NP: Tortoise, It's All Around You

This article caught my eye the other day, mostly because I had the same problem from the other direction. Banana Republic and Express both carry off-the-rack suit separates, which are handy for those of us who are attending weddings the next day and finally threw out all their old suits from ten-plus years ago. Not that I know anyone like that.

Anyway, this hypothetical person wears an extra-large shirts, which translated to a 46- to 48-inch chest size in suit terms. As policy, neither Banana Republic nor Express carry larger than a 44 in their retail stores.

No, really. They sell extra-large shirts, but not extra-large suit jackets? On what planet does this make any sense whatsoever?

Fortunately, a third option that did not involve tailoring also presented itself, so I -- okay, it was me, like you couldn't tell -- didn't have to slum it at the wedding, but I'm almost insulted by this. These stores are explicitly telling me that they don't want my business. I'm not even going to get into the collective widening of American, or at least Americans, because I think this only tangentially hits that topic. I'm not some kind of giant, Gheorge Murasan-esque freak or anything. I'm just a 6'2" guy who needs a frickin' suit.