It ain't easy being tall
A tall man's search for a shirt that fits - and his recommendations for where to buy decent clothes.
A tall man's search for a shirt that fits - and his recommendations for where to buy decent clothes.
Growing up, I never understood that my genes would negatively impact my jean-shopping experience.
I didn’t ask to be 6 feet 9 inches (205cm in logical measurements) but my genetic roll of the dice landed on super-tall – bugger. Not only that, I have an albatross-like wingspan that stretches out to 213cm. These stats should have led to an illustrious career as an elite wing defender in the NBA. Instead, I’m a writer.
My main problem in life – other than fitting in trains, planes or automobiles – is finding clothes that fit. Unfortunately, the world just isn’t geared up for people at the extreme ends of the bell curve. When I go shopping in main street stores, I’ll find something that fits around the waist, but pants usually fall well above my ankles. As for tops, they finish too high above my waist and long sleeves come three-quarters of the way down my arms.
The issue here is that as clothes go up in size from M to XXXL, they don’t tend to get longer in the body or sleeves. They stay the same while you get a wider body, the logic being that people get fatter, not longer.
Now I can usually find something that covers my arms, but that’s because the shirt extends wider than my shoulders and there’s always a gross excess of fabric around my mid-section.
From the age of 18, my parents handed the difficult reins of buying clothes to me. Like most people, I started my search online. It was easy enough to find that Levi’s and Wrangler made jeans in my size. Success! However, turning up to a physical store in NZ armed with that information means nothing – they don’t import giant pants.
Turns out you need to find an online shop that ships to our shores.
That’s another issue. The US Levi’s website doesn’t let you ship to New Zealand. To skirt these issues, I signed up to New Zealand Post’s YouShop, which tricks businesses into thinking you live in their climes. NZ Post then forwards them on to you – for a not insignificant fee.
Buying online from overseas is a risk. There’s all the faff of returning things back to their rightful home if they won’t fit. Everything I ever tried always seemed to be a bit big around the middle or too short in the arms. I needed a physical store to try on different sizes and brands to work out what was right, or I’d get stuck in an endless cycle of shipping things to and from the States.
In the end, I resorted to rolling the sleeves up on absolutely everything I wore. That worked well in summer but made for chilly winters.
For my 30th birthday in 2018, I set off for New York City for the first leg of a trip of a lifetime. It was a dream trip because I was finally going to the country that I’d exclusively bought all my pants from since 2005.
While most people scope out where The Met or the Natural History Museum are, I looked up the location of a Big and Tall shop in Manhattan. It was planned to a T. I knew how many blocks I had to walk from my hotel and skirted the crowds looking at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree to get there.
The store was massive, with wall-to-wall racks of clothes. I thought I was in heaven. But then I noticed the salesmen observing me sheepishly. Turns out it was all in the name – it was BIG and tall. One of the salesmen did help me out, kind of. “Sir, if you put on 30-40 pounds, I can find you some clothes that fit you.” Next stop, social media.
After returning, I was forced to revert to my old ways of rolling up sleeves, until I stumbled across an excellent group on Facebook. It was an exclusive group for tall men above 6 feet 6 inches and women above 6 feet. The only way to join is by posting a head-to-toe photo of yourself standing in a doorway.
This confirmed you were a giant or giantess and weeded out those with a height fetish (it happens – I’ve had people message and say I have lovely big hands).
I’d found my people. There are thousands of tall-ies in this group who’ve all had a lifetime of struggle to find clothes. Luckily for me, the members are always willing to lend advice, and this is where I stumbled upon some absolute gems that will hopefully see me through until the end of my days.
Unbeknown to me, there were clothes out there for me, I just needed to know where to look. Turns out the tallest 1% of a global population of nearly 8 billion people is still quite a big market, especially now that shopping is so easily accomplished internationally.
The first place I got directed towards was Doubs Clothing. This business has a cool story. It was started by Sammie, who grew frustrated trying to find clothes that fit her 6 feet 10 inch husband. Based in Melbourne (and with free shipping!) I’ve ordered a few items from there and found they easily fit my frame.
After a lifetime of rolling up sleeves, it almost felt weird to put on a top that came down to my wrists. The sizing is in giant sizes. I’m only a large giant according to Doubs, whereas I’m used to being a XXL here. The size guides on the website make it easy to work out what you might be.
The second recommended place (and the one that makes clothes that seem like they’re tailored for me) was American Tall. This is where I go for just about everything now – Doubs is edgier and cooler while American Tall is preppy and American-y. The latter works better for me in the office. You can order its clothes in both tall and extra-tall sizes. The name might be American, but their clothes get sent from Canada and have a short turnaround time (about a week) to arrive here from the moment you order them. Shipping does add up though; it’s about $50 a pop, so I end up making bulk orders to spread the cost.
So there you have it. I’m now fully decked out and my wardrobe is slowly getting cleared of ill-fitting goods and replaced by perfectly fitting attire. I even bought my wedding suit from American Tall, and it cost me less than $400. Sure, it would’ve been easier to put on 20kg and hit the regular Big and Tall shops, but I do worry for my heart (which is about the size of Phar Lap’s).
I’m not alone in this. There are people taller than me, wider than me, even miles shorter than me who struggle to find clothes. Luckily there are some niche shops out there, you just need to go digging. And if you come up against a wall, keep going. It only took me 16 years to work it out.
Levi’s – but make sure it’s the US site. There’s a limited selection on the NZ/AU site whereas you get more options on the American one. But you’ll need a YouShop account to get it shipped here.
Wrangler – as above, use the US site and you need a YouShop account.
American Tall – everything you need from undies right through to PJs and suit jackets – and there’s no need to faff around with a shipping account.
Doubs Clothing – their stuff looks really cool. It can be expensive, but you get free shipping. They also do made-to-order stuff as well.
And where I haven’t shopped (since the other places suit my needs) but come highly recommended by other tall people …
2tall.com – which seems to have a big variety. One day I’ll take the plunge and order from there.
Lands End USA has been in the mail order/e commerce business for decades. I (male) have been buying office wear and casuals from them for years..their Oxford shirts are the best shirts I have ever owned, ...long leg length, no problem they hem to your spec. Its generally five days from order to delivery. Quality is great, in many years I have never been disappointed. and they still mail out catalogues to NZ.
I'm 185 cm, but my genetic lottery left me with size US15 feet.
There are few (if any) local firms that carry anything but sports shoes in my size - YY nation being an exception for their casual wool sneakers.
I've been buying from Amazon.com and shoes.com for years, but Youshop's pricing and service has become poor, while other freight services are becoming prohibitive - does anyone have any other good sources?
Johnny Bigg have a good range of shoes. I'm US15 too they've got stores in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. They also do tall clothes but only start at XL
I too am tall. I hate looking for clothes - the sales people have a way of making you feel a freak.
I worked at Lincoln for 18 years and discovered a clothing manufacturer up the road in Springston. These guys worked out of what used to be a church - they called themselves George Roy. I would go into their shop and on the counter were three a2 size cards of fabric samples. Card one $45 pants, card two $65 and Card three $100+. These guys would measure you up and keep your measurements on file. You picked the fabric and in two weeks your pants were ready. They only ever made pants - not jackets just pants. Then alas they sold the business - rats.
When I was in Perth I discovered "Kingsize Menswear" which are all over Australia and was finally able to find clothes that fitted and look good.
I can order online and items are delivered quickly and they are super helpful.
Thanks for your article, it's great to know that there are others out there just like me.
Bruce M
I have bought from UK based Long Tall Sally for 30 years. My 5’ 10” tall daughter does now too. We both are long limbed with relatively shorter body. LTS are Particularly good for trousers but it’s nice to have properly proportioned shirts and jackets as well.
I buy when I visit the UK or get my UK based daughter to buy and ship clothes so I don’t know about direct shipping to NZ. I’m currently having difficulty trying to find a motorbike jacket.
Stylish larger Shoes or boots are a difficult problem. Any tips for buying them in NZ would be much appreciated..?
Thanks for the great article. It made me laugh as so many of your experiences mirror my own (even though I’m only 6’ 6”). It’s so frustrating that no NZ retailers have switched onto the idea that tall people need longer trousers, longer sleeves and longer shirts... not wider ones.
I’ve shopped at 2Tall.com (based in the UK) before and found their jeans to be good quality. They have a comprehensive sizing guide which is useful as you can measure existing clothing to see how it compares. Their shipping is extra but it’s fast and not too expensive if you buy several items at once.
Another brand I have found to be more generous for a longer leg is Hugo Boss. I was looking for a nice suit for work and went to Man to Man in Wellington. The owner can instantly gauge your size (without a tape measure!) and find a good fit off the peg. I’ve got some great jeans there too.
Thanks again for the great, informative article. I’m going shopping online again!
I'm tall but not that tall. I'm not anywhere close to 6ft or 1.8m but I am roughly average height range - for a man. 10cm taller than average for a woman. Yes, I am also overweight but not extremely. My height is mostly in my torso, anything with shaping usually doesn't fit. Nothing designed to stay tucked in is long enough to stay tucked in. Low rise trousers don't have enough crotch depth. Bra straps are barely long enough or too short. Even socks can be a problem as my feet are the top of the normal size range. Forget trying to buy stockings or panty hose anywhere other than online (try snags.com.au). I hover between "normal" sizes and "larger" or "fuller figure" sizes. One size too large in the normal range and too thin or tall for the "fuller figure" ranges. I can't even buy patterns to sew without making multiple adjustments. I count myself lucky, my mother, sister and aunt are all taller than me and have longer, larger feet.
Kia ora James
Thank you so much - I am a mere 2m but really appreciate your article. I really appreciate the clothing links! I also just searched for the FB group without success - would be great if you could name it?
To add a little helpful info - for shoes (my feet are a US size 16) I have found BigShoes,com the best for casual and they ship to NZ. Formal shoes are tricky as most manufacturers don't cater for the extra torque on longer shoes and they come unstuck. McKinlays in Dunedin have made all my formal shoes and they have lasted years with regular resoling.
In Melbourne, High and Mighty still exists despite have closed its central Melbourne location due to Covid and they have a smaller shop in the inner burbs. All my formal trousers have come from there for the last decade.
One final question - do you play basketball? :-D :-D -D
Now I am older i don't get that but it used to be a contest between that and "Gosh you're tall" at least two or three times a week.
Very best wishes and thanks again
Mauriora,
Roland
Thanks for your awesome feedback. The Facebook group is named - TALLER THAN YOU! guys at least 6'6 and ladies at least 6'0
Now I do get that question (and other comments) multiple times a week! It's part of the job description of being tall.
Cheers
James
When i met my partner (about 200cm) in mid 90s, he hardly had any clothes but he did buy the odd shirt from LLBean by neck and sleeve length, and thin in the waist. Also from then on whenever we went to USA we visited SF or LA and went to dicount stores called "Ross Dress for Less". Now hos side of the wardrobe is fuller than mine
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