Shortcut to Success: Beverly Hills designer suits up men 5’8’’ and under

AsianWeek Shortcut to Success: Beverly Hills designer suits up men 5?8?? and under

By: Wendy Leung, Jul 07, 2008
Tags: Commerce |




LOS ANGELES — At 5 foot 4 inches, Timothy Vuong is familiar with shopping challenges. But when he started looking for a suit for his June wedding, the challenge became an unusually tall order.
“Everywhere I went, they couldn’t fit me,” Vuong said. “They started giving me short, fat man suits that looked like muumuus on me.”
The Beverly Hills shop Jimmy Au’s For Men 5’8’’ and Under eventually rescued the groom-to-be. It’s something that Jimmy Au, the 5-foot-2-inch owner has done nearly all his life — outfitting those ignored by mainstream designers.
Au recently won the Asian Business Leadership Award by Wells Fargo Bank and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce for his business concept.
At the awards banquet, Au’s son, Alan Au, who does most of the boutique’s marketing, asked a crowd of mostly APAs to raise their hands if they were 6 foot or taller. A couple did.
He asked the same question for those 5 foot 8 inches or shorter, and nearly three-quarters of the group raised their hands.
It’s not surprising considering the average American male is 5 foot 9 inches tall.
Tall men have Casual Male XL. Guys of average height can go to any department store. That leaves shorter men to cuff their jeans and bear it. Some are even forced to shop in the children’s section.
“Most of the time, they have to have a tailor shorten their clothes,” Jimmy Au said. “Why go to all the trouble? Why not buy something that fits right?”
Vuong said he typically spends an average of $12 to $15 to tailor each pair of pants and jeans purchased at other retailers.
Oftentimes, the proper fit is much more than just shorter sleeves. Au’s store — which specializes in suits but also sells leather jackets, jeans and khakis — carries styles with narrower lapels, smaller armholes and pants with a shorter rise. It’s all about proportion, and customers can feel the difference.
“I can go elsewhere for clothes that are appropriate lengthwise,” said Woody Wong, a 5-foot-6-inch customer. “But (Jimmy Au) makes people feel good about themselves.”
Alan Au said the store is especially popular for men who wear sizes 35 to 37 short.
“Sometimes they say, ‘I’ll take everything,’” he said.
Jimmy Au got his start fitting the hard-to-fit while he was a student in Hawai‘i and came up with the idea of importing custom suits from Hong Kong. The China-born businessman began in the back of his car and drove from customer to customer with little more than a tape measure and a keen eye.
Later, he specialized in designing for jockeys, traveling from California to Long Island race tracks. Au eventually became the official clothing provider for the Jockey Guild of America.
Now he oversees a store located a stone’s throw from Rodeo Drive and caters to a glitterati list that includes Mark Wahlberg, Rex Lee and Danny DeVito. In the fall, the father-and-son team will launch their Web site for online purchases.
These days, more designers are eyeing the shorter dresser, but compared to the taller men’s and women’s market, Au is still pretty lonely out there. Alan Au said the problem is that men aren’t very good at speaking up about wardrobe needs. The reason the petite line has become common place is because women customers are outspoken, Alan Au said.
Until more labels smarten up, the Au team is happy to dominate this niche market. Alan Au said his father’s store gives shorter men that unfamiliar feeling of browsing at a store and finding something that needs little or no altering.
“The richest guy in the world can get things custom-made; that’s not a problem,” he said. “But there’s instant gratification when you can walk out of a store with something that just fits.”
Go skinny: When it comes to ties, go narrow. Ties that are 2 1/2” to 3 1/4” at its widest should be enough.
Aim high: Save the flashy designs for ties and handkerchiefs. Wearing colorful socks just to match your shirt only draws the attention downward.

Go for the short rise: Stick to traditional pants that have a flat front and a short rise. If you have to go pleated, try shallower pleats.
Related articles:
Dressing the Petite for Success: Thai American launches clothing line for women 5’2” and under

I'm torn. On one hand it kind of lends itself to the whole "Asians are short" idea which is sometimes not true and artificially limiting when you consider each generation in the US gains height, usually, and may not be under the average to begin with.

On the other hand, Asians do often have different physical geometry. It's such a hassle to get shirts large enough to fit my husband's shoulders but cut in to a higher waist. And don't get me started on pants. He has to live in cargo pants. Shopping for clothes in Taiwan hasn't been much better because he's always slightly larger than the large. We went to tailored clothes in the past few years and it's been sublime. Everything fits and looks snappy.

I can tell my son is going to have pants issues. He's going to be taller but he's got that hip and leg geometry of his dad.

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