I am a large (2XL) male that would like to dress better. But every time I find classy clothes that make me look more professional it’s just a sensory nightmare. Rough fabrics, too tight in places, hard for the skin to breathe in, etc.
I need something other than baggy black t-shirts and soft jeans.
Have you men found classy clothes that make you look professional but is still comfortable to wear?
It depends on how much better you want to dress. Some “Fishing Shirts” can be a big step up from a simple tee, while not being grossly uncomfortable.
Wearing one now! I’m not sensitive to clothing, but damn, water shirts are nice and cheap. Got a bunch for $1 each at the beach on sale.
I always wear one to keep the sun off me when I’m in the water all day and I’ve noticed they’re what landscaping guys wear around here.
If you’re looking for shirts, I only feel comfortable wearing ones with french cuffs and would recommend them highly.
Normal cuffs irritate me no end, they’re tight , they move and jab against my skin constantly.
French cuffs with nice solid cufflinks are looser, soft-edged, and have a nice weight to them that stops them moving so much.
Good recommendation. I tend to be most comfortable rolling up sleeves to my forearm, but I wonder whether this might also help.
Do you have a favourite pair of cufflinks?
You can get sweet cufflinks for cheap on eBay, maybe etsy. I’ve got a box full, even some I made by breaking off the stud and pouring resin.
Ha, I do!
They are chunky metal squares (at a guess 1.5 x 1.5 x 0.5cm) with the Transformers faction symbols tastefully engraved into them. Autobots for the right wrist, Decepticons for the left, natch.
How about linen? This is a woman’s shirt, $2 at the thrift, super comfy and smooth. LOL, the vest is also a woman’s top, also $2.
Damn you look good!
Have you tried silk dress shirts?
I also hate wearing monkey suits due to sensory issues. But silk feels nice. Not quite as breathable, tho. But the roughness of more common fabrics for those kind of shirts is way more irritating than getting a bit hot inside the clothes.
i have to use layers. it can get hot in the summer outdoors but for work I’m mostly indoors and the layering would hide most sweat anyway.
for me, polyester “tech” fabric shirts as base layer can balance texture/touch sensory concerns and they usually slide freely against other fabrics so it wouldn’t bunch or restrict movement.
I’ve seen some upper management wear tech fabric polo/golf shirts in the office as a single layer (i knew it was single later cuz i could see their nipples outline 🤮) maybe that is allowed in your workplace. i understand if you don’t wasn’t others to see your nipples though.
I tend to wear jersey knit, short sleeve polo shirts. They feel like wearing a t-shirt, give me plenty of room in the neck (I hate anything remotely tight around my neck or wrists), look normal tucked or untucked, fit in in most professional situations, and can be upgraded with a sport coat if I absolutely have to. I just have to be careful to find ones that don’t have the ribbed (itchy) hems on the arms - I want a wide open arm hole. My go to brand just added them so I have to find something new.
I have never found a comfortable suit jacket or sport coat, I don’t think they exist for me.
I don’t have much advice for pants, I don’t have many sensory issues as long as they’re not binding. I usually wear wide-leg levis and keep a pair or two that are in nice enough condition for most business casual circumstances. Then I have a couple pair of slacks that I just had to find by trial and error for the other (rare) occasions.
I used to wear jeans only and I pretty much hated it. I now wear those mildly stretchy pants that normally go under suits. On top, I wear polo’s when the setting is semi formal. I try to find the ones that are loosely fitting because I’m kinda self conscious about wearing stuff that’s too short or tight.
Idk where you are located but for me, www.wefashion.nl has what I need. You could have a look, even if you’re not in the Netherlands. Maybe you’ll find a similar store in your area that also deals in large sizes like that. I’m close to 2m tall and I kind of have a beer belly but narrow shoulders so only XL really works for me.
I live in Denmark. We fashion sounds nice.
Right now I’m wondering if I should go to a tailor.
You should almost certainly go to a tailor. It makes a world of difference if “professional” is your goal. It can be tricky to find a good one, but when you do, it’s incredible. It can be surprisingly cheap too (although building a wardrobe that has high quality piece that are worth tailoring can be quite expensive. This is best done gradually)
I think that this is especially true if you’re on the larger side, because a greater amount of body mass means that qualitative differences in where we store that mass will be more apparent.
Something I liked about going to a tailor is I could show them clothes that I liked versus ones I didn’t (or explain what had been bothering me about certain clothes). They were able to suggest alternatives.
