I started Wadlow for reasons that are not noble. I started Wadlow because I was tired of this.
This happened every time I was trying to find something to wear.
Like I said before, as a 6’4″ man, I experience a lot of frustration when searching for clothes in the Montreal area (Sainte-Catherine St, the Mall, online stores, etc.). You find a great-looking shirt, try it on, and the shoulders fit well, but the body of the shirt only reaches your stomach. You then have to buy the same shirt in a larger size, and it looks awful because it fits too loosely. You end up returning the shirt to the store and leave the store empty-handed.
That was just normal for me. For years.
Why Is It So Hard to Find Clothing for Tall Men?
Retail clothes are sold in countless stores all over Montreal. Why does it have to be this hard to find adequate clothes for tall guys in 2026?
The reason is that most clothing manufacturers increase the width of the garment to accommodate larger shoulders. Length gets increased in roughly the same proportion as width. But because taller men typically have slender builds, the shirt ends up looking oversized and out of proportion.
Here is what the typical tall guy shopping experience looks like:
- Find a shirt you actually like
- Try it on — shoulders fit, but it barely covers your stomach
- Size up — now it fits like a bag
- Put it back. Leave empty-handed.
Pants are an even greater challenge.
The waist may fit alright, but the 30-inch inseam makes for capri-lengths.
Stores, both brick-and-mortar as well as online, carry all sizes, but all are resized up in proportion to fit larger body types. The length of the pants is hardly ever increased in proportion to the height of the wearer.
After a while, one stops hoping that another shirt will finally fit well. That’s what I did for a long time. Instead, I start by determining what the least terrible option would be. It’s not really how one should have to go shopping.
Longer, Not Wider: How Wadlow Makes Clothing That Actually Fits Tall Men
This is the core concept behind Wadlow. And it’s quite simple, really.
Wadlow clothes are not just tall versions of regular shirts. We design from scratch for the taller guy—taking into account where his shoulders will lie, where the end of his sleeves will be, and how the shirt will fall over his body.
A tall guy shouldn’t have to buy an XL shirt just to get enough length when he’s genuinely a medium.
Tall guys come in a variety of shapes and sizes. What fits a 6’6″ / 190 lb guy will not fit a 6’6″ / 280 lb guy the same way. So our approach is to make clothing based on feedback from actual tall guys about how they want their clothes to fit.
Our specific market is men from 6’0″ to 7’0″ — and I am one of them.
Why I Manufacture Tall Men’s Clothing in Montreal
As a brand, starting out already presents many challenges. Local manufacturing adds to this.
We manufacture locally because I can be closer to what we are designing. The wait time for overseas samples is far too long. I can be there to see how something fits and make changes immediately.
Manufacturing locally costs more — I know that. But I am not building Wadlow to make cheap long t-shirts. The weight and feel of the fabrics, how the shirt moves on the body — all of it matters.
Achieving the correct fit for tall men takes time. Adding a few inches to a regular shirt does not make a tall shirt. The collar, the sleeves, the fabric weight — every factor changes how the shirt drapes on a tall man’s body. This is why every iteration is better than the last.
Being involved in the manufacturing process here in Montreal allows me to have a direct hand in how Wadlow clothing is made.
This Was Never Just About T-Shirts
Being tall is made up of lots of small everyday adjustments.
Folding yourself into airplane seats. Ducking through door frames. Hearing the basketball joke for the hundredth time — because apparently nobody gets tired of that one.
At the end of the day, looking for tall clothes in Montreal stores can be very disappointing. You scan through all the racks hoping to find something and leave with nothing. If you’ve ever wanted to refresh your wardrobe but couldn’t find anything worth buying as a tall guy, you already know what I mean.
I’m not trying to solve every problem that comes with being tall.
As for the clothes part — that one we can fix.
Most tall guys know the feeling: how often throughout the day you have to pull your shirt back down. Getting out of a car. Standing up from a meeting. Reaching into your back pocket. It’s annoying enough to notice, never annoying enough to mention. But it adds up.
When something fits, you stop thinking about it. That’s the goal with Wadlow — clothes so well made, you forget you’re wearing them.
What Tall Men Are Saying About Wadlow
I receive messages from customers who appreciate the clothes we create here.
A lot of guys have spent years trying to find a long enough tee, pants with an actual inseam, or a hoodie with sleeves long enough to reach their wrists.
Their feedback shapes what we build. And honestly, it confirmed what I already knew — I was not the only one dealing with this. Not even close.
Here’s what we currently offer, all built for taller frames from the start:
- Pon’tee — 330 GSM high-density fabric. Structured, dressed-up, sharp.
- Essential T-shirt — everyday comfort with the length most brands skip
- Hoodies and crewnecks — longer sleeves, longer body, proportioned for tall frames
- Signature Pants — 36-inch inseam
That last one. If you’ve spent your whole life rolling up the bottom of every pair of pants you own, you know exactly what 36 inches means.
We need to keep building. Eventually, a tall man will be able to build most of his wardrobe through Wadlow — streetwear for everyday, cleaner pieces for when you want to dress it up.
A Montreal Brand Making Tall Men’s Clothing for the World
The problem for tall men transcends the Quebec border. It is a Toronto problem, a New York problem, a Chicago problem, a London problem.
Tall men everywhere face the same struggles. The short sleeves don’t care what city you’re in.
My intention is that Wadlow Clothing will be the brand that tall men refer their friends to before they even click to look at the clothes.
Tall guys share a list of discomforts most other guys can’t relate to. They get the frustration immediately, without explanation. The adjustments, the compromises, the moments that are a little ridiculous but also genuinely annoying.
That’s what For Tall, By Tall means. Everything we build at Wadlow reflects our experiences and the solutions we’ve found as tall men.
Getting Dressed Shouldn’t Be the Hard Part for Tall Men
Visit Wadlow Clothing and check out the full tall men’s clothing collection.
contributed post by Olivier Grondin
