Vintage, Emo, Euro: The Problem With Cliff

I have a friend named Cliff who gets clinically depressed when he peruses his favorite magazines and sees all of the casual looks he wishes he could emulate. Until now, he had no where to turn. Until now, he had no where to learn.

Dressing for incredibly casual evenings, like concerts, can be one of the most intimidating fashion challenges a moderately overweight person can face. In light of popular form-fitting vintage trends, fat people can easily be marginalized when it comes to cutting edge casual looks. However, rid yourselves of unrest, hope springs eternal.

Vintage jeans used to be impossible to find in anything over a size 38 waist, but as the vintage trend has come full force, anything is possible. Remember that popular clothers like Gap and Banana Republic as well as many clothing brands like Diesel and Ben Sherman offer extended sizes online that you simply won't find in any stores. Ebay is also an easy (and inexpensive) way to find jeans quickly by searching only for your specific size (i.e. 42x34 or 42L).

Shirts are the most difficult things to find, and are far more difficult to find online because of the variations between brand sizes. Just as important as the circumference of the chest and stomach of a t-shirt is the length of the shirt. The best way to shop for t-shirts is to find brands you like rather than stores. In other words, shopping at an online store like threadless.com (who manufactures their own shirts) will give you much more uniform sizing than shopping at an online store that sells shirts from multiple manufacturers.

Now, the crux of Fatshion for dressing vintage/emo/euro lies in wearing another article that many thin people forego--a jacket. Jackets such as modified track jackets are a wonderful solution to unflatteringly tight t-shirts. Many of the appropriate looking jackets are incredibly lightweight, and they can serve to cover more than just tight shirts. As almost any larger person can attest, tight shirts evoke unsightly sweat stains--especially during concerts. Thin, lightweight jackets cover areas where sweat commonly seeps through, and the good news is that most jackets are made of materials that don't show wetness, so there is little or no risk that you will sweat through your jacket.

Next time you see that look in a magazine, don't get down on yourself like you have in the past. Realize that there is hope for overweight people, and you can achieve any look you want--even if that look is traditionally considered antithetical to your body type. Remember, Fatshion is not a list of rules, it's a lifestyle.