When Are We Going To Talk About Size Diversity In Menswear?

Walking out of my first New York Fashion Week show, I finally, for the first time, understood what Miranda Priestly meant when she said, “Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.” It took a front row seat at a runway show, but, suddenly, I understand the glamour of it all. And yet once my adrenaline high wore off and my attention began to drift from that stunning yellow Carlos Campos suit, I was left with the same question that crosses my mind whenever I think about fashion, Where were all the plus-size men? This is not just a high-end fashion problem. This past May, in preparation for my first trip to Paris, I embarked on what should have been a simple shopping session. On my to-buy list were four items: slim fit white jeans, slim fit light washed jeans, a floral printed shirt, and a gray patterned pant. Determined, I went through almost every menswear store at my local mall in upstate New York—from H&M to Zara to Banana Republic—only to find that nearly no store had options in my size. The Gap, for instance, had a beautiful selection of ripped light wash jeans on sale. The largest size, however, was a 36, which equates to a size large. No matter how hard I tried, my 38/40-inch waist was not squeezing into those. So after two hours of searching and groaning, I left with a blue floral print shirt from Old Navy (in a size XXL, which is one size up from my usual, since many of their clothes run small) and a sour taste in my mouth. Read more at Nylon.