the number of Xs in your size, just remember that no one will know you’re in a 3XL. No one will notice the tag – but they will notice if your belly is hanging out because you’re trying to make an XL work. If you’re losing weight, it won’t be long before those Xs start dropping off anyway.
—
We’ve teamed up with Big Clothing 4 U to give you the chance to win the ultimate shopping spree with an incredible £500 to spend on the site. That’s a lot of clothes! They’ve got sizes up to 8XL and sell polo shirts, suits and even boxers. Enter via the Gleam widget below.
WIN! £500 to spend on clothes with BigClothing4U
If you can’t see the Gleam widget above, click here to enter.
