Banana Republic is problematic for bigger guys. From their sexist catalogue shoots to their ads hung up around New York City promising you’ll attain some farcical level of success if you buy their linen shirts; they’ve long struggled with the public image of who they want to dress and who they actually dress. But their true crime lies in the cuts of their clothing.
Let’s just say I’m built more like Walter White in season five than James Franco’s version. When I first started shopping at Banana Republic in the late 80s I was a preppy teen looking for some Harvard-worthy blazers and plaid button downs to wear while I pretended to study. Little did I know that those safari-inspired dream-waist coats weren’t actually going to make me look dashing.
Flash forward thirty years and I still wear Banana Republic. Frequently.
I work in the professional world and have done so for almost as long as I’ve been shopping at Banana Republic.
So I feel pretty confident that I understand how their clothes fit…or don’t fit. Because here’s the thing about Banana Republic clothing; almost everything does not and will not fit you how you want it to. If you’re pear-shaped like me you’ve had this experience before, I’m sure.
You wander into Banana Republic excited about the newest technology cotton blends they’re shoving down your throat and you peruse the store trying to find something that looks halfway close to your body type. You pick up a jumper that remotely looks like it would fit your shoulders and your thighs don’t autumn out. You get to the dressing room and…nothing fits.
How is this possible?? I promise yourself that you’ll never return to Banana Republic. Vows are made.
Promises to yourself you can’t keep because BR knows what they’re doing and you don’t. We’ve all been there. But after many, MANY years of making this mistake I have compiled a list of what actually fits at BR and what doesn’t.
Consider this your public service guide to Banana Republic. Dress shirts. Where most of our Banana Republic woes begin.
They offer Slim, Standard, and Relaxed fits. Let’s get the Skinny on these. Pun entirely intended.
Slim: Fuck this fit. Do not get any shirt in this cut. They are designed for humans whose rib cages have been magically removed by clothing gnomes whilst they slept.
You can’t move your arms past your waist in these. Additionally, their collar sizes run SMALL. I have bought shirts in every other cut and size up to accommodate the shit-tightness of their slim shirts and they still will not fit correctly around my neck.
Standard: Banana Republic must have one dude (or a team of dudes) in charge of taking their Slim shirts and just throwing more fabric at them until they vaguely resemble a human being. These aretentifully worse than their Slim option. But with the Standard, you can at least move your arms.
Relaxed: This is shockingly bad for Banana Republic. There’s just too much fabric here, guys. I don’t care if you’re hauling ass in the potato sack race, you do not need that much material in your dress shirt.
Ok but hear me out on their “Tech-Stretch” dress shirts. Ignore their dumb-ass fitting guide and get these babies in every colour. The Tech Stretch actually FITS!
It’s engineered to move with you and not cling to your every flaw (unless that’s your thing). But seriously. I now own six Tech Stretch shirts in BR and they are the only ones I wear.
Trust. Watch out for their “Non-Irons” though. Same cut as the tech versions but consistently tighter around the chest and shoulders.
Don’t believe me? Spend eight hours giving depositions and find out how miserable you feel wearing one of these shirts. Untucked shirts.
What a concept, amirite? Guys for years I thought I had an abnormal torso because every regular dress shirt I owned would ride up when I sat down. It wasn’t until I bought BR’s untucked shirts that I realised…normal shirts are actually made with enough excess material so that they CAN be tucked in.
Leading to the aforementioned “tent” look when left untucked. BR’s untucked shirts are the real deal. They actually end where they should – right around your belt buckle.
They aren’t as slim as some of their other offerings but the fit is spot on and I wish more brands would do this. Speaking of foolishness. Their Oxford cloth button downs are absolutely rubbish.
Whoever thought that all of America shared the same shoulder-to-navel ratio should be publicly flogged. If you’ve got bigger shoulders and thighs you’re fucked with these shirts. You can size up but then you’re half drowning in fabric everywhere else.
Another thing. Banana Republic trousers. Wow.
So many fits. So many problems. Skinny: No.
Slim: Better than skinny. No. Straight: Still no.
These aren’t designed for normal people. Athletic Tapered:Finally. Some truth.
Room through the seat and thighs for us normal folks who actually use our leg muscles then tapered down through the knee for a clean line. I own four pairs of these in different colours and they are my go-to casual trousers. They don’t feel like yoga trousers but give enough room for me to sit down without falling off of them.
You Might Also Like
Jeans. Meh on these guys. Oddly enough, the same size, same style, same brand, different colour will fit you completely differently at Banana Republic.
I bought two pairs of Rapid Movement jeans last year, same size, same waist, same fit, different colour. One fits. The other is mega tight across my butt and thighs and too loose in the waist and legs like someone swapped my right leg for a slightly thinner left leg and shortened my torso by three inches.
BR’s jean quality control is abysmal. Moral of the story: Try. Them.
On. Dress trousers are similarly mystifying. Slim: May as well try to cut your circulation off with these puppies.
Standard is good through the thigh but then suddenly baggy at the ankle. WTF Banana Republic? Why must you give us trouser traps from the 1980s??
When you can find them Athletic is your go-to for dress trousers. They at least recognise that us bigger dudes have arms and legs that resemble human limbs. Wait, who are you trying to kid?
Stop lying to yourself. You know you love their traveller trousers. Surprisingly stretchy.
Better cut than their chino trousers. And a waistband that will hide the fact you and your client decided to knock back a few too many drinks at happy hour. Traveller trousers are my jam for travelling and anytime I have a long client meeting where I know I’ll be sitting down for extended periods of time.
They’re comfortable enough to sleep in and still look sharp with a blazer. Jumpers. Ahhhh, jumpers.
The beautiful merino monstrosities that Banana Republic pushes year-round. Fuck these things. The mediums assume you have the body of a teenager.
The larges give you width but no additional length. So you’re either a “sausage casing” or rocking an unwelcome “crop top”. Choose your misery.
Exception: their chunky cotton jumpers and cardigans. Thicker material means less shaping around your body. Their shawl- collar cardigans have been hit-or-miss over the years, but I have one that I bought six years ago that still looks brand new and fits great through the chest without ballooning everywhere else.
Outerwear. Guys. BR gets outerwear.
Like actually understands that people might want to wear other clothes under their jackets. I’ve had great success with their top coats and mac coats. Fun fact about me, I love bomber jackets.
But the problem is that MOST brands make bombers too slim through the chest and sleeves. They fit like someone took a vacuum cleaner and sealed your skin to the jacket. Banana Republic’s actually aren’t that bad.
Roomy through the chest with enough length through the arms that you can move freely. Top pick for outerwear. Suits and blazers are tricky beasts.
Slim: Not as bad as you’d think. They actually have decent room through the chest. But_arm sleeves are jussts.
Like bananas. Seriously, who fucks with our arm proportions these days? Standard fixes the sleeve issue by making you look like you just stepped out of the Broad City archives.
There is a happy medium and it’s their “Smart” collections. Again, it’s the stupid marketing bullshit they put on the tags but all of their “smart” blazers and jackets that boast some kind of performance fabric have the best proportions out of any of their offerings. Look for stretch in the blazer descriptions or their knit blazers.
They give you more room through the back/shoulders where their “normal” blazers usually try to cut you off at the neck. And for fucks sake when you buy a blazer anywhere, get it tailored. You will never find one that fits perfectly out of the package.
That said, BR has some solid offerings for those required (or just wanting) to wear a blazer these days. Keep in mind that everything I mentioned above about their “smart” shirts applies to these as well. Stretch means room through the shoulders and chest.
I won’t lie to you, their polos aren’t great either but these have plenty of stretch through the shoulders and chest to where you don’t feel restricted if you’re lifting something heavier than your laptop. Alright alright, I’ll say it. BR’s sale rack is where it’s at.
Why?
Two words: miracle cuts. I’m sure you’ve heard this same crap about sales shopping at every article you’ve read about saving money at clothing retailers but, BR seriously overproduces alot of their “miracle cuts”.
You know, the stuff that “sells out instantly” they’re always yelling about on Instagram. Trust me when I say I’ve found some of the best fitting BR clothing hanging on their clearance racks at the end of seasons. Items that were clearly too “ busty “ or “ trunked “ for their target market fellas in their 20’s and thus sold terribly at full price.
Buy these pieces. They’re almost always worth the gamble. tl;dr version? If it looks like it fits perfectly on Banana Republic’s clothes model… it will not fit you.
Here’s what will look good on the hanger but actually fit you like a dream: BR Athletic Tapered chinos BR casual coats and jackets BR knitwear BR performance pieces Avoid their basic jumpers, Oxford shirts, anything with the tag “Slim”. Banana Republic will continue to push this image of the successful, sophisticated man in his pristine linen shirt and designer loafers. And they will fight you every step of the way when you walk into their store trying to find something that fits your actual body.
Once you let go of the need for that damn merino V-neck to give you the body of a 25-year-old personal trainer you’ll find plenty of items that fit great and don’t make you look like you work at a startup.
