Short Shrifted

It’s been two weeks without a post. Chalk it up to the summer doldrums. And a family vacation to the great state of Maine. But rest assured that I’ve got some irons in the fire. Here’s a list of reviews I’m working on that you can look forward to seeing over the next few weeks:

In other news, short-guy specialty retailer ForTheFit.com is running their Summer ‘09 sale now through the end of July. Check out their:

A few readers have pointed out that I could be covering casual clothes a bit more on this site. My personal experience has always been that casual stuff is usually so much easier to find. But point taken. I’ll try to keep doing more along that line. To that end…

My recent T-shirt post got a lot of great responses, lots of helpful suggestions from many of you guys. So if you haven’t already done it, check back and read the comments. And add your two cents.

Anyway, as a quick follow-up, I wanted to let you know about this promotion at my favorite go-to store for casual/work basics.

Now through June 16, Uniqlo’s graphic tees are on sale:

2 for $24.90
3 for $34.90
4 for $44.90

(only applies to T-shirts originally priced at $15.50)

What’s really cool is this: I know many of my readers don’t live in NYC. So you’ve probably never had a chance to check Uniqlo out (since they don’t have an online store, either). Well, here’s your chance. Uniqlo says:

“If you cannot make it to the store, feel free to send us an email to take advantage of this MEGA CULTURE offer.”

Well? You have email, don’t you? Or are you one of Short Shrifted’s diehard print-edition subscribers?

Last spring I confirmed what I had long suspected: The vast majority of contemporary neckties are just too damn long. It wasn’t always this way: just look at any old movie and you’ll often see neckwear sitting high above the leading man’s already high waistlines. And these were tall men. Today, with ties averaging between 58 and 60 inches, short men are hard pressed to keep the silk north of the belt.

J. Raffiani is aware of the problem. As far as I know, they are the only neckwear purveyor catering exclusively to the “30 million American men under 5′ 8″ tall who cannot find neckwear proportional to their frame.” According to my Tie Length Comparison PDF, they make the shortest ties available at 54″. And they just introduced a new spring line based on customer feedback.

Many of you have told us that our ties were too wide (thank you, Billy Joel), and that the silk was often too thick. We took those words to heart and made our new ties significantly narrower — just 3 ¼”, not 3 ¾” — at their widest point. We’ve also reduced the silk weight to reflect the briskness of Spring, and to ensure the ease of tying a smaller, sharper knot.

Sounds spot on to me! Check out J. Raffiani’s new spring line here. Prices start at $38.

Special Offer: J. Raffiani is offering Short Shrifted readers 10% off their entire purchase (until June 1, 2009). Just plug in this code when prompted: jrfd-001

Lebow Men’s and Boys’ Clothing in Natick, MA, (about 30 minutes from Boston) is shuttering after 80 years in business. Apparently, this old-fashioned haberdashery just couldn’t weather the current economic climate. Sad for many reasons. But especially, because it seems they they were a much needed resource for short men:

Lebow attributes the store’s longevity to three factors. “We’ve got that personal touch, quality merchandise and fair dealings,” he said. That merchandise includes fashions for short men. ”There are other stores selling men’s and boys’ clothing, but nobody around here carries clothes for the short man,” said Lebow. “They’re typically bought online.”

I don’t know about that. I’m staunchly brick-and-mortar for the vast majority of my clothes purchases. There’s just something about being able to touch the fabric, feel the fit, see the color — that immediacy — that the internet has yet to catch up to (no doubt it will).

I think he’s right about the internet having something to do with it, though. People still may not shop for clothes quite as much online, but this is where folks find out about stuff. Hence you. Here. Reading this blog. An old-fashioned store like this might not have marketed itself online as much as it could have. It was on Short Support’s list of Specialty Stores, though. Take a good look at that list again. There are thousands of big & tall shops in this country, but that’s about all we’ve got. Let’s hope we don’t have to cross off any others off the list.

A bit of a silver lining: if you happen to live in the Greater Boston Area, it may be worth a drive over to Lebow. According to the article, stuff is heavily marked down:

A yellow-and-black sign in the store’s second-floor window announces a liquidation sale with all items 40 percent to 75 percent off.

Lebow notes that the store still carries plenty of merchandise. In addition to clothes, the store is selling anything that isn’t nailed down, including pant racks, suit racks, leather chairs, cabinets, desks, a television set, an alterations mirror, rugs, office supplies, a microwave oven, a refrigerator and tables.

The store will set up special hours for people interested in buying items. Appointments can be made by calling 508-907-6223.

“We’d love our old friends and our new friends to come by and save a lot of money,” Lebow said.

A few weeks back, I got excited about a cool-looking jacket in the upcoming Loden Dager collection for Uniqlo. I can’t be certain without trying one on, but judging from the web pix, it looks pretty darn short (even if the model is beanpole tall). So if you’re as curious about Loden’s bumfreezer as I am, cool. But please don’t freeze your ass off out there on the unseasonably cold SoHo sidewalk waiting for Uniqlo’s doors to open tomorrow morning. Originally slated to debut May 16, it’s been pushed back to May 30, according to Racked. So hold tight. If you feel the urge to blow part of your paycheck on something tomorrow, check out Steven Alan instead.

Steven Alan’s annual spring sample sale in Tribeca got underway today and continues through Sunday, May 18. Refinery 29 says, “Guys, be sure to pick up a bunch of Steven Alan’s own signature cotton button-downs (were $168, now $65).” If it’s anything like the fall sample sale I braved back in November, there will be plenty of long-sleeve buttondowns to choose from. Some of my impressions from that sale:

The short men swarming the aisles seemed mostly drawn to the shirts, no doubt because of those super-short hemlines (and the sizing: down to XXS). One important thing: I tried on three long-sleeve XXS shirts and they all fit differently. The biggest difference was in the sleeve lengths, which, unfortunately, were all a bit longer than I’d like. Hemlines were all nice and high, though, but they did vary. One of the salesgirls confirmed that there is a good deal of variation. So my advice is try on a bunch in your size.

Overall, it was worth it. I was able to find an XXS with short enough sleeves. Not to mention that beautifully high hem, cuffs that are two inches (about a 1/2 or even a full inch shorter than average), and smallish collars — it’s all about proportion.

Sale details from R29:

Friday, May 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17, from noon to 7 pm, Sunday, May 18, from noon to 5 p.m. Cash/credit cards. Steven Alan Showroom, 87 Franklin St. (between Church & Broadway), 212-219-3305.

Good hunting.

Sorting through the junk in my inbox this morning, I came across news of a custom-shirt sale at CEGO, courtesy of Thrillist.

Gear: Custom Shirts Sale
Thru Sat at 174 5th Ave #301, at 22nd; 212.620.4512
Up to 60% off pre-stocked premium cotton button-downs, plus 10% off custom shirts, which are tailored to your “unique physique”, a breezily assonant euphemism for your heinous fatness.

Or heinous shortness.

I called CEGO and they gave me the basics. Their custom shirts normally cost anywhere between $95 and $375 a pop (Carl told me they have many fabrics in the $100 to $200 range). You get measured and go back in for a fitting or two as needed. When you’re happy with the fit, they make four more copies in whatever other fabrics you’ve chosen. Yeah, there’s a five-shirt minimum. And yeah, that adds up. So 10% off is a good place to start.

That is, if you haven’t already blown all your money on Xmas gifts for your loved ones or something equally silly. In hindsight, the knowledge that I finally had a few perfectly fitting dress shirts in my wardrobe would have probably been the best gift I could have given them. Peace of mind. Never underestimate peace of mind.

Good thing I got to the SA sample sale on Franklin St. in TriBeCa immediately after quittin’ time today because by the time I checked out (around 6:45) there was a line out the door and down the street. There was a ton of stuff sprawled over two floors. The downside is that most of it was women’s (from all sorts of different designer lines). The upside is that, even though the menswear was limited mostly to the Steven Alan brand, his shirts fit pretty darn well and there were plenty of them — And what more do you need?

The short men swarming the aisles seemed mostly drawn to the shirts, no doubt because of those super-short hemlines (and the sizing: down to XXS). One very important thing to know: I tried on three long-sleeve XXS shirts and they all fit differently. The biggest difference was in the sleeve lengths, which, unfortunately, were all a bit longer than I’d like. Hemlines were all nice and high, though, but they did vary. One of the salesgirls confirmed that there is a good deal of variation. So my advice is try on a bunch in your size.

Overall, it was worth it. I was able to find an XXS with short enough sleeves. Not to mention that beautifully high hem, cuffs that are two inches (about a 1/2 or even a full inch shorter than average), and smallish collars — it’s all about proportion. At $68 it ain’t cheap but it’s a steal for a Steven Alan.

The men’s selection also includes T-shirts ($10), polos ($20), shorts, pants, jeans, short sleeves, and a few jackets. The sale continues through Nov. 11, and they plan to keep rotating in new merch as long as it lasts.

You have one week. One week to scout the location, do recon on merch, and work up a plan of attack. The Steven Alan sample sale starts next Thursday, Nov. 8. and chances are it’s going to be packed. You wouldn’t know it from some of his rumply, hipster-may-care shirts but planning is everything.

A friend of mine who’s been many times shared the following advice:

I get kind of disoriented by the free-for-all setup and I’m not that good at figuring out if something looks good when I have to try it on over my clothes. So it’s worth it to stop by the Tribeca store and try on stuff that you like beforehand. That way you’ll know if it fits if you see it at the sample sale. Not that they put everything on sale.

Even though everything won’t be marked down, there’s guaranteed to be a bunch of good stuff from the smartly curated collection of young, hip designers. But for me, the single best thing about SA is the house brand casual button-downs designed to be worn untucked — as a result, they tend to have seriously short hemlines no matter what the size (XSs have a 32″ sleeve length measured from base of collar, according to the store Web site).

The details, according to MUG:

Up to 80% off at the sample sale from Steven Alan, 87 Franklin [Church/Bway] 212.219.3305, for men, women, and kids. Men’s cotton shirts were $168, now $65. 11/8 and 11/9: 8:30-8, 11/10: 12-7, 11/11: 12-5.

Jockeyesque shoppers can always find flattering cuts at Theory, but they’re never cheap. Racked is reporting a quickie two-hour sale tomorrow (October 10) at their NYC flagship:

“Deal: Clothing and accessories for men and women are marked 15% off as part of a shopping event to benefit the YWCA and its Women’s Employment Program.”

OK. Fifteen percent may not sound like much, but at those prices it’s a significant cut. Besides, it’s for a good cause.

Check out what I’ve said in the past about Theory:

“Totally sharp looking. … Pocket dead center on the pectoral where it should be … well-defined lines. Slim fitting.”

And check out Racked for the sale details.