please help style DH

[MrsKoala]

DH has never purchased clothes for himself other than work wear. He wears 2 pairs of primark jeans my mum bought him and loads of free t-shirts and hoodies he gets given at conferences. They are all now holey and stained.

Anyway, we've decided on a lifestyle change and he has quit his job and is consulting. But most of the work will be done from home.

He has decided to treat himself to a new wardrobe. BUT he is 'on the spectrum' and has absolute melt downs in shops. (i have the infamous 'Gap-gate' imprinted forever). He has no idea what shop sells what or even what his size is. This means i have to help him.

He likes Northface, (has a body warmer and some gifts from me from there) and is 6ft2 and 16and a half stone. XXL on top and a 38/40waist, 34leg. However, he doesn't want to look as tho he stepped out of a Northface catalogue. So needs similar but different types of stuff. (i dress quite smartly so have no idea unfortunately).

Any advice gratefully received.

I'm a big fan of J Crew for casual wear

www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shirts.jsp

thanks, looks nice but a bit 'slim fit' for DH. I don't think his physique could carry it off. He has big thighs and legs from lots of running and climbing, so can't do those tapered trousers.

I found a couple of nice shirts on the Debenhams website a while back -they have quite a range, in styles and budgets. I think he quite liked some of the casual Mantaray ones before, as a step up from an all tee-shirt wardrobe.

What was the GAP meltdown? Was it just gap or was it because if you look to the middle distance it can look like a womans' shop?

One of my uni friends would literally panic if he suddenly thought he was in a woman's shop - amusing in M&S when they'd put female mannequins on the way into the men's area! :)

It does depend on what consulting, but I think that good smart-but-not-Dad-wash jeans, a loose informal suit-shape jacket (eg GAP, Next, TopShop premium range (only in some stores), with a smart v-neck t-shirt underneath, or long sleeved polo, or long sleeved smart t-shirt (no logo!) is fine for most meetings.

Where suits are asked for, Next are pretty good - you can buy trousers separately so that size mismatches are reduced, They have several cuts for different body shapes so honestly ask the assistant - a friend of mine went in and they literally took him through trying on all types of suit, trousers and shirts.

A good but slightly casual suit jacket is great for throwing over anything and looking smarter.. BTW I got most of these ideas from Mens Health - they had a '28 things you need in your wardrobe' article that was quite good - if a little too chino -heavy

Oh yes, and get a good pair of brown and a good pair of black shoes/boots that are not so dressy they look stupid with jeans, but are good enough to go with a suit.. I think you an safely reject Men's Health's espadrills recommendations.. :)

Thanks Yohed. Sorry if i was unclear, he will still wear his current (bespoke suits and Duchamp shirts) stuff for any meetings so doesn't need to invest in any work wear (god no - he loves shopping for that, so we have enough for a lifetime - about 30 shirts ). But because the lions share of the work will be done from home he wont need anything smart at all.

He loves bright colours and funky things from Camden market. He is a computer geek and likes t-shirts with 'designs' on . BUT he is 33 and a dad, so i don't want to go out with someone dressed as a teen toker!

He went to TKmaxx the other day and came back with pin striped trousers with combat pockets and something written in silver across the arse. WTF! and a pair of shiney, paisley type black trousers a Nigerian prince would be proud of - 2 sizes too big. i despair.

Good idea about the shoes tho.

The Gap melt down was when he needed jeans. We hadn't been together long. So we popped into Gap while out for lunch. We got in there and the sheer amount of jeans, colours and styles totally threw him. He had no idea the difference between styles. Hated anything which wasn't jet solid black (all the stuff was distressed or faded - i tried to say that solid black was a bit heavy metallish but he wouldn't have it). The lady came over and asked his size - he didn't know (had only ever been to a tailors). He refused to try anything on and stormed out. Everyone was and i was