Menswear
Big and tall or broad and long? Lacoste offers trendy clothes for the oversizedguy
While women who are larger than a size 10 have long complained about the lack of trendy designer clothing, oversized guys have suffered in silence. Now, however, there's some relief for the man who isn't a slim fit but wants to look good.
Lacoste has unveiled its first "big and tall" collection called Lacoste XL, featuring its classic polo with alligator emblem in a variety of colors, woven cotton long-sleeve shirts, V-neck sweaters and cotton tees in large sizes. The sizes range from 7L/LT to 11L/4XLT for “tall” men and 9R/2XL to 12R/5XL for “big” men — large enough to fit someone the size of Texans defensive lineman J. J. Watt.
Rather than "big" and "tall," Dave Barrett, managing director of the Galleria store prefers to refer to supersized customers as "broad" and "long.""Long" sizes are three to six inches longer than a regular polo for a super tall, lankier customer; "broad" sizes run a wider for a stockier customer.
Since everything tends to be bigger in Texas, Barrett is thrilled to offer the Lacoste XL line to customers in Houston.
Prices range from $50 to $135.
Last fall, Lacoste launched the line in New York, with a bevy of bigger-than-usual sports stars including New York Yankees ace pitcher CC Sabathia, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora and Houston Rockets center Hasheem Thabat.
Since everything tends to be bigger in Texas, Barrett is thrilled to offer the Lacoste XL line to customers in Houston. "We're one of the few markets that has a customer for that," he says.
He recently sold 11 polos to a customer who was thrilled to have a cool-looking shirt to wear. "Now it's something they are wearing with pride, which is nice," he says.
In addition to the Galleria store, the larger size clothing is offered online on the Lacoste website and through Rochester Big & Tall shops.