Clothes for the larger man

As those of you who have met me know, I am a big chap. Getting clothes my size – as it happens, I have no problem getting shirts to fit me; several high street shops do shirts and fleeces that fit me, and bigger. For trousers I have to shop around a bit, but I have a couple of shops I return to who I am happy with.

It seems odd, but my biggest problem is with simple stuff things like underwear and pajamas. This is complicated by my preference for 100% cotton, which narrows my options. My current batch of well-fitting (and well-worn) underwear is nearly in holes. Attempts to replace them a few months back – from the same supplier/make – ended up with them being returned as they were grossly undersized – and this is not me getting bigger without noticing – a pair of underpants labelled 4XL actually measured 34″ around the waist. The supplier investigated and found all of their newly imported stock was, in fact, the same size, despite being differently labelled.

So when I bought some pajamas, a month ago, I was pleased that the waist seemed correct. However, when I tried them on, it was daft – they had no depth in them, which meant the waistband was so low as to be rude, and despite a large waist, the seat was tiny. They too, went back for a refund, as they were so disproportionate as to be ridiculous.

So I recently ordered from someone else, and tired of ordering and returning, I went for something a couple of sizes up. They arrived yesterday – they are massive around the waist – so much so, they won’t even stay up, despite elastication. However, they are 100% cotton and well cut around the thigh and bottom. So I am going to consider this a win, and have just ordered some pajama cord to gather in the waist. Plus a large blunt needle, to get it through the waistband.

I have a new order placed for boxer briefs, which should arrive in a few days. Here’s hoping they fit!