buying clothes when you're skinny...

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...and you don't want to end up looking for clothes in the kids section your whole life!

what if you're small and skinny and you're in your 30s?

I know H&M have XS size shirts and pants, but it seems the only place where I can buy clothes at the moment that don't look terribly oversized.

― erik, Wednesday, 2 October 2002 13:36 (twenty-two years ago)

oh i have a different skinny problem. not enough people make xl tall sizes. xxl might have long enough arms, but then it is too baggy on my skinny self

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

haha all of you can fuck off and die.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

that certainly would solve the problem

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

You would still need a skinny-looking suit to get buried in.

H&M seems to be the only option for me as well, (although I am an S not an XS), other than girl's jeans, thanks to girls having proportionately longer legs (i.e. so waist for the same length as the average man, who is fatter than me). I prefer flared jeans though, so it's only a problem when someone says "where are those jeans from".
I looked in the back of a catalogue and the sizes that most closely matched my shape was a 16 year old girl (everything matched except 'her' chest was too big, and she was much shorter). I find this more than a little humiliating, for reasons I can't quite comphrehend.
Even a medium tshirt from (e.g.) Frnch Connection or M&S looks like a tent on me

― Sofa King Alternative (Sofa King Alternative), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

haha all of you can fuck off and die.

And this is when Jess is in a goodmood;>

But really, Erik, I symathise mucho as I'm a size 6 (UK size 10, I guess) so I always have a rough time searching for clothes.

However, try to enjoy the feeling, as it probably means you're healthy.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Most people consider me skinny, but I have no trouble finding clothes; maybe I'm not that thin. I'm 5'11", weigh 150 lbs, have a 30" waist and wear a 38 reg. jacket. I look great in a suit.

My ex I guess qualifed as that skinny... there's no way he could have bought a suit anywhere but the kid's department, which I guess is awkward when you're 30. Even size 28 pants are hard to find.

btw Erik, where've you been? Still dating a 16 year old or whatever? Maybe you can borrow some of his clothes, hahaha.

― Sean (Sean), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 14:25 (twenty-two years ago)

it's annoying that things don't fit on my shoulders. Jackets seem to be too wide and too short. But then I'm not really as skinny as I look, just a gangly mess.

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

If you're skinny enough you don't have to bother with clothes since nobody can see you anyways.

― Honda, Wednesday, 2 October 2002 18:07 (twenty-two years ago)

this thread makes my belly sad.

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 19:32 (twenty-two years ago)

its even worse when you are short, with no hips and all the womens clothes swell out around the hip area making you look like a baggy dumpling.
jeans are a pain, and apart from the huge butt issue ( i can never fill the bluddy things out ) the legs are always so long i have to cut off half the length. should get a discount really since i only get to use some of the material.!

― donna (donna), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 19:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Once again, I wuv Jess.

― Nicole (Nicole), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

buying a suit, yeah, that's a story on itself...as they don't sell suits in the childrens department, at least not here in holland,

hmmm, tailor-made...

― erik, Wednesday, 2 October 2002 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

yes make fun of me

― erik, Wednesday, 2 October 2002 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

really skinny people are like the fat people of skinny people

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Wednesday, 2 October 2002 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

really skinny people are like the fat people of skinny people

You are wise.

― JC (JC A.), Thursday, 3 October 2002 01:41 (twenty-two years ago)

la la la im skinny i dont care at least im not fat!! hahaha lalala i live in my own little world and im fuckin happy being skinny instead of walking around looking like mobile jello

― michelle, Thursday, 3 October 2002 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

i hope usher's a pisser like r kelly.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 3 October 2002 03:22 (twenty-two years ago)

i hear he has lollies in his pockets.

― mark p (Mark P), Thursday, 3 October 2002 03:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Ants in his pants? But down with those.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 3 October 2002 03:38 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the annoying things about being thin is finding pants that a) don't look like clown pants, or b) don't look like penguin pants or c) don't look like Stever Urkel pants. I've found one pair of jeans that actually fit me perfectly ever, and I wore them so much so long that they literally fell to pieces.

Also: jumpers and tops whose arms don't start halfway between your neck and your shoulders.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 3 October 2002 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

such a dead thread.

anyway, J. Lindeberg seems to work okay. I'm a US 25-28, depending on brand, suit a 35 short. I'm 5'9, 125lbs. skinny isn't even the word for it. If any of you know better designer lines, I would appreciate it. Versace is good, but long, Paperdenim&cloth, good and long, yeah.
-M

― Michael Oldenkamp, Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:47 (twenty-one years ago)

yes¡ someone skinner than me¡
michael you are a brave man - i won't even tell people my weight.

as far as suits go i don't really need suits often due to the industry i work in. when i do usually i get everything tailored but i'd have no idea what lines are best.

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I hear some boys like Seven jeans! They fit me very well; usually even 1s are roomy.

― teeny (teeny), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

along those lines, one of my really skinny boy friends wears evisu ladies' jeans. like sevens, they have less of a recognizable femme look to them.

― lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

For some reason I always find good fitting pants and stuff and second hand stores. It's like all the skinny people went out and did all the work getting good clothes then after getting a few stains or holes in them they sell them to Good Will.
I'm like 5'10 and 135lbs (but I eat like 3 cheesesteaks a day, I don't what's wrong [or right] about my metabolism)

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Now that I think about it, some of the pants in the mens section at second hand stores are probably ladies or kids pants that have sneaked through.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:24 (twenty-one years ago)

In the US, clothing today is generally made with the expectation that the wearer will be significantly heavier than is considered healthy. I'm about 6 foot and 155 lbs, but I can't buy a button-down shirt that doesn't hang off me like a garbage bag. However, if I buy vintage clothing (made pre-eighties generally), it fits perfectly. Especially the shirts.

For new clothes, I tend to wear a size medium shirt, but if it isn't a T the arms end about midway down my forearms.

― webcrack (music=crack), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:48 (twenty-one years ago)

i have trouble with shirts, especially sweaters. I'm 6'2" but i have short legs (32 inseam) ergo i have a long ribcage and long arms. most off-the-rack shirts either look like 3-quarter baby-ts or parkas on me. i have decent luck shopping second hand though, older shirts tend to have a much narrower shape

(xpost)

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

webcrack otm. What is with so-called vanity sizing? And then not stocking small sizes? I'm on the smallish end of normal sized, not so small that I should have to go to five stores looking for one that carries size zero pants. Bleurgh!

― mouse, Wednesday, 14 January 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

you n me are about the same size, nairn. i can pack the food away too if i'm so inclined.
i was thinking in the near future we may be able to make millions by selling off our genetic coding. then we can buy all the tailored cloths we want¡

no wait¡ we wouldn't have to. after half the population is skinny as hell from the clearance sale on our superior genetics all cloths will fit us - yes¡

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm healthy sized! but there are no new well-priced American clothes made for me!

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:12 (twenty-one years ago)

but big heavy people step on skinny people just for fun.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:14 (twenty-one years ago)

haha this thread is disgusting.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:18 (twenty-one years ago)

when paris hilton forms her mantis society off the coast of barbados you will all live like kings!

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:18 (twenty-one years ago)

stop stepping on our thread, jess.

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

sorry, i can't hear you down there.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:21 (twenty-one years ago)

haha i knew this thread would depress me

― america's first municipal lunatic asylum (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:24 (twenty-one years ago)

it's like a bunch of white people sitting around complaining about how bad affirmative action is.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:27 (twenty-one years ago)

you can all go to bed tonight secure in the fact that - though you may not be able to find comfortable pants - you still CONTROL THE WHOLE WORLD.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:28 (twenty-one years ago)

oh calm down

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

boo hoo, this size zero is too big for me, i guess i'll have to go binge on cheesesteaks now wahhh why is my life so tough?

(kidding, kidding... sheesh)

― america's first municipal lunatic asylum (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

For Jess:

http://eyeonbooks.com/bookjackets/0403/monique.jpg

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:31 (twenty-one years ago)

yes, jess. we control the whole world.
the whole world except for clothing manufacturers¡ wtf¡

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 21:56 (twenty-one years ago)

ok dyson you're on your own here

― g--ff (gcannon), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I am 5'(10 1/32)" and on a full stomach and lots of sweaters 117 lbs.

― Leee Majors (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

whoa he beats all of us (even mike)

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

GOD I FEEL SO FAT 5'11" 155 HELP ME

― Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

What about clothes for really small people? Some US size smalls are HUGE!

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

The boys section?

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 5 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Jesus, I've been proud of myself for sticking at 180 for a year (6'1"ish). Now I'm all ashamed and stuff.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I am stuck in the Eurocentric tight dark clothes mindset, and if only I could relax and learn to be a little, I dunno, "Californian", I might be able to tolerate the more billowing of shirt and more generous of waistline.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:43 (twenty-one years ago)

and a bit of bright yellow and maybe a graphic or two here and there.

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Get yourself some Hawaiian shirts.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:45 (twenty-one years ago)

see:
http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm
(You may nto want to look at this site if you are sensitive about your weight)

you're BMI is around 22 which is right in the normal (18.5-24.9)

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:50 (twenty-one years ago)

that was for Gear! and Miloaukman your BMI is around 23.5. that is "normal" too.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:52 (twenty-one years ago)

and Fat alberet the more "californian" you become the more bits of soul you lose.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:54 (twenty-one years ago)

What makes you think I even have a soul?

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

You have the funny accent.

― Leee Majors (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean charming.

― Leee Majors (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Vulgar yank!

― Fat Alberet (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Hyuk hyuk!

― Leee Majors (Leee), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 22:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I Love this thread. I LIVE this thread.

Let's hear it for skinny boys who shy away from even buying large shirts. (And aren't Birthdays/other-gift-receiving-holidays the pits for getting clothes because all your relatives/friends think you should stop wearing small and medium shirts?)

However, it all goes into the toilet trying to find jeans sizes even as innocuous as 31W 36I even though I should really go up to 38 on the inseam. HELL.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow, it looks like my own 5'9" 125lbs has been tied and beaten. God, you're right Erik. If I got even one iota smaller in either waist of leg length I'd have to wear children's pants.

― Dan I., Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't complain Jess! I'd do anything not to be all stubby and short.

― Dan I., Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:31 (twenty-one years ago)

jesus wept.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Especially considering that between the two of us who is the one within the "healthy" range on all the weight charts? Not me!

― Dan I., Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

really skinny people are like the fat people of skinny people
-- boxcubed (uneasy_allianc...), October 2nd, 2002

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:39 (twenty-one years ago)

5'7", 130 lb. i go to the tailor's a lot.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

i mean...honmestly...a 31 inch waist and a 38 inch inseam?!?!...even i only wear a 36 inch inseam and i'm like wilt chamberlain...are you like one of those carnival uncle sam's on the stilts?...the sheer physics of it are mindboggling!

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

jess you should see trayce's bf. he's something along those lines, in fact i think he has a smaller waist than that

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I made out with a guy who was skinny like that once, it was terrifying. I'm sure if he'd been any good I could have gotten used to it, but eep!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 15 January 2004 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm sorry, really the last bit was out of line.

― fiddo centington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 15 January 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Leee just beats me (5'10", 120 lbs last I checked). I've actually found the Gap to be shockingly good. XS men's tops are perfect-fitting and plentiful, as are 28" waist pants, on which I don't need to choke belts up too much. I found Bluetones to have some really good jeans last time I was buying. Usually you just need to put in the time to look around. Some place will usually have 28" waist pants or small tops. I haven't really looked in women's departments yet but it's an interesting option. Do they tend to have much stuff for people who are 5'10"?

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 15 January 2004 04:10 (twenty-one years ago)

hi sundar¡

― dyson (dyson), Thursday, 15 January 2004 05:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Women's stores (lots of reasonably priced ones like bluenotes, old navy, and the gap) usually carry jeans up to 34". I would say this season's ideal for guys to shop in women's stores bc the current cuts are very slim in the hips. Ebay has tons of skinny pants but of course you take the risk they won't fit right.
If you need something narrow in the leg, diesel usually carries

― Colleen Neeson (Colleen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 06:27 (twenty-one years ago)

sorry about that, diesel usually carries extremely tight jeans that end up on sale bc they don't fit anyone.

― Colleen Neeson (Colleen), Thursday, 15 January 2004 06:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been told that I wear it pretty well (my legginess, that is). I'm a pretty skinny dude, mind you, but it's more a question of my legs just being damned long; all things considered, I'm only 6'3"... as opposed to the 7'2" I bet you were all picturing. I swear, if I could just chop two inches out of both my thighbone and calfbone (femur and whatevah the hell the other one's called) I'd be pretty close to proportionate.

Still, I once myself said skinny men are sort of the fat girls of the XY gender, so that's pretty funny boxcubed.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 15 January 2004 06:56 (twenty-one years ago)

And the 38" really depends on the pant, sometimes 36 works just fine.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Thursday, 15 January 2004 06:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I just checked and I have a 28" waist.

Only some girls and pixies do not outweigh me.

― Leee Majors (Leee), Thursday, 15 January 2004 07:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahsahehe what Jim said - I was about to mention my b/f, he is 6 foot 4 and I believe he said hes somewhere around 60kg (132 pounds). He's REALLY thin, and not only that he's so tall no clothes fit him - theyre all baggyish and way too short. Poor guy.

He eats like a horse too, Ive no f'in idea where it all goes.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 15 January 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

It all goes to the ponies.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 15 January 2004 07:53 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

guys, i was reading your board. i feel your pain.i' 6'6"150lbs 27yrs old. clothes dont fit and food and weight gainers dont work either.but i would rather be bony than chubby. but they make chubby clothes dont they.

― danny, Thursday, 18 March 2004 02:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I have had 2 kids in the past 2 years i use to be very skinny now i feel fat all th time help

― eileen jensen, Friday, 19 March 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

exercise. with the kiddos.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Friday, 19 March 2004 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Samantha,,,,,, my kids do help but I just dont think my hips will ever be the same I know that my girls were well worth it though. I use to have a really hard time finding jeans that fit I had to go to stores like abercrombie and fitch and get a dobble zero. Now I have a hard time getting jeans just cause i dont want to be a size one or two I want to wear my old cute pants. Latley I have felt so insecure and even considered the abc extream makeover. I just dont know how to love my new womanly shape>>>>>

― eileen jensen, Saturday, 20 March 2004 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

i'm 7'5"/108 lbs, or is it 5'7"/180 lbs???

― bobby bedelia, Saturday, 28 April 2007 06:57 (eighteen years ago)

I'm really skinny and short but I'm a medium in Zara and River Island. There is hope for us all.

― o-ess, Saturday, 28 April 2007 09:03 (eighteen years ago)

Zara is evil for people who aren't skinny. I don't fit in their clothes at all (and I am not really fat or anything).

― ailsa, Saturday, 28 April 2007 12:03 (eighteen years ago)

whatever happened to boxcubed???

― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 28 April 2007 12:34 (eighteen years ago)

Since I spend most of my day in business causal land, I've found myself shopping more at the Gap and J. Crew. Gap consistently has pants and jeans that are 28-30" and J. Crew has button up shirts that are 14 1/2.

I can't do thrift stores any more at all. Skinny motherfucking hipsters buy up everything that is a medium and smaller.

― Jeff, Saturday, 28 April 2007 13:01 (eighteen years ago)

zara is all cut for a small frame, I think.. i own a lot of trousers from there 'cause they're actually long enough for me but have trouble buying anything fitted on top, they're cut too narrow in the shoulders!

― daria-g, Saturday, 28 April 2007 14:15 (eighteen years ago)

My boyfriend has 28" waist, size small shirts, but also grover-style long arms, so by the end of a day of clothes shopping he is convinced the world is against him. He got so mad about it that he started a letter-writing campaign to different stores and clothing brands imploring them to stock and make smaller sizes.

We recently went to nearby Juarez, tho, and they had everything in his sizes and at hella cheaper prizes, so that significant burden has been removed from his life.

― Abbott, Saturday, 28 April 2007 17:55 (eighteen years ago)

five months pass...

I just bought two t-shirts online, both of them exactly the same but in different colors. Well, almost exactly the same: one fits perfectly, the other seems like a size too big even though they are both size small.

soo question: What's the best method for shrinking the one that's too big? Hot water wash and high-heat drying? Anything else? Any method that will really shrink it? It's 100% cotton, btw.

I'm not interested in exchanging it because 1.) size "small" can apparently mean two different things, as evinced by the shirt that fits perfectly and 2.)I can't be arsed to mail it back and exchange, etc.

― Mark Clemente, Wednesday, 3 October 2007 23:28 (seventeen years ago)

On Mark's query.

Yeah, Xtreme heat is U+K here. If even that won't work, often the kindly older woman who runs a local dry cleaner-type establishment will gladly resize garments for ~$6.

On the general thread topic:

Being lazy, I've completely given up on finding anymore clothing in the world that fits me, and have resigned myself to a life of wearing the 15 or so shirts and four pairs of jeans (two baggy, two tight) I bought at ages 19 and 20 for the rest of my life.

― en i see kay, Thursday, 4 October 2007 00:51 (seventeen years ago)

Generally when a cotton shirt shrinks, it tends to shrink verically, so bear that in mind if the problem is width not length. You probably do not want to end up with a belly shirt.

― Abbott, Thursday, 4 October 2007 03:26 (seventeen years ago)

the only t-shirts i feel comfortable buying nowadays are american apparel size S.

― Jordan Sargent, Thursday, 4 October 2007 03:39 (seventeen years ago)

all other shirts have nightmare sleeves or some other deformities.

― Jordan Sargent, Thursday, 4 October 2007 03:40 (seventeen years ago)

american apparel shrinks into an ugly fit in my skinny experience.

― elan, Thursday, 4 October 2007 04:17 (seventeen years ago)

They shrink a lot! I wish they were a little longer afterwards, but I have a freaky long back.

― Dan I., Thursday, 4 October 2007 05:05 (seventeen years ago)

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