Finding Vintage in Your Size

[AtomicEraTom]

Maybe a few of you have had a problem that I often have. I'm a very large framed guy. I'm 6'1" and 250 lbs or thereabouts. And I go shopping at all the thrift stores, etc looking for vintage and rarely find anything bigger than a large. I wear an XL for shirts and a 38x32 for pants. I know there's nothing that can be done about these being hard to find, but I figured that those of us who have a problem finding these clothes in our sizes could blow off a bit of steam!

 

[Army-Dapper]

SAME HERE

I know exactly what you mean. I'm 6'3", 250 lbs. I can rarely find anything. I usually end up going with Dickier or Ben Davis. Jesse James has a new line out that is better than any new line that has come out in the past 30 years, and I recently picked up a few of his items and they fit nicely for "large" guys like us.

 

[Viola]

Finding the same issue for my 6'4" guy. I think he's going to get modern clothes and vintage accessories? Cufflinks and pocket squares don't discriminate.

Me, I don't have the problem in height at all. And as I get more in shape I get down to more vintage-friendly sizes. But I have a wacky shoe size, wide, so yeah, no vintage shoes for me, only repros.

 

[Diamondback]

You want a fun one? Try finding anything, vintage or not, with a 29" inseam. The only reason I ever set foot into that Hell on Earth called MallWart other than the free recipe cards (which I'm kinda an obsessive-compulsive collector of)...

----------------
Now playing: John Barry - Gunbarrel/Traction Table/Gassing The Plane/Car Chase
via FoxyTunes

 

[Viola]

29" inseam? Gosh, I hate you tall people. lol

 

[Diamondback]

Actually, I'm more like a 28", but I wear Oxfords with enough heel that it's not an issue. And if you hated tall people, you'd have to rethink some other things in your life... lol (Maybe I should contact Fernando over at EOTac or the folks at 5.11 and see if they can cook up something in the "Tactical Runtwear" department? lol)

----------------
Now playing: Danny Elfman - M.I.B. Closing Theme
via FoxyTunes

 

[Viola]

My 5'0" is probably right on average for womens' vintage fashions - it was for my grandmothers/great-grandmothers anyway. Now the sizes themselves aren't always kind - between girdles and the Depression. :eusa_doh:

Tactical runtwear - perhaps something in a Kevlar capelet? Parasols and fans seem to have possibilities? lol

 

[Diamondback]

You would have it easier being a gal--for a guy, if you're below 5'8" the clothing industry deems you "something other than human", especially if you're portly of build.

As for my "runtwear" comment, I was referring to for myself. If you're serious, why don't you register oer at EOTacForum, build a rep in the community and ask Fernando Coelho yourself? He's pretty down-to-earth, we've exchanged messages over one of his defunct creations I've been looking at experimenting with before.

----------------
Now playing: John Barry - Airbase Jailbreak
via FoxyTunes

 

[Ghostsoldier]

6'0", 240 lbs here....I feel your pain, Tom...I actually have an epiphany every time I happen to luck up on something vintage that I can actually wear...a lot of my stuff is tailor-made (with me being the tailor)...
Rob

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You want a fun one? Try finding anything, vintage or not, with a 29" inseam.

I see vintage trousers with 29" inseams on eBay all the time. And I mean all the time. Are you looking over there?


The simplest solution is to buy trousers with longer inseams and then have a tailor hem them to 29".

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, i can't imagine it being difficult to find 29" inseam. True size 35 suits are relatively scarce, however. I make do with 36, but they're a little big for me …

bk

 

[Dixie_Amazon]

I am tall (5'9") and let's say, not slender.
I don't find much to fit me at thrift stores or regular retail outlets.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

not having much problems...

I'm doing okay! I'm 5' 3-1/2" (if I stand up straight- a girdle helps!), but thought I'd be a hard fit 'cuz I'm busty. I'm pleasantly surprised that I've been able to find a number of vintage dresses and blouses. DH is a 40R, and 32-33" waist so he's doing okay too. Our almost 15yo is 5'5" but very tiny, so hers aren't a problem either.

Who we haven't been lucky with finding much in vintage duds for is our almost 13yo DS Daniel, he's a little skinny butt kid, but has long the legs for his age.

 

[gamez32]

I'm 6'2 220. I feel everybody's pain. Vintage clothes makes me feel like I have a freakishly long torso. But when I do find something I love and fits how I like it, man oh man, I can't help but get giddy.

 

[Inky]

My hubby is 6'3", 245 and has never been able to find much in the way of true vintage. He wears XXL shirts and 38x32 pants. He's too hard on his clothes anyway and he'd most likely ruin anything vintage, so we buy him vintage repro's or I make him things.

As for me, about a US 14 and 5'4", I have found a few dresses, skirts and blouses, but also prefer vintage repro/vintage inspired or to make my own from vintage patterns.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Maybe a few of you have had a problem that I often have. I'm a very large framed guy. I'm 6'1" and 250 lbs or thereabouts. And I go shopping at all the thrift stores, etc looking for vintage and rarely find anything bigger than a large. I wear an XL for shirts and a 38x32 for pants. I know there's nothing that can be done about these being hard to find, but I figured that those of us who have a problem finding these clothes in our sizes could blow off a bit of steam!

Your best bet is to watch e-bay regularly. For slacks 38x32 is actually a fairly common size to find. Most of my 37 x 30 pants are taken-in 38x32's.

If you're talking suits though, it's a little harder. Vintage suits commonly have a 10-12" drop from chest to waist size, whereas modern suits seem to generally have a 6-8" drop. So finding a vintage 46" chest x 38" waist suit can be hard.

But look on the bright side: at least you don't wear a 43 x 37, which is both an odd size, and bigger!

 

[Mid-fogey]

Let's face it...

...better nutrition has caused us to grow taller and wider. At 6'4" I'm not going to find much vintage.

The good part is that dress clothing is available in most sizes and I am able to get the look (somewhat) if not the feel.

 

[Diamondback]

Marc, I also have the same problem as Inky's guy about being murder on clothes--besides, 40x29 (yeah, I'm a bit of a butterball lol) I somehow doubt was a high-production size... especially when you prefer to avoid jeans as I do, and particularly blue jeans (which are all that turned up in a quick evilBay search for my size).
----------------
Now playing: James Hannigan, Frank Klepacki & Timothy Michael Wynn - Threatened in Mainland Europe
via FoxyTunes

 

[Miss RM]

Oh, I love to gripe about this problem! I've got a 35" inseam, so I find it hard to find even modern pants that fit. I mean, it's REALLY hard! Vintage dresses aren't so bad, but it's awfully sad when I try on a beauty and it's more of a mini dress than was originally intended!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I'm thankful to have a few vintage items of my grandpa's. He was in his prime in the 1950s and is 6'4 and well in the 300's. So, I can make some of his stuff work for me. I do go with a lot of vintage-inspired clothes. But it just made me so mad, I thought of this thread today when I was at goodwill. Great 1950's atomic-pattern brown shirt. Of course, not my size, and only 3 bucks. That's enough to bring tears to a glass eye.