Retailers See Profits in Big-and-Tall Menswear

For as long he can remember, David Webster's love affair with clothes has bordered on obsession. Then four years ago, he gained more than 100 pounds, in part because of a malfunctioning thyroid, and could no longer fit into the Polo (RL) and Tommy Bahama labels he preferred. "The clothes I was used to wearing were about impossible to find," says the 300-pound Webster, a 54-year-old trucking company owner in Las Vegas. "It was all a bunch of cheap-looking stuff."

Until recently, big-and-tall men have had far fewer stores and styles to choose from than average-size men. "Retailers haven't made it easy," says Jason Docherty, chairman of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. (Slogan: We come in all sizes.) "There's the stigma of being a big person, and on top of it, you have to go to a special store."