Preface
The three main body types for men are ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs.
- Ectomorph – low body fat, less visible muscle definition.
- Mesomorph – athletic, low body fat.
- Endomorph – high body fat, less visible muscle definition.
We come in all shapes and sizes, but your body type lies somewhere on that spectrum.
Below, I’ll explain why fashion is oriented around the meso aesthetic. However, being ecto/endo does not necessarily imply:
- physical deficiencies
- being less fashionable
- lack of success with women
Nor does being meso mean you’re anywhere near peak physical condition. A guy can lift three times per week – no cardio or challenging sports – and eventually achieve a mesomorph body.
Meanwhile, these men have ectomorph and endomorph body types respectively, yet each are GOATs in their fields – fields which are immensely physically demanding:
Samart Payakaroon, Muay Thai.
Zydrunas Savickas, strongman.
As men, we place a heavy weight on women’s physicality, but sometimes falsely project this back onto us. Those who claim “a nice body doesn’t matter” are liars. Health matters, damn it.
However, what’s powerful in attracting women is living life with purpose, having masculine presence, and oozing charisma.
Let’s Talk About Sex: Men
Studies confirm the expected: the ideal male body, as perceived by both sexes, is an inverted trapezium from chest to hips with some muscle, i.e. mesomorph [1]. This aesthetic has 8-14% body fat, which is also optimal for testosterone production. Coincidence? I think not. It’s an outward manifestation of internal vitality.
The further body fat gets below 8%, the more health risks it poses. Women I know have often affirmed “too ripped” as unattractive, and the sub 5% body fat body builders as “gross”. On the other hand, body fat above 14% loses the meso aesthetic.
Put bluntly, dressing to your body type entails either enhancing the mesomorph aesthetic if you already have it, or stylistically rebalancing towards it if you’re ectomorph or endomorph.
Let’s see some examples:
John Travolta, Ecto
Imbalanced Aesthetic
Balanced Aesthetic
Compare the two pics from Grease. Jackets – and layering in general – can work wonders for ectomorphs by adding necessary bulk. Danny (John Travolta) from Grease has been the archetypal heartthrob generations down the line. When we think of Danny, we always think of the black jacket / white tee fit.
Note: a tighter fitted tee around the belly is better than loose if you’re layering on top.
Samart Payakaroon, Ecto
Balanced Aesthetic
Patterns on the shoulders can also add illusion of bulk, assisting ectos in meso rebalance.
Unless you’re a champion Thai boxer, you’re not going to be wearing championship belts. But note how the bulk up top is still aesthetically balancing, even for a photo.
Samart is such an icon in Thailand, and regarded as the GOAT by most. He was the first to break the mould from Muay Thai and transition to movies, a feat bigger than most of us in the West realise, as Thai boxers were seen as lower classed at the time.
Patrice O’Neal, Endo
Imbalanced Aesthetic
The tightness around his shoulders and chest does him no favours, especially with his arms folded, which narrows his shoulders even more. He looks trapezium shaped, but we want an inverted trapezium.
A tip for the big fellas: tucking your shirt in emphasises fat around the belly.
Balanced Aesthetic
This is peak endomorph styling! Let’s break it down:
- Unlike the wider brimmed fedoras Patrice typically wore, a baseball cap elongates and thus slims and frames his face.
- Wearing black is slimming
- Jackets and layering inherently adds bulk, but it’s bulk we want as it rebalances towards meso.
- This jacket especially has bulk in all the right spots through epaulettes (shoulder straps), studded arms, and breast pockets.
- The ‘V’ from his necklace adds framing to the phase. ‘V’ shapes frame mens’ faces excellently, and other forms include V neck shirts, suits, collar & tie. Best not to double up – the necklace here wouldn’t look as good with a V neck tee.
- This combination of shoulder broadening and ‘V’ framing is part of the reason why suits are a timeless fit that every man looks good in.
(Sorry for the bad pic)
- This is a top that isn’t tucked in, but doesn’t hang loose, either.
- The extension of the blue pattern broadens the shoulders for meso rebalance.
- V neck framing!
Various Mesomorphs
Balanced Aesthetic
You have a bodacious physique, but don’t try too hard.
“Understated sexy” is the mantra. Muscles that are more pronounced for men – traps, delts, lats, pecs, etc – should be visible, but not “burst” through the fibre. Instead, the fabric rests on them as a beautiful girl would rest her head (too cheesy?).
Bruce knew what’s up:
Imbalanced Aesthetic
Mesomorphs don’t have to try hard aside from finding clothes that fit right, i.e. clothes that subtly accentuate their figure, not fuck up the fit like below:
These are extreme examples of too tight / loose. I like them because they prove your fit can look bad even with the best physique on earth.
More Examples
Imbalanced – Love Is Blind Participant (Kenneth), Endo
- From the tailoring, we see it’s tight around the chest and shoulders; it doesn’t compensate for his trapezium torso.
- He’s done the top suit button done
- He’s chosen a double breasted suit. This adds bulk to the gut, and requires a tighter shoulder & chest area.
Balanced – Shah Rukh Khan, Ecto/Endo?
- Shah Rukh Khan has transitioned from ecto to meso in his career
- The shoulder seam runs nice and long for this loose fit, broadening the shoulders
- I don’t know whether he’s ecto or endo in this pic, but that’s the point – the looseness at the bottom favours for ecto body type. Our mind sees the broad shoulders, healthy BMI, and fills in the gaps. Thus, you can still rock loose fits and have the perception tuned to mesomorph.
- Again, V framing from the black shirt under
Conclusion
Fuck listing the permutations for how each type of top should fit on each type of body. Understanding the principle galvanises the fashion gears in your head. It allows you to be creative, as there’s no rigid rules to abide by.
As a last word, Patrice O’Neal is the GOAT comedian. He was overweight, but dressed with style and was fantastic with women. He also died from a stroke at 41. You don’t need a great body to get hot women, but you do need to take care of it for your own sake.
Signing off,
Sav Dean
Elaborations & Sources:
- Idea body types with ratios in one study: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0050601
