button downs

The constant pursuit for a good button-down. Being in my 9-5 clothes most of the time, it's important to figure this one out.

In the men's section, the sizes are generally too big, boxy with too much material in the underarm area, wide sleeves. Grab them from the boy's section and the length proportions are thrown off. The women's section often has some strange awful touch, like poofy shoulders or no more buttons at the bra line.

And then I ran into the brand Ben Sherman. I'm still left wishing I could tailor, but this line consistently does alright. I've found two shirts on sale at Nordstrom Rack, so it's not necessary to pay the website's listed price.

I have yet to check it out, but a friend posted the following: "As for men's shirts I find a lot of stuff on Asos men's in xxs fits me well and fitted. And forever 21 men's in small. Zara men's in small as well. Urban in small or extra small. But pretty much Asos has so many nice things. Button ups so far has been the hardest, jcrew women's tall seems to be the best for me and my androgynous look."

I know quite a few people that have trouble with button-ups due to the size of their chest, especially if they're on the short side. Interested to hear more about what brands work for them.

In the end, learning DIY tailoring seems to be making more and more sense...

Baseball caps

Team hats that are in right now are often too tall for my head but Ebbets Field Flannels in Pioneer Square is a local shop with throwback wool hats in a shorter option. I picked up the Seattle Rainiers and definitely want to head back. The guys running the shop were friendly and knowledgeable.

Swimmies!

An autostraddle blog post and trip to underu4men on the hill got me interested in trunks for the summer as a good middleground swimmy.

I fell for a favorite pair of sauvage trunks because the length is more flattering on my legs than board shorts, the band is flexible and has a tie (reducing uncomfortable squeeze on the hips), and their selection of patterns and colors is better than anything speedo has on display at the local sports store. I should mention that the clerk at underu4men was incredibly nice and happy to help me troubleshoot to find the right pair. Same goes for vans and zumiez staff in Northgate, though all they had were board shorts.

Getting excited for summer 2013 with friends, food, and vino on Mad Beach!

pants

A few months ago I needed new pants.

My co-worker brought up the Complete Looks for Men of the Nordstrom's website (what's a credit card for?) but I knew already that the store wouldn't that puffy vest in anything short of a men's medium and the toe box on those boots was going to be 12 inches wide. For some reason we looked at the women's styles, too. That was awful.

I love the idea of the Complete Looks pages--my style sense is really Hanes tees and jeans. We should get to have something like this, too, right? A place to share general ideas, stories, and local specifics.

• What brands are good for button-ups that aren't too boxy? Who tends to have their men's shirts in extra small?
• Is it worth it to keep trying the little boy's section?
• Where can I find jeans that don't have that long guy's crotch thing going on, but that aren't all in glitter wash?
• I have no idea how to sew. Where can a kid go in Seattle to get stuff tailored, and can it be affordable?

I ran the anecdote by a few friends, and everyone said that they had experienced it themselves or knew someone that stressed about it.

So I want to hear from my androgynous crew in Seattle. What's a kid to do?