Menswear chain bets big on upscale clothes for plus-size guys

Bigger is better for Tim White, a 29-year-old cheap mbt sandals hairstylist.

The Bridgeport resident takes pride in his clothing. But his mbt shoes 52-inch waist makes it no easy task to shop for clothes at a typical men's store.

All but a few of his clothes come from Destination XL, a Canton, Mass.-based cheap mbt boots retailer that's trying to rebrand itself as a one-stop shop for big and tall men who are interested in upscale, private-label offerings as well as designer togs from Michael Kors, Brooks Brothers, True Religion, Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger.

Making Over Clergy Fashion

“We have seasons, and items go in and out of style just like ugg 5825 classic short the fashion world,” Mr. Fendler said. But “our style changes are driven by evolutions in holy ceremonies. Nobody would call us the most fashion-forward company in the marketplace.”

The family-run company has been making clerical clothing and supplies since 1892, when an uncle of Mr. Fendler’s grandfather started the business near a seminary in Chelsea. Today, CM Almy is based in Armonk, ugg 5825 N.Y., with a showroom in Greenwich, Conn. Mr. Fendler’s brother and the company’s vice president, Michael Fendler, runs the manufacturing end of the business in Maine. Among their clients are Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and the priests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Clerical designs are bound to tradition and slow to change. But this fall for the first time, Stephen Fendler is revamping CM Almy’s women’s line of everyday clothing to keep up with increased demand. In 2012, more than 20 percent of clergy were ugg 5815 women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with 14 percent 10 years ago. And Mr. Fendler estimates that about half the graduates from Episcopal seminaries are women.