Short Shrifted

When I was pouring over the Internet last year searching in vain for a sharp suit that fit my slim five-foot-five frame, I came across an informative Q&A in GQ suggesting Ralph Lauren as a possibility.

Best of all the RL lines seems to be his spin-off Rugby. Kind of English boarding school meets LES hipster. Even the Zagat shopping guide reports that many voters find “the styles are too ’small’!” Wow. That reads like a line of pure poetry to a haiku-sized shopper. So I checked out their NYC flagship in the West Village recently and, with the help of Rugby’s knowledgable and friendly manager Sherwin Thwaites, found a bunch of stuff that fit.

First, they’ve got a nice collection of suits with a beautiful classic American silhouette harking to the ’50s — tasteful and timeless with just a hint of youth and the now — that run about $750. Sherwin told me that the cut is new this season, but similar to Ralph’s Black Label. I tried on a 36R (they don’t have Shorts in 36) and it fit great: slim, shoulders perfect, sleeves weren’t even too long. I also tried on a 38S just to see, and if your frame is at all larger than mine, you’re in luck because their Shorts are truly nice and short. If you’re in the market for a suit, you’ve got to check them out.

I didn’t think their standard dress shirts were all that abbreviated but their Vintage Shirt (Small) is fitted and has a high pocket, though the sleeves could probably be a tad shorter.

Finally, they’ve got a great selection of skinny ties that would satisfy any budding punk rocker at Hogwarts. About 2.5 inches wide, they come in a bunch of prep-schoolish stripes, skull-and-bones logos and other subtly provacative patterns.

Now’s a good time to go because Ralph Lauren (and Rugby) is having a Friends and Family Sale, according to UrbanDaddy:

“You may not be in Ralph’s family, but you’ve always considered yourself a friend. The latest event gives you the chance to hobnob with his other pals, all while getting 30% off. It’s even good online, in case you’re only facebook friends. 411: Through October 11th at all Ralph Lauren and Rugby Stores, and at ralphlauren.com. Present this email at checkout, or enter FALL2007 online.”

So muscle your way into the scrum, lads, and fight for possession of some fine, fitted threads.

Thom Browne is now officially available to the masses. No, not his new Black Fleece line that debuted at Brooks Brothers earlier this month. We’re talking about Urban Outfitters. I was just down in the subterranean dungeon that is the UO men’s department on 14th street and spotted their new house brand of “shrunken blazers,” which is almost short-hand for “Thom Browne.” They even had working buttonholes (?!). Very TB.

The $69 price point tells you all you need to know, though. These are pretty cheaply made (light cotton that seems to wrinkle easily — and no liner). Still, the fact that his aesthetic has trickled down to a place like Urban Outfitters is a great thing: It means more off-the-rack options for short men. With that in mind, the best thing about them is their extra-short hemline, which is tough to find and is one of the few things that really can’t be altered. In keeping with the hemline, the pockets sit a bit higher than usual, which create a visual lift. On the downside, the sleeves seemed incongruously long (they don’t really seem to understand the concept of the “shrunken” suit). That could be a dealbreaker for some. But if you have a decent tailor they could be shortened probably.

Overall, if you’re looking for a very casual blazer, these Thom Browne knock-offs are a mixed bag but decent overall.

One annoying thing: The Medium that I tried on fit great (except for the sleeves) but I couldn’t find any Smalls on the sales floor (I couldn’t find a single Small among their “shrunken vests,” either). And the clerk said they didn’t have any in stock.

If you were unlucky enough to watch the Emmys, you’re probably still reeling from Seacrestsickness. But hopefully, you caught a red-carpet glimpse of Rex Lee (Entourage), Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Oscar Nunez (The Office), and James Kyson Lee (Heroes). They’re short men. And they looked good. Because they were all wearing Jimmy Au.

Jimmy Au’s is a great men’s store that caters to the 5-foot-8-and-under crowd. In fact, five-foot-8 is stretching it; they focus primarily on even shorter men, and everything they have is proportioned accordingly. If you’re in LA, they’re worth a visit any day of the week. According to an e-mail I got from Alan Au, the Trunk Show is your chance to get their made-to-measure suits, sportcoats and trousers at off-the-rack prices. I didn’t see any info on the sale on their Web site, so here are the details from the e-mail:

“All orders can be made in the new Jimmy Au model available in BOTH short and extra short sizes in your choice of a 2 button single breasted narrow peak or notch lapel. You have the option of either a flat front or pleated front short rise trouser. The previous Jimmy Au model is also still available if you prefer a slightly roomier model of a more American cut. Also in both short and extra short. … Or perhaps you have a very unique build where you never seem to find anything that fits. … This is a great chance to find something that’s you.”

More details:

“The entire fabric collection will be available at a 20% discounted promotional price during the trunk show only! … Looking through hundreds of swatches is like shopping at a manufacturing plant. The selection is huge. … Those placing orders during the trunk show will also receive FREE expedited service ($100 value). Instead of waiting 6-7 weeks for your garment to arrive, it will arrive in 3 weeks! … If you wish our selection in your size was bigger, more conservative, more contemporary, more luxurious, more you. Take advantage of this great opportunity and make an appointment for next weekend’s trunk show.”

So if you’re in LA this coming weekend, cruise on over to Beverly Hills and check out Jimmy Au’s Trunk Show. It’s happening September 21 through 23. And check back here soon for a post on my visit to Jimmy Au’s.

NYC’s Fashion Week is over, and if you’re interested in that sort of thing Racked has more coverage than you can handle. Since runway models and 99% of the high fashion that goes with them has little to do with short men, the thing that interested me most was a picture they snapped of The Sartorialist (detail here) going about his work. He’s short (about 5-foot-6), and you can really see it in the full picture on Racked — and he looks great, of course.

Fashion Week also yielded a good collection of folks-on-the-street photos for The Sartorialist, which you can check out on his always-interesting blog. In one of his Fashion Week posts he raves about his love for side vents, in particular their appeal for short men:

“I love high-vents (I know, goofy thing to love right?) – on polos. jackets, whatever…..it seems like such an old school detail that it has come full-circle and seems really forward now. … I wonder if a higher vent creates a lengthening effect for a petite man such as myself? I think it would because a shorter vent, like they had in the Sixties, would tend to make me look stubby (and I don’t need any additional stubby or huskiness).”

We love vents, too.

Every once in awhile, I end up in a bind: I buy a new pair of pants that are too long (they’re always too long) and need to get them hemmed. Instead of immediately taking them to a tailor (or my mom), they sit folded up in a dark corner of my closet for months. Then, the day invariably comes when I have to go to a wedding or a job interview or dinner with the in-laws, and suddenly, they’re the only pants I own that match the awesome jacket I want to wear or the only clean shirt I have or something like that. I’m out of luck. I don’t own a sewing machine. And I’ve tried safety pins, vigorous ironing, duct tape… let’s just say none of it worked very well.

But thanks to a recent post on Petite Fashionista, a fashion blog for women 5-foot-4 and under, I found the answer: tape. Special hemming tape, though (Sorry, duct tape. I know you can do just about everything else). According to the post, the woman who wrote in has had some of her pants taped with the stuff “for 3 years…through the washer and everything)!” You just wash your pants, cut the cloth, iron it on and you’re good to go. Killer.

You can find hemming tape most places that sell fabrics, sewing or craft materials, as well as big-box stores and the like. Nothing beats a tailor (except maybe mom), but the next time I’ve screwed myself over by procrastinating until it’s too late, I’m going to pull out the shears and hemming tape.

I spotted this guy getting off the train today and was struck by his great (seemingly effortless) casual look — which isn’t always easy for a short man. Notice Kean’s sneakers, which are fairly small and have a really thin sole: A good reminder that it’s not about looking taller; it’s about being comfortable and developing your own sense of style.

One of my old band mates (rock, not marching) used to carry around the biggest wallet I’d ever seen. He was cash poor at the time, subsisting on convenience-store meatball subs and PBR so I know it wasn’t full of bills. He kept every single ATM receipt he ever got plus a bunch of other scraps of paper and trash in there — so much paper that it was hard for him to squeeze it shut, and when he did the stressed, beat-up old lump of leather was almost the size and shape of a softball.

Me, I’ve always carried the smallest wallet I could find. I keep my bills in my front pocket and a couple cards and my ID in my wallet in the back. My favorite for the last few years has been the free vinyl business-card wallet I got from my bank when I lived in England and worked at the Royal Mail (strange but true). But it’s breaking apart finally and I need a sturdier replacement. Luckily, See Jack Shop featured a couple of inexpensive, slim wallets today.

I’m always going on about proportionality here on Short Shrifted and wallets fit into that, too. Nothing against big billfolds but short guy, smaller pockets, I dunno. Just seems to make sense to go for a wallet that matches. Or as See Jack Shop puts it:

The slim, clean, tailored lines of fall clothing means that a bulky wallet in the back pocket is a major do not. Instead, check out some of the new slim wallets finding their way into retail stores now.