Clothes for skinny and small men?

[Guest Slowbro]

I am a guy of very slender build. It's a blessing, because I barely even need a binder, but it;s a curse, because no clothes fit me.

I am 5'6 and weigh about 85lbs, so I am underweight unfortunately. I have a 29-30inch chest, 24 inch waist, and 32 inch hips. My legs inseam is about 28-29 inches long. My shoulders are about 37 inches wide.

Living in Texas, land of the large and in charge, of the manly men, of football galore, I'm finding it really difficult to find clothes that don't make me look like a wannabe white rapper in oversized clothing, chic circa 2004. Pants specifically are difficult with my small waist and somewhat short legs.

I am wondering if any of you have suggestions for stores that carry small sizes. I have heard that Asian clothing websites have smaller sizes, but so far I am having trouble finding some good ones. If anyone can give me any tips, I would be very, very greatful. It's hard to go to job interviews and be taken seriously when you're dressed up like a little kid who raided his father's closet.

Best wishes,

--Michael

[JJ]

Hi Michael

Asian clothes should be a great fit for you. Often they list measurements when selling in the US because Asian sizes are 2 sizes smaller than US sizes. I find a lot of clothes online on Ebay etc. They are usually reasonable enough to take a chance-just read the feedback and it has always worked out well for me. I am not as small and actually have run into problems with Asian clothing not being broad enough through the shoulders. Some stores also have cool clothes in the boys department. Older boys of course but most of them mirror adult clothes but are cheaper too which is an added bonus.

There is a website that talks about clothing and dressing for smaller men. Here is the link. They actually address just about every issue a man faces and don't require a subscription.

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/fashiontip_600/631_dress-your-body-type-short.html

Johnny

[Guest Jtlloyd64]

Hi Michael

I have the same problem & also live in TX. I am only 5'1 & weigh 125. I can find mens jeans ( Levi 501 ) , but shirts are a diff. story.

A boy's Xlarge is to tight & the XXlrg. is to long in the sleeves. I might have to check out the site Johnny suggested.

Good Luck Dude

[Guest Nicodeme]

Dickies sells jeans in your measurements, in styles that shouldn't be *too* baggy on you

NotAnotherAiden (NotAiden on tumblr) is a blog that may help style-wise since it's by a transguy who's barely 5'0" and has pretty much always been underweight (AND he insists on dressing well, which I find is a rare gem sometimes. :I )

[Bulldog1948]

Might also try JC Penny. They carry a lot of nice guys stuff. Also, check out your local thrift stores might be suprised at what you might find.

[Guest JenniferYoon]

I have this problem when I am in my male world (luckily not too often now, only on weekends). I am exactly 5 ft, 103 lbs and my waist line is 26 ins. I cannot buy any clothes from the mens departments so I bought all my clothes from the boys departments. May be you can try your luck there.

Luckily, my small body built deficiency in my male world has presented a nice asset in my female world. I live full time as a female from Mondays to Fridays, I can buy female clothes easily in Junior department or size 0 in ladies departments.

[Guest laeta_lacrima]

It's hard to go to job interviews and be taken seriously when you're dressed up like a little kid who raided his father's closet.

I know your pain!! It also didn't help that my family out of state kept sending me large shirts thinking I had to have grown since they last saw me, so I was swimming in everything I owned. I never solved this problem before switching to women's clothes, so I don't really have much practical advice unfortunately, but I have been there!

The closest I came to solving it was going to the thrift store constantly and looking for men's smalls that were actually small. But it only worked once, and I stocked up! (I still have them, because they happened to be band t-shirts of some of my favorite bands).

As for pants, they just suck. It feels impossible to find pants that fit, but if you do, men's pants have about 3x the pocket space, which is definitely nice!

I hope you find the answer you're looking for! A lot of the advice already given sounded really good!

[JJ]

have you tried the super skinny pants at places like Hot Topic and PacSun. Both tend to run small. And PacSun sometimes has sales where things are BOGO and half off so that the end prices are as little as thrift stores. Got two pair of jeans there last fall that are still carried in the store right now for 10 times what I paid on clearance with a BOGO. They have a website you can check to see if you like the look of their clothes.

Slim fit and athletic fit shirts might help too. I need the wide shoulders in a large but it swallows me otherwise and I hated the look till I found slim fit. TJMaxx and places like that sometimes have them reasonably.

Johnny