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I’m a small guy (5’6″ and 120lbs) and as a result it’s really hard to find clothing that fits well. Finding a decent size small is trouble enough but often they’re too baggy. What are some styles/shops/brands that has dress shirts that are cut smaller?

Unfortunately, even if you were bigger, finding good dress shirts is just a big pain. The fact of the matter is, finding a good cut in dress shirts is pretty difficult period, but hopefully I can give you some ideas.

As for companies to check out — J.Crew has Small and X-Small sizes with the X-Small having only a 32-34″ chest size. Brooks Brothers also has remarkably small sizes usually determined by the size of your neck, which means that they may be more proportional (smallest I see is 14.5 32). If you have access to a local store (or don’t mind ordering online), and you don’t mind something cheaper that won’t last as long, UNIQLO, by virtue of catering to the Japanese, has remarkably small shirts — according to their Japanese sizing chart, the chest on their “small” shirts floats around 53.5cm, or about 21 inches (but be careful, it appears to wildly vary depending on the shirt itself). Still, I can personally say that, from my experience with the Japanese UNIQLO, their sizes run small and very very slim.

Honestly, most big companies — even joints like Banana Republic — will have small sizes, especially online. Most physical stores in common locations do not carry smaller sizes just because they do not sell well — you’ll unquestionably have a better shot shopping online. When you do go shopping, look for stuff with a slim cut (it will be even more tailored in the waist) and, if possible, ensure that the neck fits as tightly as possible — many shirts are constructed proportionally to the neck size.

However, like any other guy, the best thing you can actually do is find something that remotely fits and get it tailored, or, even better, get something made by hand. It’s expensive, but probably the best option you’ll ever have — pretty much no-one fits perfectly into an off-the-rack shirt. Some tailors local to you may be able to do either for you — and either way, they’ll look the best.

In any case, good luck!

If you live in the United States, chances are you have purchased or know someone who have purchased Levi’s jeans. As one of the staple jean brands in the US, Levi’s seems like a relatively boring choice to be pro-fashion — but on the contrary, they are some of the best purchases you can make. Though they may not be as expensively branded as other jean brands, Levi’s are an absolutely wonderful start to any wardrobe — they are cheap, are available in a wide variety of fits, and best of all, are available in virtually any city and all over the place online.

With that being said, here is a quick and dirty Levi’s sizing guide, so you know what to look for if you ever feel like purchasing a pair.

The Basic Sizing Guide

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Levi’s 501 (Original Jean)

Sometimes jokingly called the “Obama Jean” nowadays, 501s are the very classic Levi’s jean offering that has been around for virtually forever. 501s are as baggy as a fashionable person would ever want to go — they are relatively loose and relaxed and perfect for a look trying to exploit that, but really often too loose for most guys otherwise. Unless you have huge legs or are trying to pull off something retro (or just have no other choice), 501s are probably not an ideal choice.

Levi’s 514 (Slim Straight Jean)

These are pretty much the perfect balance between straight and skinny — 514s are neither skinny nor baggy straight, making them a “slim straight” that works fairly well for most people, particularly those with bigger thighs (i.e. weightlifters). 514s don’t work very well for those with super thin legs (they just manage to look baggy), but for those with muscle tone, 514s are a godsend.

Levi’s 511 (Skinny Jean)

The canonical “skinny jean”, though admittedly they are really only skinny in name. 511s differ from 514s in that they have a more drastic taper and try to achieve a more skin-tight look without trying to be too skin tight, making them a good choice for most guys with relatively thin legs. You can find a ton of variations on 511s, from ones with wild colors (like hot purple) to material additions (like spandex to make the jean material less constricting). These allegedly have a wider seat than the 514s (which is really not something I’ve personally seen), so be wary.

Levi’s 510 (Super Skinny Jean)

510s are the honest-to-god Levi’s skinny jean. These can look amazing on guys with very thin legs, or very horrible on guys with anything but slim legs — if you don’t know if you could wear these, chances are you shouldn’t wear them. 510s are skinny to the point where they look ridiculous unless you are skinny all throughout to the point of looking emaciated, so be careful — these are wonderful jeans only in the right hands.

Some General Tips

• If you live in the United States, Levi’s can be purchased at a huge number of department stores. However, I personally feel one of the best options is the Amazon.com Levi store, which sells virtually all types of Levi’s for around $30/pair, which is an incredible steal.
• Consequently, if you live in Europe or outside of the US, Levi’s will be much, much more expensive, and you may find a better brand. Be wary — this guide is really meant for American users, as Levi’s business model intentionally cuts the price of the jeans stateside.
• As with virtually every other jean brand, waist size is directly correlated with the bagginess (or slimness) in the legs. Thus, focus on determining your waist size, and then experiment with the different styles listed above. You can have drastically different leg sizes and fits with a size 32 waist — some people can wear 510s with a size 32 waist, others have to go up to 514s, and so on.
• In the slimmer cuts (particularly 510s and 511s), the waist can and likely will stretch ever so slightly, as will other parts of the jean if they are really tight. This is not to imply you want to buy jeans you have to use a shoehorn to get into, but in some cases small amounts of tightness in the waist fix themselves after a little bit of wear. The same rule applies to the thighs.
• Darker wash Levi’s — particularly the raws (obviously) and the “rigid” brands — do develop fairly nice stacks, whiskering, and general signs of individual wear. Obviously, the “rigid” Levi’s are not going to develop effects as nice as raws, but it’s a great alternative.
• No matter what people on other fashion websites/forums may say, there is no inherent status involved with waist size or the style of jeans you wear, pending they fit well. You don’t get fashion benefits for wearing 510s or anything like that.

Do you recommend buying clothes online, when you can’t try them on first? Any overall advice on shopping online, or stores where you should shop at?

I do recommend shopping online, but there are some things that will make your shopping experience easier. I’ll break this up into two topics.

First off, as for fitting and general purchasing, be very careful. As you likely well know, buying things online is one massive crapshoot, and it’s always a gamble. The first thing- above anything else- that I typically recommend is to simply know your sizes. Whenever shopping online, try to keep your measurements handy, or have something (soft measuring tape) to do it when you need to know. Typically, most bigger online stores will have “fit guides” or something of that nature, with approximated measurements available for you to compare yourself against. Even eBay posts tend to have this information.

Still, that doesn’t always help things. One thing I personally like to do is to simply Google it- this especially works with jeans. For example, if I wanted to know the fit of Raf Simons jeans, I’d simply Google “Raf Simons jeans fit“. To compare Levis 514s to 511s or something, “514 vs 511“. Fashion forums all over the internet have threads you can read up on for this sort of information.

Additionally, ALWAYS try to be covered in case what you purchase does not fit. Ensure there is a return policy, ideally one where you don’t have to pay a dime. If there isn’t, make sure you can afford to have something that doesn’t fit- that is, be willing to spend the extra cash to get something tailored or to sell it to someone else.

As for where to shop, you have plenty of options. Most mid-tier brands nowadays have online stores of their own- from J.Crew to Ralph Lauren to Armani Exchange. Most of these places sell their wares for full price, but are good to check regarding sales  from time to time. One new trend that’s developed online is the “fire sale” website like Gilt Groupe or JackThreads, which, at 12:00 every day, makes available an assortment of usually deeply discounted designer products. I tend to much prefer sites that carry a variety of brands- Yoox, Bluefly, Revolve Clothing, and even mall stores like Nordstrom fall into this category. If you want to browse a ton of stores at once, sites like ShopStyle are a good choice, though usually full priced. Amazon.com has some decent offerings as well. Whatever you do, make sure to check coupon sites like RetailMeNot for applicable coupon codes- you can easily save up to 50% or more stacking coupons if you are vigilant enough. If you really want to become an aggressive deal-hunter, make a dump e-mail account and sign up for a ton of website mailing lists- they often announce major sales.

Still, the best advice I can give you is to just browse around. You never know what you’ll find- just keep an eye out on things, stumble around the web, that sort of thing. Hope this helps!