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U.S. NEWS Thursday 5 OcTOber 2017

Plus-size for men: Sites offer trendy looks for bigger guys

By JOSEPH PISANI He also recently bought a That’s still generally true, “There’s a lot of buying cent of its men’s line is now
AP Retail Writer blazer from Asos that he even with the new options. power there,” says Smith. available in bigger sizes,
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Cyr wears to his standup shows. Several market research At Asos, it was the positive and it expects to increase
doesn’t like much about Men have long had big- firms said they didn’t track feedback from its wom- that percentage. About 30
the big and tall clothes he and-tall shops to turn to,
finds in stores: They’re “not but young shoppers say
very adventurous,” he says, they don’t find the trendy
and the fit can be too bag- clothes they crave there.
gy. Kyle Gammon, a college
And then there’s the array fashion student who lives
of odd prints: “A lot of Ha- near Savannah, Georgia,
waiian shirts with sailboats says Asos has become
and golf balls tend to pop his go-to after he discov-
in.” ered its plus-size line ear-
But the standup comic lier this year. While fit can
from St. Louis says he is sometimes be a question
finding more fashionable for anyone buying online,
threads for bigger guys on- Gammon has bought a
line, as a crop of internet couple of print shirts from
retailers are finally catering the site. He likes the way
to the long-ignored group. they fit, giving him just
The companies are mak- enough room around his
ing larger sizes of slim-cut midsection without a lot
jeans, bomber jackets and of extra fabric in the arms.
other trendy clothes that He’s also a fan of the colors
shoppers say are hard to and styles the site offers. In this Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, photo, co-owners Daniel Franzese, left, and Wil Cuadros select clothes
find elsewhere. “They have a really good for “The Winston Box” at their showroom in Gardena, Calif. The Winston Box is a monthly subscrip-
Bigger-sized models are variety,” says Gammon, tion box that designs and makes its own clothes for big guys. More online retailers are chasing
used when designing the “which I’m not used to get- after plus-sized men, selling big sizes of slim-cut jeans, faux leather jackets and other trendy
clothes, which the compa- ting.” clothing that can be hard to find at the local big and tall store.
nies say helps make sure Former baseball player Mo (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
the proportions are right. Vaughn, who co-founded or have estimates of the en’s plus-size line launched brands, such as Puma and
Rather than just making a MVP Collections, says he value of the men’s big- about eight years ago that Tommy Hilfiger, also make
pair of jeans larger, for ex- could find T-shirts and suits and-tall clothing market. pushed the company to big and tall sizes for the site.
ample, they also adjust the in his size in stores, but noth- And startups say that to create one for men, says “I honestly don’t know why
back pockets and other ing in between. Now his promote their brands, they head designer Nick Eley. it’s been a forgotten mar-
details. company sells items such go to conventions and Asos says about 15 per- ket for so long,” says Eley.q
Asos, the hip online cloth- as gray sport jackets and events around the country
ing seller, launched a line deconstructed jeans made aimed at curvy or plus-size
for plus-sized men late last with a bit of spandex for women — because there
year. MVP Collections, stretch. aren’t any for big men.
founded a year ago, sells “Why can’t we be fly like Diana Smith, a retail and
velour hoodies in sizes up to everybody else?” Vaughn apparel analyst at re-
6XL and motorcycle jeans says. search group Mintel, ex-
that go up to a size 54. And Daniel Franzese, an ac- pects that to change. She
The Winston Box, which calls tor who starred in “Mean says the high obesity rate,
itself a clothing subscription Girls,” joined The Winston plus an increase in the
service “for guys with some Box as creative director number of men who care
junk in the trunk,” sends up earlier this year after seeing about how they dress, will
to four items a month to an ad for the company on increase the demand for
members. Facebook. big-sized men’s clothing.
“There’s a lot more op- He says stylists often had She says the success of
tions,” says Cyr. He pays $75 trouble finding clothes for women’s plus-size clothing,
a month for The Winston him to wear for TV roles or for which according to NPD
Box, and says the 3XL shirts red carpet events.“Fashion Group had sales of $20.6
he receives fit better than forgets about the bigger billion in the last year, also
what he finds elsewhere. male,” Franzese says. helps.