Us ladies have it easy compared to men! - YouLookFab Forum

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Us ladies have it easy compared to men!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Just spent all day with my DH trying to find him some new clothes in his smaller size. Ugh! There is a real lack of choices when it comes to men in the middle stages of life. Plenty of stuff for teens and then it just gets boring in a hurry. Not to mention that it was nearly impossible to find his size, even though he's nearly 50 pounds lighter than he was 6 months ago. You can get suits, but I don't know many men who wear suits every day, and then it's 3 colors of khakis (which you can't find in the right size) and some polo shirts. I will never complain about trying to find my size again...

On a non-ranting note, if anyone has any good suggestions for menswear, I would love to hear them, or maybe some stylists/menswear bloggers (regular dudes, not NY fashion types).

Shopping

14 replies

Latest reply was from rachylou

peekaboo

My DH is slim and could really use a 31" waist and a 33" inseam. But he often settles for a 32x32 as its easily available and doesnt care that much they they are a little baggy and a little short.

I still think its easier to be a guy though!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

My guy buys from Nordie's mostly now (no kidding - he has the card and the points, not me). He's 53, 5'9" and slender. He'd rather die than wear either khakis or polos lol.

marit

My husband is tall (6'1") and has lost 25 lbs. in the past three months so he's a bit over 200 lbs. right now. He does pretty well with pants & denim from Old Navy - we are in our mid-30s and he is a casual dresser. I buy him button-down shirts at the thrift store and at Winners (which is the Canadian version of TJ Maxx or Marshalls). Thrifting shirts works great because it's not hard to find nice labels for much cheaper than retail - in excellent condition.

His standard uniform is jeans or dark pants and an untucked (patterned) button-down - he is in IT so he doesn't have to dress up for work. The patterns are where he gets his fashion and individuality in. I think it's a good look for his age and position, it's neither too young nor too old, it's serious enough but not formal.

I just asked him what were his favorite shirts and he said Michael Kors, Eddie Bauer, Columbia, and Banana Republic. So that's a starting point of brands I can offer you! =)

Echo

Veteran

Well, clothing aside, what with the shaving, painting, softening, enhancing and dying that many women do, I still say men have it easier!

But my DH is 6' 8" and gets very frustrated looking for clothing. Big and Tall stores often carry enormous waist sizes, but usually don't have longer inseams, so they are Big, but not Tall! His shirt sleeves are often too short, and body lengths in shirts are too short as well. When it comes to suits, they need to be specially ordered and tailored and cost a small fortune. He has a much harder time with clothing (and shoes!) than I do.

Susie

Veteran

Laughing at Mo's response because khakis and polos aware basically my husband's uniform, at least for weekdays. He is 56 and wears a 30 or 31. He used to like Nordstrom's khakis but his favorite now are JCrew. I think he also has some from Eddie Bauer.

Krista

Veteran

My husband wears a suit and tie for work, but he picks up his casual wear from Costco, Walmart, Tommy Hilfiger and Joe Fresh. Interestingly enough, he only wears jeans for casual wear and usually a plain v-neck t-shirt or polo shirt with his jeans. He keeps it really simple with clothes but he has invested in some great casual footwear (Aldo, Roots, various sports stores), watches and funky athletic jackets (Old Navy, sports stores, Eddie Bauer) that add interest to his outfits. I've noticed that he also rotates the same type of casual outfit formula but because he has these extra funky accessories, the outfits always look original. And I can't claim any responsibility for this, he does it entirely on his own - shopping included!

ETA: my husband is 42.

MsMary

Veteran

Mr. K had good luck at Nordstrom Rack. He loved Lucky Brand jeans and they had all kinds of fab button-front shirts.

rae

(website)

Veteran

DH has luck with Abercrombie jeans of all places. He's quite slim in build and hates the baggy pants and skinny pants and khaki pants looks all equally. The moral of the story is to leave no retail stone unturned (no matter how smelly).

I'm keeping an eye on this thread for blog recs. I seem to pin guys more and more, though admittedly I'm sure a lot of them came from the Burberry lookbooks.

ETA: just thought of my dad! He wears all sorts of things, but he gets some nice "statement tees" (nice colors to add interest to his jeans) from places like J. Crew and Macy's. Always oohs and ahhs at things from H&M when he visits us here. He also has a great William Rast for Target jacket that gets the compliments. And a newsboy cap! I'm thinking adding some trendy/young items here and there works for guys, too... similar to how we ladies roll.

Betti

My husband is 6", slender and has really long monkey-arms. He needs a tall in long sleeve shirts, but then the shirts are really long on him and look silly. I hem up many of them for him. Jackets are very difficult to find. Many stores will have tall sizes that start with XL, but he's not wide enough for that. Plus, he doesn't go shopping. I have to bring stuff home or order it, then return most of it when it doesn't fit. So, he doesn't have much in his part of the closet.

Thistle

Veteran

my DH is 6'3" and medium build. He lives in jeans and prefers Levis to just about anything else on the market. His tees come from Land's End.

He is waaay easier to buy for than me. I buy all of his clothes, and I have never sent anything back because it didn't fit

ironkurtin

Veteran

I think men have it WAY easier. My husband has been wearing the same Carhartts for ten years!

If you husband is looking for stylish clothing for a slimmer figure, I would suggest JCrew and Nordstrom Rack to start.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Thanks for all the suggestions! My DH is 6'6" and still around 250 pounds, so not skinny, just not in the big and tall sizes anymore (tall maybe but not big). I strongarmed him into trying some stuff at BR (found one pair of khakis that fit but were an unfortunate color) and found some dress slacks at Nordstrom, but the business casual stuff seemed to be where there's a big gap. We found some tolerable pants and belts at Kohl's. He's not the most patient shopper especially in big crowds, so there's no way I can get him into Old Navy or the Rack around here on the weekends, way too many people. Maybe a weekday evening?

His daily wear is jeans and a short-sleeved button up shirt in a dark color, or a polo. He prefers dark colors because he runs hot, and that makes it hard to find things especially in the summer. He himself has said that he'd like to dress a bit more interestingly, but it's hard enough to find the basics so he feels like he doesn't have many choices. He works in IT so it's not like he has to dress up, and in fact people would look at him oddly if he wore a suit or tie everyday.

A lot of the online options - LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Lands' End - are decent for basics but they feel like something my 69 year old dad would wear, not my 37 year old husband...

cciele

Veteran

My SO who is turning 40 basically wears jeans plus a t-shirt or a long-sleeve button down shirt. In the fall/winter he also wears cords. Most of his clothes are from GAP, Banana Republic or Nordstrom.

Because of shopping allergy thing many guys have, I like to take advantage of online shopping/rree shipping to order a bunch of stuff from the above stores so he can try clothes on at home. Then I return the stuff in the brick-and-mortar store.

rachylou

Veteran

My b.f. is pretty adamant about Kohl's and JC Penney and Sears. I think he believes Macy's (and above) is *too fancy pants.* For men's attire, that is.