This post is a bit of a rant, but it’s something that’s bothered me for some time. Now that I’m married, I’ve found that Ligia has the same problem as me. We have a really hard time finding clothes that can fit us. It seems that clothing manufacturers out there have geared all of their clothes production toward fat people. I would even go so far as to say that we (and by we I mean thinner people) are being discriminated against. (I’m grinning as I write that…)
Every time we go to a department store, we can’t find clothes our size. For example, my pant size is 30″ waist x 32″ inseam. There is no such pant size in most places. I kid you not, try finding it. My shirt size is 16-16 1/2″ neck with 34-35″ sleeves. At that size, the shirt’s waist is gigantic. Somehow, they must think only extremely fat people wear those sizes. Have a look below to see how one of those shirts fits me. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Ligia took these photos. As you can see, any way you look at it, there’s a ton of extra material around the waist, and on the sleeves. That material doesn’t belong there. I’m trying my best to manage a goofy expression, and yeah, I look pretty goofy…
I always have to find all sorts of creative ways of tucking my shirts in my pants, and I’m fed up with it. If I want well-fitting shirts and pants, I have to pay more. I shouldn’t have to pay 40-70% more for a piece of clothing simply because clothing manufacturers think everyone’s fat. Not everyone is fat!
Ligia has it even worse. She wears XS or size 2 clothing, but most of the time, those sizes are much too large for her in adult clothes. She has to go hunting around in the children’s department to find clothes that fit her. She’s a full-grown woman, past 25 years of age. She shouldn’t have to do that just so she can dress herself. We’ve honestly tried all sorts of stores. We’ve been to more expensive stores, including specialty petite stores, and still we have a hard time finding clothes in her size at reasonable prices.
I realize the trend these days is to get fat and fatter. We Americans have it too good. We’ve all got our particular excuses, but that doesn’t excuse our nation’s collectively huge waistline, and the lack of clothes in anything but large sizes.
Some people, like us, choose to remain thin, and it seems we’ve been forgotten by mainstream clothing manufacturers. We’re a persona non grata, an unpleasant reminder of what a waistline could look like. We have to shop in children’s departments to find clothes in our sizes and to get decent prices. Is it so hard to make clothes that fit us? It wasn’t so long ago when things were different. Clothing manufacturers, remember, it takes less material to dress us…
Raoul Pop 
Oh yeah- in the midwest the smaller sizes go first as most people are lean & thin. Down South, the bigger sizes go first leaving size 2/4/6’s on the rack for months.
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My sons (16/18) wear your size and Old Navy and American Eagle are the best places to find slimmed down pants & shirts. You will pay for it though. It’s not so much the waist size as it is the leg. 32 is short- (my sons are 5’7) and that may be what is making it difficult to find.
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hi raoul!i tink i might be your answer.i’m tailor situated at forrest chase.if you do need proper fitting clothes come by and i wil suit up!
raj
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Raoul,
Try moving to another state. I’ve traveled all over and it honestly changes.
Here in Boulder, Colorado they don’t carry much for people who aren’t thin.
I myself am a healthy weight, but I am not a stick. Because I am stuck between the thinnest people and th obese plus-sized people I have greay difficulty finding clothes that fit me.
I feel for you. It’s strange to see the plight reversed.
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Raoul,
I can tell by just looking at the pictures that you have on the wrong size shirt. the sleeves are sitting 1 1/2 in from your shoulder, so of course if you’re wearing the wrong size it’s not going to fit you. Take some good measurements and make sure you pick up the right size shirt and see how it fits.
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Are you friggin kidding me?? wake up to yourself ! Try being almost 7ft at the age of 17 what sort of clothes do you think I got to wear?? I bet you never had trouble with your legs hanging over your bed or being unable to find a pair of shoes for your “flippers” as one shoe salesman told me when i was 15 or i bet you never had to “try on” cars when you got your licence cause your legs were too long or have you never been able to sit your friends when flying cause you have to sit in the exit seat eveytime or maybe you have never had your mum stich 2 sleeping bags together when your 16 to go camping with your mates, Have you ever knocked yourself out on a door frame ??? had people complaine cause they cant see in the movies??
I hate people who complian, there is much more worse things out there then being unable to find clothes…….It was hard growing up too tall to do things that all the other kids were doing and watching my mum in tears and apologising to me for making me tall…………but if there is anything i have learnt in my 29 years is Love who you are, sometimes things arent fair……thats life…….look at the problem and find an alturnitive.
Maybe you should go into business and make clothes for people like yourself .
at the end of the day, your alive…..your breathing…….you have friends……..who cares if your shirt fits
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Glad you have the right attitude, Grant! See you around. 🙂
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Wow, you have the exact opposite of my problem … me, when I buy clothes, I have a hard time finding clothes that can fit me (I’m fluffy). If you want clothes that fit you come over here to Philippines because here the clothes are usually small and the largest size available is 2XL, which is actually XL in US measurement.
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Hi Raoul,
Enjoyed reading about your clothing size problems and the replies. Not sure if it was meant as entertainment but it made me smile. I’m from Down Under Australia and we have the same issues here. I’m on the larger end of the scale but my top half is about two sizes bigger than my bottom half which is about average – if that makes sense! We have plenty of shops that stock petite sizes and plus sizes. You just have to know where to look. Good luck clothes hunting and dare I say it that you wouldn’t catch me anywhere near a sewing machine! Sorry KT!
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Thanks Tris, I’m glad you took it the right way! 🙂
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You know, some of us chubbier people have a hard time finding clothes as well. Don’t act superior to me because you’re built leaner. Do you know how impossible it is to find an A cup bra with a 40 band? It’s impossible. They don’t even sell them on well-known websites, let alone in stores. As for jeans, don’t get me started. See, I’m not fat. I’m also not skinny. There are a few things that are plump, such as my belly and my hips. However, my thighs and bum are small. Pants DONT fit. There are literally no jeans that will fit me without being majorly reconstructed. Get off your high horse and learn to sew like the rest of us.
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KT, what can I tell you? My experience with finding clothes is what it is. Yours is what it is also. I wanted to make fun of the situation, make a few people smile, perhaps effect a change for the better in the clothes industry. I see you’re taking it the wrong way. Oh well…
Here, let’s see how well you can take this: given the current situation with clothes, I suppose I have a choice — I can get fatter so I can fit into them; you also have a similar choice — you can get thinner. Don’t like it? Tough luck, I don’t like my choice either. What’s more, being a man, I don’t like to sew, and yes, feel free to get pissed off at that as well. Or you can choose to laugh about it, which would be the right response. 🙂
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Pingback: Started on the RPM System today | Raoul Pop
clothes *for* fat people… sorry
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Wow. Clearly, I need to move to US to be able to buy clothes fat people. Try shopping in Europe, Raoul 🙂
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i am on the subway-diet and walking laps around the swimming pool, i still cheat on my diet tho.
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Lucy, that’s wonderful news! Congratulations!
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Raoul,
I am dying to share with EVERYONE…I have lost 13 pounds! No pills, no gimmicks. I have been walking (up to 2 miles at a time now) and cut my calories to 1800 a day. My doctor says it’s a little too much too fast, however, since I am doing it the right way he is ok with it. Lots of fresh veggies, protein, fruit and an occasional bit of chocolate. I am so happy and motivated…and since I barged onto your page and vented I thought I would share. You are so right about the processed food. Since I have begun actually reading nutritional labels I am shocked at what I see. Going for another walk now…
🙂 Lucy
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I have been pretty big my whole life. After my divorce I lost over 100 pounds. It is 9 years later, bingo, all back and more. Funny I found this. Today I went clothes shopping. I am too big for Target. Too big for Meijer. I went to Lane Bryant and it is too expensive. So I have been crying for awhile thinking how I just need to move more/eat less. I copied this to my FB page. It helps me to see how disgusting I am to normal people.
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Lucy, making you feel bad is NOT the intent of my post, so please don’t take it that way. I think a large part of why it’s so hard for many people in the US to lose weight and keep it off is the overprocessed food that’s so readily available everywhere, plus the lack of physical activity. If Americans ate healthier, whole foods and walked more often, they’d be much better off.
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Well, @ your size statement –
30×32 sized pants isn’t common due to the fact that most people that wear a size 30 are kids.
And if size 0-2 doesn’t fit your girl, have her shop in the juniors department? There’s no need to buy clothes from the kids section, since there are departments for thin adults.
Just have to be willing to get away from department stores.
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Raoul,
coincidentally, there a brand (known as Raoul) in Singapore which actually design shirts/dress for Men and women like Ligia and yourself.
http://www.raoul.com
What you are looking for is tapered fit! It will look fabulous for ppl like you.
Singapore needs more men like you. 😛
Take my word for it, you won’t regret it.
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Cecilia, it’s funny you should mention raoul.com, because I tried to buy that domain name for myself a number of years ago, only to discover they’d already gotten it for themselves. Not that I mind it, I think they’re a nice brand — could be I’m biased, since they’re my namesake… 🙂
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If you want to see Larger Clothes
http://superbattal.com/osc/index.php/language/en
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Perhaps the sizes you are looking for are manufactured, however, each store only stocks a few of each size. Maybe start asking the salesperson for information such as when they get seasonal shipments of clothes. Nicer stores salespeople will know and be able to help. While I agree that Kohl’s has a large variety of sizes, my guess is their salespeople will not be able to tell you as much as in a department store like Carson’s, Nordstrom or Macy’s.
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Ive been researching ‘vanity sizing’ recently (because I am a size 6 but suddenly size zeros are now falling off me – I HAVE NOT LOST ANY WEIGHT!) and through emailing several clothing manufacturers I have discovered that the vanity sizing issue has basically created a vacuum at the low end of the size spectrum. Womens sizes 2,4,and 6 are not even made anymore!! A current US 0 (according to sizing regulations from the 80s) is closer to a size 6 was in the 80s/90s. There is no way that a gal (myself) who is 120 pounds, 5’5, 36, 25, 37 should be buying loose fitting size zeroes!! Im average sized!
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haha! nice. i found this amusing and funny. XD actually, i’m caught in the middle… i’m a big gal but find that clothes are either too big for me, or too small! ;__;
good luck finding smaller clothes! hehe~~
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I feel for you man…I have the opposite problem…I am a “mild” plus size…I don’t have issues finding clothing, but I do have issues finding clothing where the designers don’t cut corners!!! arrghh..and my bf has your issue…I feel bad for people on all extreme ends of the spectrum…people need to start making clothes in all sizes…unfortunately for them it is not profitable to do that so we have to hunt more.
don’t worry…you could always try a winners…they categorize by size and it sometimes helps.
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Megul, I’m not an expert on finding clothes that fit, as you could probably see from my post. 🙂 As I told Adam, I’m not sure what stores would have clothes in large sizes. My advice for you would be to keep looking, there’s bound to be a store out there. If not, there must be a website (an online store) that will have your size.
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Raoul do you have ANY suggestions for me i am a 4XL please help me if you cant its okay but i would like some clothes
-THANK YOU
Megul
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Adam, thanks for being a good sport about this! 🙂 We’ve got trouble finding clothes that fit us at most places. For example, department stores you’d find at most malls wouldn’t have clothes our size. But as you can see from the comments given above, there are plenty of places we just didn’t know about until now. Given that you’re a 2XL, I think you’d have just as hard a time finding stuff as we did. You’re at the other end of the spectrum (no offense intended). Not sure what stores to suggest for your predicament.
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i’ve read a couple of rants online about people complaining about fat clothes, and have one question….where are these places? im a fat person, and have trouble finding anything larger than a 2xl, or bigger than a 40in waist. just a question. i need to start shopping where you all do!!
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I agree with the above comment. You should try shopping in Diesel. I know it’s a tad bit expensive, but I swear they intend on making their clothes to not fit people. I’m a size 29 and when I try on a 29 it’s too small for me. It’s a 31 that I have to get because their clothes are so small. Try it out, the quality is very very good also.
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Welcome to ‘merica! Y’all need to git some meat on y’all’s bones! Try a Baconator from Wendys!
If you have a French Connection UK, H&M, or Zara nearby, you may find clothing that is cut a little less generously.
I like your rant BTW.
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You know, I’ve never tried Kohl’s. They’re about 11 miles away, but the next time I visit that area, I’ll drop by and see what they’ve got. Surprised about the pants. I would so love to see more shirts made for an athletic fit — narrow waist, broader shoulders. I can’t stand that extra material around my waist. I have one of those shirts and I love it. Paid plenty for it, but it fits me very nicely.
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Raoul, come down to where I live! I see your pants size everywhere! My husband needs those shirts with the very long sleeves as well, and the shirts are huge, even with a smaller neck size he wears. He’s tall, thin, and has long legs, which makes it very difficult to find clothes that fit. The big & tall places are overpriced and cater to big more than tall.
And don’t get me started on women’s clothing. I’ll just eat up all of your hosting space with my rant. 😉
Is Kohl’s in your area? The ones where we live have a pretty decent range of sizes and their prices are very reasonable.
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