jcp’s Spring 2013 line: Launching this Friday February 1st
Note: The following shirts are recent arrivals, but they’re already in stores and online. So, not from the line that launches tomorrow then? See the terrific interview Esquire did with Nick Wooster about what to expect in 2/1/13 jcp release (spoiler: new blazers). Not sure if all brick & mortars will have the collection on Friday.
Quick, what size should a 5’10”, 165-170 pound male wear? Medium right? Wrong. Well, kinda. Sometimes a medium works, sometimes it’s too big. Especially if it’s from a retailer that’s more accessible, like Target, Old Navy, or JC Penney. And despite JC Penney’s commendable shift towards better fit and vastly improved aesthetics, they still seem to have a ways to go when it comes to sizing.
Point is, if you can, try a size down at these places. Visuals of some new jcp arrivals on a 5’10 / 165-170 pound frame for comparison’s sake are below, then a follow up question at the bottom of the post.
jcp polo shirt – $14.00
Hats off to the jcp guys on this one. “They’re grrrrrrrrrrrreat!” Makes you wish winter would ease off even quicker. It’s not a pique weave, but instead just a standard, medium-weight jersey. Super soft too. Reinforced/taped seams are a nice touch. One complaint is that it’s a little long, so short guys, beware. Interesting that the designers decided to take the stripes all the way up and onto the collar.
jcp Button-Down Poplin Shirt – $25.00
These are the shirts you need to beat up in the wash a bit. Off the rack they’ve got a bit of a papery “noise” to them when you move. But the collars are good and substantial, and the fit is decent as long as you size down. Seems like there’s a little extra around the middle even if an average sized guy goes down a size. Should be great for layering.
jcp 60% cotton / 40% poly French terry crewneck – $18.00
Proof that a little bit of poly, every so often, isn’t all bad. Extremely soft and moves great. Available in a few solids and stripe color combinations. They didn’t have a medium in the stripe, so the blue solid subbed in. Great feeling shirt. Couldn’t help it and picked one of these up.
Question: What height/weight should a size small fit? Meanwhile, if traditional, middle-America retailers are going to attack the more style-conscious male consumer, should they re-calibrate their sizing for those more fashion-forward brands? Is JCPenney’s jcp label losing out on that vast swath of guys who are on the smaller side?
As a size S, I often never get the opportunity to size down. However, that’s why I do almost all of my shopping at Target – their Mossimo and Merona smalls fit my 5’9″ / 165lb / 35″ chest perfectly.
I’m 6’0, 175, wear a 15.5/34-35 shirt, and a size 38 or 40 jacket. I often try a small for a better fit: in most LEC shirts, in Uniqlo polos, and J Crew Factory sweaters (the last ones are a touch short – maybe the slim versions in medium would have been OK).
I feel like I’ve cracked the retailer code. I understand that companies maybe cutting things bigger to accomodate an average size. But it doesn’t explain why the sleeves are all long enough to fit me. It just seems like style is trending towards slim fits and the definition of a small has changed and the actual garments are meeting in the middle.
When I size down, I often think, “Looks great, but I hope it doesn’t shrink at all.” Often, whatever it is does shrink, which keeps me in medium land, even though I’m 6′ / 160 / 38″. My body throws a fit when clothing is too snug.
That polo would especially fall into that category. The Small looks perfect and the medium a bit large, but what happens after washing?
I’ve got crazy long arms and a very slender build, and I envy all of you who can size down like that. I’ve ended up having to buy XL(!!!!!) just so the damned sleeves fit, but I’m always swimming in shirt! Even if I buy neck/sleeve (16.5/36-37) shirts in the slimmest fit available, it looks silly without being tailored. Maybe I’m doing it wrong…
Why don’t more companies preshrink their clothes so there is no guessing game when buying the appropriate size?
If a small fits someone who is 5’10” and 170lbs there probably isn’t much that fits off rack for me. Although I have to get just about everything tailored at 5’7” 135 so this isn’t a new problem.
And then there’s the arms discussion… Try finding shirts that fit a 16.5 neck, 41 chest, 34 waist and 36 sleeve. If you get the neck size right, the chest is probably too big and the arms too short. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the internal “look the arms are almost spot on! ….it probably won’t shrink at all, right?”
Dare to dream, Chris. What a world it would be.
This is how I feel after washing many promising purchases: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPQlerYtk6A
Joe, you and I are almost the exact same size and in the past year or 2 I’ve started sizing down to small for shirts in almost every brand I shop (J.Crew, Banana, Gap, Canvas, Macy’s). It almost always looks better.
The only trade-off is if you want to put that tie on. Then it can be problematic.
I’m a similar height and weight, and the only reason I tried on a small at Target was because it was on Clearance. Turns out it’s a perfect fit and it’s the only size I now try on in Merona sweaters.
I feel like I have the opposite problem as the average poster on here. I’m 5’10” 195lbs with weightlifter physique. When I find clothes that fit, I wear the crap out of them because they are so few and far between. I’m usually stuck with jeans size 32×30, but have to go with a loose fit for my legs (getting increasingly difficult to find with the trend leaning so slim/skinny). With minimal arm work in the gym, I’m 17.5 inches around the bicep, same as my neck. My chest is 44, but I usually have to size up so it doesn’t look like my arms are being strangled. Be glad for tall sizes, if anyone find an adult husky size in a slim or fitted cut let me know.
It doesn’t cost too much to have shirts taken in, and a competent tailor can fix the jeans for you. Buy as much quality as you can afford, and plan to invest in some tailoring.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but as a guy in a similar watercraft, OTR is just not going to work for you.
Shirts drive me crazy. I’m 6’4″, 195, 15.5/35, 40. Used to be bigger so many of my shirts are like tents on me. Now I’m having a hard time just finding something slim and tall. Anyone know of any brands where the mediums tend to run on the taller side? Don’t want to keep buying from the same places that have reliable medium talls cause I like variety.
I hear you. Yep. Buttoning that top button can get iffy. That’s why, even though they’re a splurge, I’m a total sucker/fan-boy of ratio/clothing
Cutter and Buck tall runs long. I’m 6’5″ 250lbs and normally I’m an XLT or 17.5/37 but for Cutter and Buck I need an LT.
I also have to downsize my Zegna shirts in tall (get them on eBay for $30 rather than brand new for $250).
5’8″ 130lbs. Bike racer, so my butt hold up pants. I have a 33-34inch chest and a 27-28 inch natural waist. I tailor a bunch of stuff but the Express 1MX Extra Slim Fit in Extra Small fits me almost too tightly. If you look at the size chart they really need a size between XS and S. It might work for you, it looks really good on me when I am standing and bunches a little when sitting.
American Apparel runs slim and tall on their standard sizing. Gap and BR both have tall stores. Brooks Brothers performance polos tend to run slim and long. Otherwise, MTM is the most reliable — Ratio, Brooks Brothers and Indochino are good. Source: 6’8, 195, 16/37.5, 41.
I should mention that when I do size down, I have begun hang-drying for this reason.
Because they’re afraid Chris; they’re afraid that my shouts of joy will surpass previously unbreached decibel levels and set into motion a shift of the tectonic plates like never seen before. The end result would be destruction, death and devastation. DO YOU WANT DESTRUCTION, DEATH AND DEVASTATION CHRIS?! DO YOU?!?!
Hey everyone, come see how much of a sucker Joe is!
“Hhmmm, I don’t remember washing a tank-top…” amirite??
Unfortunately, sizing down is not an option when you already wear the smallest available size from most retailers. At 5’9″, 145 lbs, 37″ actual chest, I am hardly freakishly tiny – in fact, right about average by pre-epidemic-obesity standards. Yet, freakishly tiny is how I usually feel after trying on the billowing smalls and 36R’s from retailers like JCPenney.
You must be really oddly sized. I’m less than an inch shorter, ~5-10 lbs lighter and have a 4″ larger chest.
As a 5’7″ 180# stocky guy, from my perspective I wish they’d recalibrate proportion rather than overall sizing. I’m hardly superman, but measuring roughly 42″ chest, 34″ waist (as in where my pants ride) I usually get to choose between a shirt that fits at the chest/shoulders and billows further down, or a trim waist but pulling across the chest (which obviously is a non starter in a button-up)
The unspoken third choice is of course the dreaded “relaxed fit” or whatever euphemism you’d like to use for baggy.
Maybe I’m shopping the wrong places?
I actually had the terry crew. At 6’5, it was a bit too short for me.
That’s my go-to, Luke, and it hasn’t steered me wrong either.
Thanks to Mike and TallEnglishman for the advice as well!
Thanks for the suggestions guys! Yeah, BR is typically my go-to but looking to see what else is out there!
Thats great and all, but how do you size down from “smalls are always too big”?
Smalls at any major department store are usually a no-go for me at 5’6, 140. I have a strong upper body and chest, so an issue I often run into with shirts is finding one that fits well but is just too long. With some effort (and in most cases, extra $), I can generally find clothes that work well on me through retailers like J. Crew Factory, but I wish some of the bigger retailers would expand their options; I’m sure they’d like some of my dough!
Here’s where JCP + Tailor = still VERY reasonable.
Spring is almost here. Bright colors are emerging. The smell of boat shoes is in the air. That must mean…
POLOPALOOOOOOOOOOOOOZAAAAAAAAA 2013.
My tax return is waiting, Joe.
This. 5’8″,130, 34s suit (thank you Indochino). Got a few shirts tailored before I discovered Express MX1 Fitted XS. Anyway, yes, please, there must be enough of us that it makes sense to make sense to offer one size smaller. Just one!
Sizing down isn’t an option for me. Maybe once in a while, I can size down a classic fit. But never fitted or slim.
5’10, 185 lbs, 16.5 neck, 34/35 sleeves, 33/34 waist, 42 chest.
FYI, (and maybe YMMV) those polo shirts are on sale at $8 at my local JCP.
Most of the poplin shirts were down to the $15-20 range.
They never carry smalls!
I’m a fairly in shape large. Every time I size down, I notice how much shorter the arms are and how much more of my gut shows when I lift my arms. I can pull of button ups some times, but things like blazers, polos, or t-shirts I need a trim fit large.
Sizing down works for me if it’s huge in every aspect, but most clothing tends to be average in length, big in the gut. It’s better for me to find a good brand that has slim fitting clothes that work to me.
OTR is almost always out of the question save for some pants and women’s socks.
I am 5’6″, 137. short, skinny arms. 36 chest, 31 waist. size 7.5 shoe.
sizing down? forget about it, unless they have XS (rare) and I still have to shorten the arms most of the time.
I invest in MTR and have a competent tailor.
therefore my wardrobe is small.
constraints take some working around and with, but a smaller wardrobe where you love each piece and it all fits well is nothing to shake a stick at.
36R from Banana Republic’s tailored-fit and J.Crew’s Ludlow (plus Factory Thompson) seem to work best for me. Bonobos’ suit jackets in 36R are on the tight side. I sized down to 35R from SuitSupply’s Napoli fit and that worked well… though their 36R was only a hair too big and it took me a while to decide to exchange for the smaller size.
I always have to get the sleeves shortened on jackets from Banana Republic and J.Crew, but other than that I don’t have the fit altered at all.
MTM [not MTR] (oh, acronyms!)
Er.. no, I wouldn’t say that at all. I have muscular legs that probably carry a lot of my weight, and just don’t really work out my chest all that much, but that’s certainly not “oddly sized,” thank you.
Same boat here. Even a cyclist. Though I have no ass to speak of. It’s really cool to read these sites and see great deals all around and then see that their smallest size is Small. So it’s either getting EVERYTHING tailored or paying much more for companies that have an XS. Express, J Crew, Gap, etc. H&M fits but their stuff is usually pretty poor quality. Oh well.