Were there no 6'2" people born before the 1950's?

I definitely understand! I am 6'4" and weigh a lean 245 lbs. and it incredibly difficult to find clothing that properly fits. Today's XXL clothing is more designed for width then height. Now, I am riled up!

 

Yes there were, you just have to search the ends of the earth, and then pay through the nose for anything vintage.

 

Yup, I'm with you guys. Mostly have to get repros. Nothing hardly ever comes up that's vintage in my size.
Big guys unite. I think we have a lawsuit - let me call Larry H. Parker and will get back to you guys lol

 

For the record, my great uncle Frank, was 6' 3" in his stockings. He was born in 1918. My brother who is also rather tall inherited his wardrobe. Lucky boy.

I do sympathise with you chaps on the clothing front tho'.

 

It's even worse if you're 6'1", 173 lbs. and have longer arms than most people who are 6'4". :-/

 

I agree...but it's not just limited to vintage. I look around and see a LOT of big corn-fed boys that look just like me, but whenever I go to buy clothes, it's like shopping in the boy's department. And worse, it seems that lots of retailers and manufacturers seem to believe that all big guys wear are novelty t-shirts, hoodies and sweatpants. If (God forbid) we actually need to dress up for "a marryin' or a buryin'", then polyester heavy suit separates will do just fine. Despite all of the media coverage relative to the growing problem (no pun intended) of obesity in the U.S., clothing makers seem to be living in a cave.

 

6'1 and about 220. I feel your pain.

 

If you lived in Scandinavia or northern Germany, you would find more large vintage jackets. Americans are a little like the Dutch. The bulk of our culture started out small and has grown much taller over the past 70 years. In Holland, the average dutch man was the shortest in Europe in the 1800's. Now look at the Dutch: they are the tallest per capita population of men on earth if you average them all together.

Diet certainly plays a factor, but it doesn't explain everything. Genes and an influx of taller northern Europeans played a roll, although most of those people did not immigrate after 1950. Rather, American women tended to breed with taller men selectively. What does this mean? They cheated on their shorter husbands with some regularity in order to cultivate taller genes in at least one of their children. This means that a smaller breeding pool of taller men proliferated more genes laterally within the culture. Milk, beef, and other rich foods created more height. Milk is designed to make a calf into a cow, which is much more growing than a little boy who grows into an adult man. Steroids in milk may have played a factor, as well, but most people of northern European lineage are actually shrinking now a little. Fathers are often a hair taller than their sons these days.

The great prevalence of synthetic estrogen in plastics products could certainly play a role in the slightly less robust height. Americans are currently under attack by pesticides, plastic toxins, GMO's, food additives and sweeteners, and a whole host of environmental poisons. The oil "spill" in the Gulf destroyed our food source and laced shrimp and fish with corexit, a very toxic substance. We are being poisoned systematically and deliberately. Obama has filled his cabinet with goons from Monsanto who are setting policy for trade, agriculture, and the food industries. Republicans are no better in this respect. Both sides of the bi-partisan pyramid converge at the top.

If you want to see the difference between Americans now and 70 years ago, go sit in movie theater seats from the 1930's. They are quite tiny. But not as small as suits of armor at the Metropolitan museum of art in NYC. Most soldiers from three hundred years ago have the stature of boys today, not men. While at the Met, I noticed one exception. A suit of armor from three hundred years ago that would have fit a 6"0 man and that looked like something from Robocop. Very modern looking. In fact, it looked very much like modern stainless steel and it had all steel working parts with no cloth or leather on the outside. It definitely stood out next to the tiny little rotting suits of armor from France, England, Spain, and Portugal. Most of them had interwoven fabrics that were in the process of becoming filth and dirt, reverting back into their organic constituent elements. Where was the all metal stainless steel armor from? Northern Germany. Germans, especially those of "Hessian" stock, are truly huge people who possess the largest skulls per capita on earth. Germans have also loved leather for centuries. I'm sure that in Germany, Hamburg in particular must have more than its share of large jackets in vintage shops when compared with shops in England or America. The only reason why German jackets from the 60's and 70's were not as popular as American jackets has to do with money. Germany was still rebuilding its decimated economy and culture back then when fewer people could afford nice jackets. Those who could, were quietly buying vintage jackets from the previous two or three generations, which belonged to a culture that was notorious for great quality and generous thickness and girth. The Nazis were highly problematic in countless ways, but their skill and nostalgically evocative designs with leather are indisputable. To the victors go the spoils. England and America were making very cool jackets back then. I'm actually surprised that there are not more German jacket makers today with world famous standing. Perhaps I am just not aware of them. At any rate, Germans from the 60's and 70's certainly had nice motorcycles to ride, and they probably bought a fair amount of special batches of leather jackets from the big leatherers in England, and probably also from America. Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia is where you would find interesting vintage jackets in your height and size with more regularity.

 

I don't know where you got your insights from about Germans being taller than Americans 70 years ago, but let me assure you, tall sizes are nearly impossible to find in German vintage clothing. 20 years ago, in pre-internet times, I stopped wearing vintage because at that time it was virtually impossible for me to find anything I could wear.

 

Wow, that's very interesting! I had no idea. The center scrum on my rugby team had both parents from Northern Germany. He was 6"11 and massive. Maybe he was just a fluke. Then again, in Berlin things might be different than in Hamburg. Berlin is very far east with a different population that the north.

Today, the average German is a full 1.5 inches taller than the average American, which is the same as the average Brit.

Here's a fact I'll bet you did not know: back in the mid 1800's the tallest people on earth were the American plains indians--taller than the Hessians! Also, there were a few tribes down in Florida with an average height of 7 feet tall. They were extinct by the mid 1800's, so that is why they are not listed as being taller than the plains indians. There are still indians down in Florida that are very tall and very handsome/beautiful. I was once pulled over for speeding in the Bayou of Louisiana for speeding. The deputy was at least 6"10 and he was definitely indian looking.

Here is the link to wiki on height: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height. The average height of Americans has dropped an inch in the past generation. The average height of Germans has gone up 1.5 inches in the past generation. Germans are much smarter than we brainwashed Americans about things like pesticides, GMO's, hormones, fluoride, etc. Germans seems less indoctrinated by large corporations than Americans. Over here, it's a hopeless battle to keep the nation free from pollutants in food, but the bovine growth hormone fight is one small victory. Now at least dairy farmers can print on the label of their product whether their milk has BZT in it. A few years ago, they were legally unable to even label their milk as hormone free.

I still think the Dutch surge in height between 1890 and 1950 is amazing. The wealth of Holland blossomed in that time when it became a banking center for Europe, along with Switzerland. I'm sure that was the biggest contributing factor. The royal House of Orange in Holland is as rich as the House of "Windsor" which is actually more German than British. Anyway, I would say the diet of the Dutch is the main reason they shot up in height, and also because a lot of tall and attractive people moved there from northern Europe to get jobs, kind of like the spiked gene pool in LA, which is weird if you've been there. A lot of tall attractive people live in LA.

The American plains indians ate buffalo as their primary source of protein, along with grains. Buffalo is far laner and superior to beef. I eat buffalo every chance I get. There is a burger place down the street from me that serves delicious buffalo burgers.

Good to hear from you! Large sizes go fast everywhere. I can never find leather in my size in Oregon USA and I'm only 5"11. Hope you have a good weekend, Rudie.

 

My son is 6'4", a muscular 190#.

Even buying modern clothes that don't hang off of him like a circus tent is a chore.

 

It's not only height that causes a problem.... frustratingly, I find I'm just one or maybe two sizes larger than 90% of the men's vintage that has survived. Partly this is due to poor diet and lack of exercise, partly genetics..... but I do have a broad shouldered fram that cuts out and awful lot of stuff. I'd have been grand when I was eighteen, but now, nearly twenty years later......!

I wish there was more men's repro. It's actually not that hard to find a decent tailoring option and have suits or blazers done, but for easycare, day to day stuff other than that it can be a real pain. So, so many places for women's repro (far more than just dresses, which are so much easier to make of course), and hardly any for men. What are they thinking? Not all of us vintage men spend all our time in repro ww2 uniforms or dressed like Johnny Strabler. Bah. Grumble. Etc...

 

I remember my 6'4" 190 mountain bike/ basketball days wherein nothing ever seemed to hang right. And although the internet helps XXL differs from brand to brand. It's a crapshoot out there.

 

I'm a measly 6'1" with long arms. I've pretty well given up on anything 'vintage' except hats and scarves. With a size 7 3/8 XLO, hats can be a challenge too.

 

Spew... way to make me lose my coffee big guy! I'm with ya! Just lemme clean up first!

Worf

 

I'm 6'-4", 225 now. Easier than last year @ 252lbs. When I look back at my last drivers' license, it shows me @ 195 lbs. Clothes were pretty easy to find, sans shoes (14) and dress shirts for wearing a tie - 18-1/2" neck, 37.5" sleeves.
It's been a pain since Jr high, where I had to wear size 12 shoes. it destroyed my feet playing football, soccer and track. I literally had big toes that were 2x their normal size from swelling and infection because we could not get size 13/14 sneakers. Man, I know guys think it's cool to be bigger, but let me tell you, it ain't all good!

 

lol - sorry friend, I hate when that happens

 

I have 37.5" sleeves as well. Only I am 186cm/a bit over 6'1", 15-1/2" neck and 40" chest. Go figure.

 

Yeah, the shoulders are the problem for me, with vintage. I'm a vintage-friendly 5'9 1/2 but it's rare to find something that fits me across the shoulders that wasn't cut for someone decidedly overweight... UK vintage, that is. US vintage is a whole different matter.