Short Shrifted

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I really struggle to find things that fit, even when they’re taken up (as I appear to be even shorter than the guys on here). I’m 4ft-11 and weigh only 91 lbs. I have a 13-inch neck, 32-inch chest, and 26/28-inch waist. I seem to be just under all the shortest-sizes radar.

I wear a lot of kids clothes (Ages 10-12) as they seem to fit the best, but they don’t carry the styles, trends, and quality that I want.

I have recently been shopping in River Island and Topman in the UK for tops. But trousers are a total nightmare as even if I get the waist right, the crotch just hangs between my knees. I’ve tried some skinny styles with elastane in them which fit around the hips (that’s my main problem, no hips to hold them up), but they don’t look very smart tapered around the ankle. I have no problem having hemlines and sleeves taken up — it’s just finding any clothes that fit around my main body, hips, and legs.

I’d really like to wear some smarter styles — jackets, trousers, shirts — without looking too businessy, but not at the expense of being swathed in extra fabric. Any suggestions?

–Anonymous, UK

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Does anyone have any ideas for this guy? He could really use our help. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be that much further out on the bell curve. He’s based in the UK, but I think any and all store/brand/alteration options should be explored, so please weigh in.

I think there are probably few if any true off-the-rack menswear options available for someone of his size. So he may need to keep thinking outside the box: children’s, women’s, and unisex clothes, alterations, and custom-made stuff. I have a few suggestions:

Read my Q&A with Joel Thibodeau. The 5′3″ singer of Death Vessel has a 27-inch waist, and he mentioned a few of his go-to garments in my interview.

Check out American Apparel online. Many of their clothes are “unisex”, so they cut them down to a very tiny XXS (29/31-inch chest, 27/29-inch waist). The brand’s aesthetic is pretty skinny to begin with, so that’s another plus. In my experience, their T-shirts are too long, but their long-and short-sleeve button-downs are shorter, and outerwear (jackets, hoodies) is probably best of all. (see my button-down reviews here: long-sleeve + short-sleeve). Links to the US store and the UK store.

Check out boy’s lines of major brands. It’s great that he’s comfortable shopping in the kid’s department. Because these days, it seems like every menswear label has a boy’s line: Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, Hickey Freeman, Brooks Brothers, Marc Jacob, Burberry, American Apparel, Dolce & Gabbana, H&M, Zara, Diesel to name just a few. I found a pretty good About.com entry on the phenomenon and an LA Times story via the Googs.

When you find something that works for you, stick with it. Robert Rufino made this point several times in my recent Q&A with him. Buy 5 pairs — because you may never see it again. And set up an eBay alert for that item.

That’s all I got. What other options does someone his size have?