Anyone who is in the custom uniform business, tailoring, or
alterations, is used to the steady trickle of folks who require a special
fit—not infrequently because of oversize.
Once in a while, my father would jokingly say that he would need to get
a pattern from Omar the Tentmaker.
Lately, however, it’s been one plus size after another, and
sometimes entire orders. Recently, a
group of Midwesterners ordered 60 polo shirts—half 2XL and half 4XL—all with 8”
added to the length to cover the fronts and rears of strong, hearty farmhands who
wear size 58 pants.
Men are weighing in like cattle, and the women are right
there with them. This spring, alone, we
had two different orders for military and fire personnel, where the gals had
67” waists. Waists! Imagine the chests and the seats…
We had a call for a size 72 coat from a Shriner. Another gent requested that we come to his
house to measure and fit some jumpsuits, because he couldn’t squeeze his way
out the door to come to us. There’s a
cavalry order going out where the average frock coat for the battalion is a 48Long.
I’m not trying to make fun or ridicule. Rather, I’m pointing out where a significant
portion of our population’s sizing is headed.
Just as so many of our manufacturers for ready-to-wear have, of late,
instituted petites and very small sizes to suit a particular frame, they’ve
also gone to bigger and bigger sizing in order to accommodate both men and
women in the workplace.
Look at Edwards: It has two different fits of slacks for
women. It overhauled styling, and
broadened its patterns. There was a
reason for it, in addition to staying current with the times. A woman’s size is for a different figure than
a misses—it’s rounder and fuller in all the important spots. As baby boomers expand into midlife and
younger women reap the rewards of the voluminous junk food culture, who wants
to deal with the reality that she’s grown two sizes larger?
Edwards has also re-sized its blazers. It used to be that as the sizes grew, a
pattern design that was lean to begin with, just got wider and longer all
around like a set of nested boxes. Now
redesigned and re-proportioned, the larger sizes fit as well as the
smaller. Bravo! In tandem, its blouses are mushrooming to
sizes 28 and 30, and yes, made with Spandex in the fabrics for just a bit of
easy stretch. Sweaters for men and women
are going up and up and up to a 5XL.
The sizes are getting larger for in-stock items, everywhere. Red Kap carries up to a size 68 in a man’s
jean. Think about it. While size 54 is standard bill o’fare for
most pant styles, the larger sizes are available. Shirts go all the way to a 6XL
with available lengths in extra plus 4,” 6” or 8” for oversize and non-stock. For a guy to wear a shirt with a plus 8”
tail is either to say he’s very very big, or it’s almost like putting him into
a dress—the shirt is that long at 40.”
Dickies, Carhardt, Cabella—wow! They’re out to capture the retail trade in
uniform design, and make no bones about carrying the larger sizes. One can find their brands with many uniform
retailers, as well as in catalogues and online—they sell direct to the consumer
as well as wholesale.
Big Top Tees has been around for 20 years. Who would’ve thought this little company that
custom-manufactures knit garments for big and tall would last? The truth is, business—and sizing—are booming. Because oversize is all Big Top makes, it can
manufacture for fewer dollars what bigger companies have to charge
significantly more for—and, in far less time.
From T’s, they’ve diversified to fleece, polos, Henley ’s,
and other knit tops.
Broder and San Mar—two of the larger wholesale sportswear
distributors—are carrying T-shirts in tall’s as the bigger manufacturers, such
as Gildan, are catching on. The larger
sizes are becoming commonplace. What
used to be a range of S-XL went to 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL. Now, many of the alpha sized companies go up
to 5XL and 6XL without missing a beat.
Yes, the jacket trade is going in the same direction, too.
Scrubs and labcoats are made in 4XL, 5XL, and larger. Pants and tops in solids and cute itty-bitty
prints that fold around mammoth bodies—Fashion Seal, Medgear, Landau, Cherokee—all
of them. Aprons in bib and cobbler
styles come in XL’s; there are even styles that are designed for fuller chests
and hips, having added fabric to the tops and waists. Fame makes three or four aprons that come from
a tuxedo pattern and look terrific, while at the same time don’t fold into a
woman’s fuller cleavage.
Our country as a whole has become a nation of wider and
taller individuals: Whether it’s that some men are exercising and have athletic
builds requiring looser sleeves and broader shoulders; or other guys who are
portly’s or stout’s; whether it’s larger young women, or older gals who are
experiencing “let-go” in every direction—the manufacturers are increasing their
size ranges, and paying more attention to comfort and attractiveness, there’s
no question.
Nothing is worse than a heavier person who is wearing
apparel that is too small and too tight with bulges, and buttons that are
popped open, or that is too short and rides up.
“Sleek and Chic” is the motto, and no matter the build or the girth,
with easy-fit, flattering designs that accommodate all sizes, and experienced
sales reps, more really can be better.
