Why I Tried This Tall Guy Style Stuff Anyway
So okay, I saw all these pictures online. Guys like me, tall and kinda skinny like a stick, looking super cool in clothes. Confident, you know? Me? I mostly felt like a goof wearing whatever was cheap at the mall. Ended up looking like a kid wearing dad’s clothes half the time. Ridiculous.
Figured, what the heck. Tried copying those style guides. Read about “monochrome,” “vertical lines,” all that stuff. Sounded simple enough. Bought some dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Easy peasy, right?
First try was a disaster.
Wore my new “stylish” dark clothes out. Felt… weird. The t-shirt? It was regular length. Every time I lifted my arms, even a little, poof! Belly button sighting! Embarrassing. Jeans? They were supposed to be slim fit, but on me? More like baggy around the ankles. Looked like I was wading through fabric. Definitely not cool.
Got frustrated. Felt like those tips lied to me. Tall style was supposed to be easy! But I just looked worse than before.
Starting From Scratch (Literally)
Decided maybe I needed better basics. Forget trendy for now. Just need pieces that actually fit.
Went back to the stores. This time, I forced myself to pay attention to just two things:
- Shirt length: Instead of grabbing whatever Large off the rack, I hunted for shirts labeled “Tall” or extra-long. Even the plainer ones. Held them up, checked where the hem would hit. Needed it to land nicely below the belt buckle.
- Jeans and pants: Stopped looking at waist sizes first. Looked for pants with a specific “inseam” number. Found my actual inseam length. Wow, game changer. Started finding pants with 34″ inseam easily. No more flood pants or baggy ankles!
Took these two new things home: A simple grey t-shirt marked “Tall” and a pair of dark jeans with the right length. Just tried them on together.
Dude. Instant difference. Just two things fitting right made me feel instantly less awkward. Shoulders weren’t pulling, pants weren’t dragging. Felt cleaner, put together, even in basic stuff.
The Accidental Confidence Boost
Honestly didn’t even think about “confidence” at that point. Just liked not feeling like my clothes were fighting me.
Started wearing those good-fitting basics out. Grabbed coffee. Ran errands. Didn’t get any magical attention, but I felt different. Standing up a little straighter maybe? My girlfriend noticed. Said, “You look sharper today. New jeans?” Felt good, yeah.
Added one more piece: Next week, tried a plain button-down shirt. Again, hunted down the “Tall” section. Found a light blue one in something called “athletic fit” (just means a bit more room in the arms/shoulders, I think). Took it home.
Tried it untucked over those dark jeans. Looked in the mirror. It actually looked intentional. Like I chose this outfit. Not just grabbed random stuff. That feeling? That’s where the “confident” thing started creeping in. It wasn’t loud. It was quiet. Like, “Yeah, this works. I’m good.”
Biggest Takeaway? Don’t Overcomplicate It
Thinking back, those fancy guides weren’t wrong, exactly. They just didn’t tell me the absolute first step. Before patterns or colors or fancy layers?
Just find stuff that fits your shape. Sounds stupid simple. But man, for tall guys like us, it’s 90% of the battle. When your sleeves hit your wrist bone, not halfway up your forearm… when your pants aren’t showing off your socks… you automatically look less awkward. And looking less awkward? That’s where looking good starts.
My “lanky long style journey” wasn’t about dressing super fancy. It was about fixing the little annoyances that made me feel dumb. Turns out, solving those is the simplest way to actually feel confident in your own skin (and clothes!). Who knew?
