Tall Men: How to Not Look Like You Were Shot Out of a Cannon
Gary Cooper: 6'3" & always dapper
My good friend Bob came up from Washington D.C. because he wanted to expand his wardrobe; because of my own height, I am an expert in dressing the tall man!
Bob stands about 6’4″, and everything he tried on, made him look like he was “shot out of a cannon”: the jackets were too short, the sleeves were too short, and don’t make me tell you how the pants looked! His proportions are hard to satisfy with off the rack suits, so custom tailoring is the friend of any man of uncommon build. (Most every man has something that makes his build uncommon!)
When dressing a tall man, proportion is key. Even though the current styles are for jacket and pants to be on the shorter side, they shouldn’t look like they are too short for the wearer. The tall man should make efforts to avoid looking like he grew out of his suit; he has reached his growth height and the cut of his clothes should reflect the awareness that he has about his appearance. There should be a balance between the upper body and the lower body.
If you want to err on the side of a shorter jacket, make it a bit short, just don’t have it look like it’s a size Regular on a size Long guy.
Windowpane Suit
On a different note, taller guys can wear most any pattern they prefer.
Windowpanes, checks, plaids and stripes will all look good on a tall person.
Keep one thing in mind, a very heavy chalk stripe pattern will accentuate the persons height and probably make him look even taller. So, heavy chalk stripe patterns would not be the way to go.
If the man is tall and thin and he would like to minimize his thin appearance, it’s best not to have the jacket or suit fit too tight. Allow for a gentle ease over the body thereby creating a balance that wouldn’t normally be there.
The best advice is to be thoughtful when dressing and have a little fun and experiment with different outfits to find out what looks best on you.
Chalkstripe Suit
Plaid Suit