Publisher: The Telegraph
At last, the high street has cottoned on to the changing shape of the male form. Men’s bodies have altered drastically in the last 50 years – and, when it comes to suits especially, one-size no longer fits all.
Where once an off-the-peg number might have been passable on the majority, that is simply no longer the case. In 1954, the typical British male was just over 5ft 7in tall, weighed 11st 6lbs, had a 37-inch chest, a 34-inch waist and 14-inch collar. Today, the typical man is just over 5ft 9in, weighs 12st 6lbs, has a chest of 42in, a waist of 37in, and he takes a 16in collar.
But that’s not the whole story. While some of us are getting rounder – last year, the term ‘dad-bod’ entered the dictionary, meaning an untoned male body that’s started running to fat – the younger generation is taller and fitter that ever, encouraged to look after themselves not only by a booming fitness industry, but by the ripped torso shots they share on social media.
So here, according to the British high street, these are the body shapes of modern British man… and suggestions for how to dress them.
Tall orders
It was the challenge of finding suitable tailoring to fit his 6ft 6ft frame that prompted Roland John to launch his own brand, Lynch & Mason, to cater for men with muscular and towering frames. The online store – whose classic, sleek coats and suits have been worn by boxer Anthony Joshua, model and personal trainer Toby Huntington Whiteley and Idris Elba – is created to be worn straight out of the packaging, without adjustments. “I could barely find clothes to fit me, and when I did, none of them were very good quality,” says John.
“Arms were always too short, jackets way too high, trousers looked ridiculous. So I looked into working with manufacturers to make pieces in very high quality fabrics – cashmeres and wools – that actually fit longer frames. We’ve elongated the cuts, lengthened proportions but kept things tailored. It’s easy to opt for something oversized but then it just doesn’t fit.”
Lean, tall frames might be the envy of the suiting world, but to avoid looking lanky opt for a “block” silhouette - a square shape of jacket will help to broaden the torso. Double-breasted jackets work well here. If you’re looking to buy on the high street, you’d do worse than Mr Porter's Kingsman range of suiting. Kingsman double breasted wool jacket, £995, trousers, £395, mrporter.com
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