daily male

Chubby Men Deserve to Be Stylish, Too

No one ever told him not to wear cargo pants!
No one ever told him not to wear cargo pants! Photo: DERMOT CONLAN/PPSOP/Corbis

While there could certainly be a lot more fashion options for larger women, there’s a growing range of resources, reinforced by a burgeoning plus-size female modeling industry, New York’s Full Figured Fashion Week, and entire magazines just for plus-sized women. (No, we are not going to address any size puns to be made here. Just leave them be.) But larger men who want to look stylish often don’t even know where to start. As previously reported, a plus-size male modeling industry doesn’t even exist. And when’s the last time you noticed a men’s magazine offering tips on how to make the most of one’s ample bottom? As a result, most plump dudes just wind up in sack-like suits from Big & Tall or floppy shirts from chains like Banana Republic or the Gap. They don’t just look un-stylish, they look downright bad.

Luckily, it seems like some men are making moves to address this. Today’s Times has a piece about Chubstr.com, a fashion blog that caters to guys with wider waistbands. The site’s founder, Bruce Sturgell, posts interviews other stylish “well-rounded gents,” gives tips on how bigger guys can emulate looks worn by slimmer male celebrities, and suggests products that work well for rotund figures — in short, it’s just like a standard fashion blog, only for shapelier guys. Considering the women’s plus-size fashion industry is now worth $17 billion and expanding rapidly, it seems like male plus-size options have a lot of room to grow.