https://pin.it/4p98y7fOx Hmm something to learn from 65 years ago🤔

A quick shout out to @Chad Smith and his daughter for presenting the opportunity for gaining a Yiume shirt and choosing my submission respectively. I shall wear the Christmas one this December and the Love our Earth shirt starting in May. Thank you again!

(This is part 2 of a series of posts discussing my thoughts on my current “glowing up while slimming down” journey.) Clothes shopping, as a fat man, isn’t joyous. Before I get lynched in the comments, let me clarify. By “clothes shopping”, I mean in-person high-street retail shopping. Y’know, the bread and butter clothes shopping experience, partly dictated by finances. I’m sure, with the right billfold and a stacked rolladex, employing a suite of bespoke artisans to tailor-drape me in fibrous regality would be quite the uplifting moment. Alas, funds allow what funds allow, and being fat and hitting the outlet village can be sobering at best, and dehumanising at worst. There’s a few reasons for this. The main reason is lack of options. Stores, in their wisdom, keep stock to cater to a bell curve. The majority of their lines will bell curve their garments, with the biggest fractions for those median-shaped people that surround us all. Average height, build, and so on. Sure, there’ll be some outliers to the sizes, curving down. But that means us “extremes” will have a playbook of maybe one or two items to choose from, while “normies” will have the whole store. And if Big Alan has been in an hour earlier and bought a pair of trousers, you’re just bang out of luck. (I realise there may be a UK filter on this comment. Presumably in the US, there’s a much wider and flatter profile of stock options, with the bell curve topping at some number of XLs. Everything is bigger and better there, right?) So the main stores have limited scope. What of shops that cater entirely to the Higher and Mightier folk out there? I mean yes, these are okay, but they are few and far between, and the ones in the UK at least seem largely generic in their designs. They also, in my experience, make a few assumptions in ratio that means people like the Historical Me miss out. Tall and Wide? All good. Small and Skinny? Covered. But us Short Kings with Extensive Circumference are told to just roll on by.

Every minute of the day is booked and frequently over booked. Is it weird that this makes me happy? Today is Day 1 for the expanded version and vision of my company. • Suit Jacket — SJ-003 (Peter Millar): An Italian Blue Peter Millar suit jacket with tiny dot texture in fine wool. Fully lined with notched lapels, double rear vents, and four multihue navy wrist buttons—classic business formal elegance. The slight sheen and refined texture project authority during internal leadership meetings without overwhelming. • Slacks — SL-006 (JW Nordstrom): Dark brown wool slacks with a slight sheen, flat-front with no pleats and a low rise. Regular cuffs, medium drape, and business classic formality—the perfect contrast to the Italian blue jacket while maintaining a cohesive earth-meets-navy palette. • Shirt — DS-010 (Charles Tyrwhitt): A white Burlington-weave twill dress shirt with French cuffs, spread-point collar (5.5" spread, 3" height), and bird's eye twill pattern. Non-iron cotton with medium-to-high opacity and mother-of-pearl buttons—a true semi-formal board meeting-caliber shirt. Collar stay size: 2.25". • Undershirt — US-002 (Ralph Lauren Polo): Classic white cotton crew neck undershirt. The medium drape and opacity of the dress shirt provides full concealment, ensuring a clean, polished silhouette beneath the Burlington weave. • Tie — NT-029 (Fort Belvedere): A burgundy grenadine silk tie from Fort Belvedere—3-fold construction, self-tipped, 58.5" length with 3.5" blade width. The signature grenadine weave delivers matte texture and excellent dimple ease (rated 5/5). A timeless business formal choice that adds depth without flash. • Collar Pin — TA-002 (Fort Belvedere): Solid metal collar pin with cubic ends and single-turn cube closure in silver. Elevates the shirt's spread collar, creating the classic "tie lift" that signals intentionality and sartorial detail. • Belt — B-009 (Nordstrom): Dark brown leather belt with a thick collar, circle holes, and silver buckle. The flat finish harmonizes perfectly with the dark brown slacks, creating an unbroken line from waist to shoe.