ultracrepidarian

This is a topic for a small percentage of people, but the Internet is vast so I’ll post it for others who’ll find it useful.

By way of context, I am 6’10” (208cm) and 260lb (118kg). I’m looking for daily clothes for office work mostly, and exercise gear as well with a strong focus on longevity and environmental impact. I do have a couple suits and a tuxedo but those mostly sit idle so they’ll be discussed as a side topic. Let’s go!

My go-to, trusted brands for daily wear

• Eddie Bauer – pay attention to fit descriptions (classic versus relaxed) but many of my clothes are EB. Their modular winter coat was great for Midwestern winters.
• Land’s End – similar notes here. For a while, they were owned by Sears and you could try stuff on, but even as web-orders they are solidly reliable.
• LL Bean – ditto, though I think a slightly smaller selection of tall sizes.
• String King – this is an awesome find. A lacrosse brand from Los Angeles, but they make custom t-shirts, hoodies and quarter-zips. You tell the site your measurements and they ship it to you, complete with your name on the tag. I’ve got on t-shirt from them, in the poly blend, and its holding up well and seems an excellent value, so I plan to shop here again.
• Levi’s – the 541 athletic fit is my daily. I take each pair to a local tailor to add two more belt loops on the back, since they are made with only a single rear loop, and then I wear the hell out of them. 2% Lycra/elastane. Wrangler and Carhartt also make tall sizes and I’ve a pair of each, but save them for yardwork, mud and camp outs as I find them less comfortable than the Levi’s.
• J. Crew – I’m only a bit of their clothing. Sometimes excellent.
• Darn Tough – their merino-blend socks are expensive at ~20/pair but they work superbly, last a long time and are fully guaranteed for life. Despite having size 15 feet, I prefer their XL size to the fit of the XXL.
• Ex Officio – their give and go travel brief is expensive at $26 but last. I have a couple of weeks’ worth and they’ve held out well.

New discoveries I’ve not yet purchased

• American Tall – sizes up to 7’1”. I’ve a nephew who likes their clothing.
• Navas Labs – recommended by family.
• Tommy Bahama – I’m not really the Parrothead type that I associate with the brand but their tall size listing actually looks promising.
• The Gap – I’ve few from them but they’re well regarded
• Norrøna. Similar to Patagonia in that they don’t sell tall sizes, but my 6’2” sibling tells me that their torsos and sleeves are long enough. Premium prices and reputation. They also have a mountain bike lineup with longer torsos and sleeves.
• A relative (6’2”) strongly recommends the European brand Devold. Their stuff is well made, proportioned for tall folks despite not being labeled as such and is durable and well made. A quick search found this importer, so I may give them a try.

Exercise clothing

• AeroTech Designs makes mountain biking jerseys and shorts. I’ve their long-sleeve merino jersey and it’s great.
• The tech shirts from Eddie Bauer are my go-to here. Since learning that microfibers from polyester are a significant pollutant, I’m searching for merino replacements but haven’t found one yet. Contact me if you can help!
• Patagonia does not make tall sizes but they seem to make their cycling jerseys long in the torso since cycling requires a bent-forward position. I have two pairs of their Dirt Craft shorts and the 3/4 sleeve merino jersey, and they are worth every penny and fit pretty well.
• Kitsbow makes high-end outdoor and cycling clothing to order, in America. It’s beautiful stuff and quite expensive. They now have a few tall items! I’ve one of their hot-weather jerseys (Superflow Cooling Tee) (took a chance on a non-tall XL size) and it’s damned good at wicking. I admire them as a company and, if you read up on them, I think you might also. They recently introduced a used-gear store called Experienced Gear.

Information sources

I skim via RSS as explained here, and two sites I’ve come to trust are Dappered and Put This On. String King and Taylor Stitch, for example, were both via Dappered.

Formal wear

Back when I was doing more business travel, a friend recommended Sam’s Tailor, on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. I’ve been there twice, and gotten a suit, two blazers, several dress shirts and some dress pants. It’s been years since I was there though. My tuxedo was a random purchase on a trip to Singapore, and the price and experience were meh so I’d recommend Sam’s there also.

Note that Sam’s does women’s clothing too – I took one of my wife’s favorite shirts along and they made a couple copies in silk for her.

I hope that this list helps someone else out. Do contact me or leave a comment, please.