Short Shrifted

NYC fashion-and-otherwise writer Elliott David (StreetPeeper pix of him here, here, and here) just penned a great post about shopping the Ralph Lauren Kids store for T Magazine:

My brother, our father and his father are all just a little bit taller than shotguns, and wear suits as tight as barbed wire, sharp edged as bullet holes. The fact that I shattered the family height record doesn’t stand for much: I’m 5-foot-9-ish on a really good day. So how’s a bred-for-bespoke fella supposed to pay for fancy garb without two dimes to rub together?

Ralph Lauren Kids. I swear to God.

The fit is fantastic and the quality is just as good as Ralph Lauren’s other lines, but Polo Kids is half the price. If you’re around my height, able to fit into a [U.S. 38] or smaller, appreciate/can work with early Thom Browne sleeve lengths (about 23 inches, before things got real severe) and fancy a permanent 50 percent discount, you’d be wise to try on a jacket for yourself.

Read his full post on the NY Times site.

When I interviewed Steve Cardino of Macy’s way back, he talked about this trick, too:

I used to go to the Boys Dept. I used to buy Boys sizes like 18s to 20s.

One of the things that’s happened in the Boys industry is that so many of the brands that have been Men’s and Young Men’s have moved into Boys. If you go up to the kids floor [at Macy's], you’re going to see Polo, Tommy, Calvin, Guess – you’re going to see all the same brands. There are very few brands that are just children’s brands, unless it’s more of an infant thing (Osh Kosh, etc.).

I’ve definitely shopped in the Boys Dept. (but not for awhile; gotta get back). Before I moved to NYC, there just wasn’t many shopping options in Maine for a man of my stature. So, back in college, I supplemented my Gap XS stuff and Salvation Army finds with trips to the Boys sections at Old Navy and Target.

For literally the same exact shirt, I’d pay half what a guy buying it in a “Men’s” size would. Sure, some brands don’t work for whatever reason — sleeves or crotches or neck sizes are too small, or the style doesn’t translate generationally. But as long as you’re short and moderately slim, you’ll eventually hit on a goldmine — just like Elliott David. There’s really no downside here; just get over any self-consciousness you might feel and go.

So, what I want to know is: How do you feel about shopping in the Boys Dept.? And what brands/stores do you recommend (if any)?