Clothing Fit: Dealing with Weight Loss and Gain

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by Antonio on November 25, 2010 · This holiday season many of us will be eating large meals and spending time with family watching our favorite sporting events.  Another portion of us will start our New Year’s resolutions and make exercise and healthy eating a part of our daily lives.  Either way, quite a few of us will discover over the next few months that our clothing doesn’t fit the way it used to. And whether those 34X34 jeans become too small or too large, the problem of ill fitting clothing needs to be addressed if for no other reason than a man’s britches shouldn’t fall down or tear around company.

The purpose of this article is to help you understand what to do when you gain or lose a considerable amount of weight and are faced with the issue of not having clothing that fits.  The fact of the matter is weight transitions, whether planned or unplanned, can be expensive.  Even a man with modest wardrobe needs can face being out quite a bit of money if he is forced to spend resources quickly because his clothing no longer fits.  Hopefully this article opens your eyes as to what to look out for when shopping and what your full set of options are when confronted with this dilemma.

General Guidelines for Ensuring Your Wardrobe Can Accommodate Weight Fluctuations

1. Own less clothing and make sure what you do own is highly interchangeable – Buy less, wear what you have more often, and purchase clothing that matches a wide variety of items in your wardrobe.  This is perhaps the best advice I can give a man going through a weight transition.  This simple rule saves you money because you buy less and get high mileage from what you have.  Purchase clothing that is classic in style, simple in color and pattern, and timeless in cut.  Your goal is not for people to remember what you wore, only that you looked great wearing it.  I’ll reiterate this point because I see so many people do the complete opposite – they own 10+ pairs of jeans/trousers, 20+ shirts, 5+ pairs of shoes, and 2+ suits yet wear less than 20% of those items more than 80% of the time.  The reason – most of the clothing mentioned matches only one item in the closet or was purchased on a whim because it was too good of a deal to pass up.  If you expect to gain or lose weight, you can’t afford to recreate this wasteful wardrobe in another size.
2. Avoid trendy clothing – you might be storing it for years – Whether you gain or lose weight, you’ll want to hold onto your old clothing for at least a year and preferably longer if you have the storage space.  Some weight loss experts advocate getting rid of and even burning your “large” clothing after hitting certain weight loss goals.  I personally feel this is wasteful especially if the clothing is timeless in style.  Also, as many men can attest to, weight fluctuations happen multiple times over a man’s life; you may find a broken leg or too many broken promises to avoid that ever tempting Wendy’s Triple Stack Cheeseburger result in you having to pull out those large pants years later.
3. Find a good tailor – A good tailor or seamstress is your friend – he or she can often help you fit into your old clothing despite a weight swing of 25lb or more.  Experienced tailors can adjust jackets down two full sizes without incident at a cost significantly lower than buying a new jacket.  Tailors are only limited by their skill, the amount of excess fabric in the garment, and the limit of the garment’s proportions.
4. Lower quality fabric is fine in certain areas of your wardrobe – There are items in your wardrobe you can skimp on as your weight fluctuates.  These items include dress shirts and trousers, the logic being these items can be covered by quality pieces such as a jacket, and they have the least amount of give and will have to be replaced first.  However, once your size has stabilized for 6 months then invest in quality menswear with better fabric and build.
5. Thrift, Borrow, or Ask – The key with thrifting is finding the time to look.  I personally think the best deals can be found at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores located outside of the major cities, as less people are picking over a wide range of items.  To thrift successfully you do need to be able to spot quality items that fit or can be altered to fit your frame.  Another option is simply to ask your friends and family – know your measurements and sizes and put it out on Facebook and email.  If you are losing weight, this is a great way to let people know about your progress and see if they happen to have something hanging in the closet or storage that can tide you over until you reach your weight goal.

Specific Men’s Clothing Tips – Weight Gain and Loss

Gaining Weight & Menswear

Shirts – The good news is that most men’s dress shirts are built to fit men with healthy midsections; the bad news is that if you actually bought shirts that fit you and are now gaining weight you’ll have little room to accommodate any new insulation around the midsection.  Other areas you might experience weight gain are in the shoulders which will make the sleeves feel shorter, and the neck where you’ll be hard pressed to button the top button.

Adjust this collar by simply moving the button - if you need to remake it, then cut from the shirt tails as matching this complex pattern is next to impossible.

Addressing the collar issue, a collar button extender or moving the collar button ½ inch might temporarily offer relief.   A more expensive option is to attach a new collar, which if white can be made and affixed by most tailors.  If your shirt tails are long enough, another option is to have a new collar cut from them – the key being whether there is enough fabric present.  As for dealing with sleeve length, a man could have longer cuffs cut and attached – this is limited though by proportions and usually anything more than ¾ of an inch is pushing it.  As for the torso – you can’t create room where there isn’t any fabric.  Some shirts might have a total of ¾ of an inch of room……but most won’t and so new shirts are called for.
Jackets – Of all the items we’ll discuss, a jacket has the most flexibility to handle weight gain.  The simple reason is jackets are normally given 3 or more areas where excess fabric can be let out.  It’s not uncommon for a man to have 2+ inches opened up on a jacket and it to still look fine proportionally.  But make sure the fabric is there – many times men pick up a jacket at a thrift store and find out it has already been let out, or try to adjust a designer suit which has very little excess material left in.  In addition, there are limits to what can be done based on proportion.  As for the jacket shoulders, little if anything can be done to extend them although sleeves and the jacket back can be opened to help accommodate the new weight.  Usually once a man expands past 1-2 sizes or 25-35lbs, the jacket cannot be worn.  Finally pay attention to the front length of the jacket.  A protruding belly can cause the jacket to rise considerably in the front, making the jacket un-wearable.

The fabric available for expansion can clearly be seen on this unlined jacket.

Trousers – Trousers are limited by the placement of their back pockets and the amount of excess material sewn into them.  As a clothier I leave room for 2+ inches of expansion – most machine cut pants have almost nothing left over in the seams as fabric costs money.  My advice is if your weight is fluctuating, be careful about spending too much money on pants. One trick I recommend is that if you have trousers made, skip the back pockets.  This gives whoever will alter them in the future a lot more leeway in alterations.  Also, although the current fashion is flat front trousers…..a man who enjoys food should wear and enjoy pleats.  They keep the excess fabric out of the way when not in use but allow them to stretch out when needed.  Lastly, large men are most comfortable in trousers that hang from their shoulders – consider suspenders.

Antonio on November 25, 2010 · This holiday season many of us will be eating large meals and spending time with family watching our favorite sporting events.  Another portion of us will start our New Year’s resolutions and make exercise and healthy eating a part of our daily lives.  Either way, quite a few of us will discover over the next few months that our clothing doesn’t fit the way it used to. And whether those 34X34 jeans become too small or too large, the problem of ill fitting clothing needs to be addressed if for no other reason than a man’s britches shouldn’t fall down or tear around company.

The purpose of this article is to help you understand what to do when you gain or lose a considerable amount of weight and are faced with the issue of not having clothing that fits.  The fact of the matter is weight transitions, whether planned or unplanned, can be expensive.  Even a man with modest wardrobe needs can face being out quite a bit of money if he is forced to spend resources quickly because his clothing no longer fits.  Hopefully this article opens your eyes as to what to look out for when shopping and what your full set of options are when confronted with this dilemma.

General Guidelines for Ensuring Your Wardrobe Can Accommodate Weight Fluctuations

1. Own less clothing and make sure what you do own is highly interchangeable – Buy less, wear what you have more often, and purchase clothing that matches a wide variety of items in your wardrobe.  This is perhaps the best advice I can give a man going through a weight transition.  This simple rule saves you money because you buy less and get high mileage from what you have.  Purchase clothing that is classic in style, simple in color and pattern, and timeless in cut.  Your goal is not for people to remember what you wore, only that you looked great wearing it.  I’ll reiterate this point because I see so many people do the complete opposite – they own 10+ pairs of jeans/trousers, 20+ shirts, 5+ pairs of shoes, and 2+ suits yet wear less than 20% of those items more than 80% of the time.  The reason – most of the clothing mentioned matches only one item in the closet or was purchased on a whim because it was too good of a deal to pass up.  If you expect to gain or lose weight, you can’t afford to recreate this wasteful wardrobe in another size.
2. Avoid trendy clothing – you might be storing it for years – Whether you gain or lose weight, you’ll want to hold onto your old clothing for at least a year and preferably longer if you have the storage space.  Some weight loss experts advocate getting rid of and even burning your “large” clothing after hitting certain weight loss goals.  I personally feel this is wasteful especially if the clothing is timeless in style.  Also, as many men can attest to, weight fluctuations happen multiple times over a man’s life; you may find a broken leg or too many broken promises to avoid that ever tempting Wendy’s Triple Stack Cheeseburger result in you having to pull out those large pants years later.
3. Find a good tailor – A good tailor or seamstress is your friend – he or she can often help you fit into your old clothing despite a weight swing of 25lb or more.  Experienced tailors can adjust jackets down two full sizes without incident at a cost significantly lower than buying a new jacket.  Tailors are only limited by their skill, the amount of excess fabric in the garment, and the limit of the garment’s proportions.
4. Lower quality fabric is fine in certain areas of your wardrobe – There are items in your wardrobe you can skimp on as your weight fluctuates.  These items include dress shirts and trousers, the logic being these items can be covered by quality pieces such as a jacket, and they have the least amount of give and will have to be replaced first.  However, once your size has stabilized for 6 months then invest in quality menswear with better fabric and build.
5. Thrift, Borrow, or Ask – The key with thrifting is finding the time to look.  I personally think the best deals can be found at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores located outside of the major cities, as less people are picking over a wide range of items.  To thrift successfully you do need to be able to spot quality items that fit or can be altered to fit your frame.  Another option is simply to ask your friends and family – know your measurements and sizes and put it out on Facebook and email.  If you are losing weight, this is a great way to let people know about your progress and see if they happen to have something hanging in the closet or storage that can tide you over until you reach your weight goal.

Specific Men’s Clothing Tips – Weight Gain and Loss

Gaining Weight & Menswear

Shirts – The good news is that most men’s dress shirts are built to fit men with healthy midsections; the bad news is that if you actually bought shirts that fit you and are now gaining weight you’ll have little room to accommodate any new insulation around the midsection.  Other areas you might experience weight gain are in the shoulders which will make the sleeves feel shorter, and the neck where you’ll be hard pressed to button the top button.

Adjust this collar by simply moving the button - if you need to remake it, then cut from the shirt tails as matching this complex pattern is next to impossible.

Addressing the collar issue, a collar button extender or moving the collar button ½ inch might temporarily offer relief.   A more expensive option is to attach a new collar, which if white can be made and affixed by most tailors.  If your shirt tails are long enough, another option is to have a new collar cut from them – the key being whether there is enough fabric present.  As for dealing with sleeve length, a man could have longer cuffs cut and attached – this is limited though by proportions and usually anything more than ¾ of an inch is pushing it.  As for the torso – you can’t create room where there isn’t any fabric.  Some shirts might have a total of ¾ of an inch of room……but most won’t and so new shirts are called for.
Jackets – Of all the items we’ll discuss, a jacket has the most flexibility to handle weight gain.  The simple reason is jackets are normally given 3 or more areas where excess fabric can be let out.  It’s not uncommon for a man to have 2+ inches opened up on a jacket and it to still look fine proportionally.  But make sure the fabric is there – many times men pick up a jacket at a thrift store and find out it has already been let out, or try to adjust a designer suit which has very little excess material left in.  In addition, there are limits to what can be done based on proportion.  As for the jacket shoulders, little if anything can be done to extend them although sleeves and the jacket back can be opened to help accommodate the new weight.  Usually once a man expands past 1-2 sizes or 25-35lbs, the jacket cannot be worn.  Finally pay attention to the front length of the jacket.  A protruding belly can cause the jacket to rise considerably in the front, making the jacket un-wearable.

The fabric available for expansion can clearly be seen on this unlined jacket.

Trousers – Trousers are limited by the placement of their back pockets and the amount of excess material sewn into them.  As a clothier I leave room for 2+ inches of expansion – most machine cut pants have almost nothing left over in the seams as fabric costs money.  My advice is if your weight is fluctuating, be careful about spending too much money on pants. One trick I recommend is that if you have trousers made, skip the back pockets.  This gives whoever will alter them in the future a lot more leeway in alterations.  Also, although the current fashion is flat front trousers…..a man who enjoys food should wear and enjoy pleats.  They keep the excess fabric out of the way when not in use but allow them to stretch out when needed.  Lastly, large men are most comfortable in trousers that hang from their shoulders – consider suspenders.

And how long does it take to make a fine suit?

The Best Off-the-Rack Wardrobe
by G. Bruce Boyer
The Duke of Windsor was a stickler for detail. Fanatical when it came to his clothing, he was precise about the number of buttons on his jacket sleeve and the height of his trouser cuff. He had special linings sewn into his custom-made ties to produce the exact thickness of knot he desired, and when he decided that he really preferred American-style trousers with an English-style coat, he simply had his suit jackets made in Savile Row and the trousers made in New York City. It was something of an international compromise, which his wife referred to as "Pants across the Sea." But then, that is not quite as precise as the inclinations of George "Beau" Brummell, the great Regency dandy who reputedly had a different glove maker for each hand.

There are those men who wallow in the very "process" of custom-made clothing,

studiously pouring over the swatch books, luxuriating in the endless discussions of details and the numerous fittings over weeks and months. There is a great deal of pampering as fitters take the corporeal measure of a man, and there is no denying its arcane charm--if you've got the time and the inclination, not to mention a decent tailor and boot maker.
But many of us don't, and we merely want to look well turned-out without all the fuss and bother. We want a well-made suit that fits with minor alterations, one that we can examine and try on, rather than just imagine how it may look.
The problem traditionally has been that the gulf between custom-made and ready-made business wear--tailored clothing, shirts, ties and shoes--was both broad and deep. Selection, in terms of styling and silhouette, has always been rather narrow with ready-to-wear; and assembly-line work cannot begin to duplicate handmade quality. The designer movement in menswear these past two or three decades has only made more men aware of these disparities. There are some designer clothes that have a sense of style but no real quality to them; and then there are one or two quality manufacturers whose idea of brio is someone with all the dash and élan of Henry Kissinger. So the question remains: Where can a man get some stylish-looking quality gear without a lot of endless bother?
Do not despair. There is, as it happens, an international handful of ready-to-wear firms that are every bit the equal of custom quality and styling, firms that employ the finest craftsmen, use only the best materials and have a sense of classic taste.
At a time when hand-tailoring has been in steady decline, a few firms have created an innovative concept as a commercial basis for manufacture: a "factory" of craftsmen. Whether in the United States or Europe, the recipe for producing exemplary ready-to-wear is virtually the same: Success depends upon a happy marriage between technology and craftsmanship.

Success calls for the ability to use technology where it can do a better job and the foresight to keep the craftsmanship where handwork cannot be surpassed. That means using technologically advanced machinery and computers where they can do the most good--recording orders, keeping track of inventories, filing patterns, mailing correspondence and other clerical duties--while also bringing craftsmen together and organizing a workplace for the manufacture of handwork: hand-stitching, hand-cutting, hand-pol-ishing and whatever else cannot be duplicated by machinery.

Let's be clear what we're talking about here. When you have talented craftsmen working with the finest materials--the best woolens, cottons, leathers, horn buttons and the rest of it--the only difference in custom work is the use of individual patterns. With handmade

ready-to-wear, quality is assured, styling is superb and fit depends upon the silhouette a man prefers. And the results at this level of competence must be judged on styling: We are discussing the relative merits of a Rolls versus a Bentley. Prices, needless to say, are as comparable to custom work as is quality.
"There's an almost mystical relationship between mind and hand when it comes to the work of real craftsmen," muses Joseph Barrato, CEO in the United States for the Italian firm of Brioni, tailors extraordinaire for 50 years. In the famous workshops and apprentice school in Penne, in the Abruzzi region of Italy, 200 tailors handcraft suits of impeccable subtlety. "In Italy, they talk about how long it takes to make something, not how quickly it can be pumped out," says Barrato. "The measure of craftsmanship is quality, which means aesthetics married to function. There is still the tradition of taking pride in doing things the best way, rather than the quickest way."
And how long does it take to make a fine suit?
"A single tailor working in a custom tailoring shop can make no more than three jackets a week--and that's the standard," Barrato says. "In Italy, they talk about garments in terms of hours: 'It's a 10-hour suit,' 'a 15-hour coat' and so forth. The artisans at Brioni make an 18-hour coat, which means as much handiwork as in any custom shop."
And it shows: Each jacket is completely hand-cut with scissors; the chest, lapels, collar, armholes, buttonholes, lining, pockets and sleeves are all sewn by hand. Everything is hand-pressed. It is virtually the same way at Kiton, a firm that employs 170 tailors in Naples to make clothing the old-fashioned way. Both Brioni and Kiton limit the number of garments they make to a few thousand per year--or about as many suits as the large clothing factories churn out in a week using laser knives, conveyor belts, a bit of glue and some pressing machines.
Brioni, in fact, has continued the time-honored artisan tradition of apprenticeship by establishing its own senior tailors school to train young people in the craft, the technical aspects of which have a heritage that dates back more than 100 years. And a visit to the Kiton plant in a Naples suburb shows tailors sitting in small groups, doing the work in their laps, one stitching a buttonhole, another a sleeve head. At a worktable across the aisle, a man hand-presses a lining. Many of the tailors have tape measures slung around their necks; it is very much the Old World in a modern setting of space and light.
That experience holds true with the great shoemakers. At the French firm of J.M. Weston, "production moved into a high-tech factory in 1990, but the old cobblers' benches are still used, and the construction methods haven't changed in half a century," says John Ryan, United States sales director. At least 80 percent of each Weston shoe is made by hand, from cutting the leather pattern to final polishing. The firm, which began making shoes and boots at Limoges in 1865, still has its own tannery, to ensure the proper aging of the leathers. Across the Channel--or through the Chunnel, if you will--in the English town of Northampton, Edward Green & Company has been making shoes since 1890, with the skills of the craft handed down from one generation to the next. The firm continues to make the knee-high boots for the Queen's own Household Guard, a tradition begun with Queen Victoria.
"We simply wouldn't think of using glue," says managing director John Hlustik, in a voice that makes you think he would probably thrash you if you mentioned Velcro fasteners. "In fact, we use wild boar bristles for stitching, instead of steel needles, and we make our own twine because it's both thinner and stronger." That's the kind of dedication to craft I'm talking about!
Neither firm, of course, mistakes the frighteningly trendy for style, choosing instead the tried-and-true cap toes and tassel slip-ons, a classic monk strap here, a calfskin-and-linen spectator there. The tremendous variety they offer comes in the form of leathers, finishes and fittings. Sizes and half-sizes in five widths are the norm, and traditional styles usually are available in several different shadings and finishes.
"We are concerned with welted shoes," Hlustik says, "because they are the only ones that can adequately be repaired." Too true, and while we are on the subject, quality shoe manufacturers will, for a modest charge, rehabilitate and rejuvenate your purchase so that you can be well-shod for years and years. That is value for the money.
Shirtmakers have their own set of rules for perfection. Single-needle construction is a must, so that seams don't pucker, and collars must be sewn in layers, rather than be fused (a polite term for gluing). Only the finest long-staple and lustrous cottons and mother-of-pearl buttons are used.
Tie-making is a special art. Some, such as the famous French firm of Hermes, founded in 1837, print their own silk twill in an extremely ornate and complicated silk-screen process. The British firm of Charles Hill produces handmade jacquard-woven silk ties in a variety of weights, from 24 to 50 ounces, the traditional patterns of which are drawn from the archives of historic English silk mills.
The crown jewel of neckwear is the legendary seven-fold tie. The concept of the seven-fold is simplicity itself: A square yard of finest silk is folded in on itself seven times until the tie shape is formed; then it is hand-stitched and pressed. That is all there is to it. No lining is needed to maintain its shape or to tie a perfect knot.
The seven-fold's salad days were the early decades of this century, but as cheaper mechanized production replaced artisan tie makers, and as the price of quality silk rose after the Second World War, the seven-fold all but vanished. Today, there are only two companies that still make the seven-fold: Robert Talbott in the United States and Kiton in Italy.
"The truth is," says famed Biella designer Luciano Barbera, whose family has produced incredibly refined clothing for three generations, "that to make anything well it must be more than a business: It must be a passion." Exactly.