Need some advice for a bloke... - YouLookFab Forum

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Need some advice for a bloke...

Maya

Veteran

What are some good stores where a very young (23), skinny guy can find clothes on a budget? When I say skinny, I mean like the male equivalent of a 00. I read Angie's posts on the subject, but the issue here is that he, like me, is on a very strict budget. I'm willing to bend mine at times, but he is more reluctant (and probably responsible). He has a pretty creative flair but seems happiest whenever he finds anything that fits and makes him look like an adult. H&M is a given. What else? Aren't there any dude versions of Forever 21?

Shopping

20 replies

Latest reply was from

Louise

Veteran

How about supermarkets? I get loads of cheap stuff x

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

Most young creative men that I know (and I teach quite a few) shop at urban thrift stores. Men do so well because there are fewer male shoppers and more to chooses from. Urban outfitters is great when they have sales. Musicians love both of those options. I think that women can get away with lesser quality fabric like they have in places like F21. I think skinny men actually look great in slightly fitted t shirts instead of hiding in over sized clothing to cover up the fact that they are skinny. It is the same concept as heavier women not wearing anything body conscious. It sometimes has the reverse effect.

Maya

Veteran

The budget is really secondary I guess. There are lots of places that would be cheap enough, thrift stores included. It's finding something that fits that is harder. He does not want to wear oversized clothing--he wants it to fit, but it's hard to find anything that fits on his budget.

Loulou, I don't know of any supermarkets that sell clothes here.

cciele

Veteran

Would Express Men work? F21 has men's styles on their website; not sure how they have it set up in stores.

greenglove

(website)

Veteran

Can he wear juniors sizes? Is there such a thing for young men? They would probably be too short but there must be tall skinny adolescents, I do not know how tall he is.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Try the men dept of the "junior" shops- Aeropostale,
http://www.aeropostale.com/cat.....uys_button
American Eagle Outfitters,
http://www.ae.com/web/browse/h.....catId=mens
and yes- there is a guys version of F21 called Heritage
http://www.forever21.com/herit.....efault.asp
Somw department store also have "Young Men's" sections, which would be worth a try.

Maya

Veteran

Oh wow I had no idea F21 had men's clothing. That is great.

I hadn't even thought of the juniors dept. I wonder if they work for tall people though (he is around 5'10 or 5'11). Teen boys are often tall and gangly though, so they must have something.

CC, Express could work. I see they go all the way down to a 29, which I think is what he would need. I will have to ask him. Right now his jeans are from Uniqlo and he has to get them all in the skinniest fit they sell and he still wears them with a belt! To be fair, I don't know if the belt is for utilitarian purposes or if he is just being foppish :p

This is all for a friend btw, I realize I hadn't mentioned that in the post.

Ele

(website)

Maya, your friend sounds like my boyfriend. He's 5'10" and wears a 28" trouser, so I know the pain of shopping with him very well. When we used to live in Toronto it was next to impossible to find him clothes that fit. You've already mentioned H&M, which was one of the only places that cut clothing slim enough for him. Also, he wore a lot of vintage, which has also been mentioned.

I'd also recommend American Apparel for casual stuff, because a lot of their styles are unisex and therefore very small. I think they cut trousers quite slim, too. I was also going to say Uniqlo, but you already have. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help- in Canada we don't all the chains that you do in the States, so my knowledge is limited.

If all else fails, tell him to move to Europe. Shopping with Andrew has become MUCH easier since we came back to London. (Someone's got to clothe all these skinny British boys.)

Maya

Veteran

Ah I just checked out Heritage. Alas the smallest size they carry is a 30.

Ele, I think my friend is probably a 28 as well, or maybe 29. I took a picture of him yesterday with my cell phone in a shirt that he said was his favorite because it actually fit him. He is a good looking guy and he would be a real knockout (however much guys can be knockouts) in stuff that fits!

http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....G_0052.jpg

I think he would probably like vintage shopping...well, he'll probably never like shopping, but it would be more fun than "regular" shopping at least. Thus far he has only been thrifting unsuccessfully. Unfortunately in the US, sizes are fitted to the majority, which is only getting larger.

cciele

Veteran

Oh, he is good looking I can totally see him in Euro-style clothes. I hope you are able to find him some nice clothes. Take pics when you do!

AlexSue

I see that chewyspaghetti mentioned heritage. Definitely go there. I've dragged my friend Michael there a few times, and we've found some really nice things, fashionable but not too "out there." He sounds like your friend body-wise; he's about 5'10'' and around 125-130 pounds.

AlexSue

Oh, I just looked at the picture of your friend. He's gorgeous : )

Maya

Veteran

Thanks Alex. I guess I'll try it anyway. perhaps the styles run small and he can fit into a small 30.

Yes, he is very pretty. That's probably a big part of the reason why I used to date him :p

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

My son is about the same size Maya- and he can wear a 30 jeans if they are a slimmer cut. Did Urban Outfitters get mentioned? that might be another place to try.

AlexSue

Even if the pants don't work out, the shirts might. My friend takes a small and it fits him quite well. And you're a very lucky girl, or were, haha. He sounds like an interesting person too; I wish I had more creative-type guy friends.

Maya

Veteran

UO is expensive for him (he hates spending money on clothes, unlike me, hehe), but we could probably scour the sale racks.

Alex, I'm still pretty lucky if I do say so myself. I am good friends with all my has beens I went to two art schools so I have more than my share of creative friends, hehe. I actually sometimes wish I had more scientific friends :p

judy

Veteran

I'm the mom of two skinny guys, especially their legs, and they have no butts of course. I second Urban Outfitters on sale racks. And American Apparel, their shirts and jeans are cut for leaner younger guys. Anything European seems to be cut thinner and shorter too. Some girl jeans that are "boyfriend types" can be good too, because they come in such small sizes, like in some good consignment or thrift stores. I sympathize with the hunt, I did it with them for years, but now they are big enough to do it on their own. We have a thrift store here called Crossroads Trading Co. and they have them in CA too, Ny must have something like that?..and just adding too...shop in the women's department if it's a more unisex garment, it will be smaller.

Ele

(website)

Oh, nertz. I thought of Urban Outfitters overnight and made a mental note to tell you, Maya, but now I see it's been suggested and nixed. I agree it can be pricey, but (here in the UK at least) it's a mixed bag, and there are often more affordable things, as well. Worth a shot, anyway.

Your friend (a total cutie, by the way!) likely has a hard time because his shoulders look quite broad, compared to his torso. My boyfriend is the same, and even now that he has more money to spend on clothing, it's hard to find shirts that fit in the waist, yet have shoulder seams that aren't too narrow. But he loves clothes shopping, so he doesn't mind the hunt, fortunately. (I do!)

OT- I know what you mean about wanting more "scientific" friends! Literally every one of my friends from uni is a designer or artist of some sort (fashion, graphic design, architecture, illustration, photography, this list goes on). It's such a novelty to me when I get to hang out with my high school friends, who did a lot more varied kinds of things. Like, a bunch of my friends are civil servants now and I love hearing about their jobs... they think I'm crazy, of course.

Maya

Veteran

It's not that everything at UO is too expensive..

I just know him well enough to know that he wants shopping to be easy, which means NOT digging through sale racks and still possibly coming out empty-handed. I think it's high time he accepted that shopping at his size is never going to be easy!

And yes, I have to say I love science at least as much as art and design. I think the only thing that kept me from pursuing a more scientific field is my utter inability to do basic math. But it would just be nice to have more people who share my love of electron configuration, balancing equations, and watching nature documentaries

Sometimes I do feel incredibly indulgent for pursuing this degree, and wish I had done something more, oh I don't know, helpful? Honestly right now I would be happy to do just about anything else, since I'm not having much look with finding a job in this field

Anonymous

Maya, I wanted to chime in because my partner is tall and also has a 28/29 waist. Gap has those sizes online, and sometimes J. Crew will have small tall sweaters and jackets. They are pricier, but the quality has been good for us. We like that online returns are fairly easy, so you just order a ton of things that might work, then return them by mail or at the store. Easy as pie, except for trying things on and deciding what works.