XL’s Featured Tribes Men: Philip Badewa

1. My biggest fashion obstacle has always been finding clothes that fit my frame and my lifestyle. I am a Pre Med student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, so I always find it difficult finding clothes that look good on my frame and are professional at the same time.

2. I am from Birmingham, Al. I think my area is pretty urban in its own respect, and it is a melting pot of people from every walk of life, so it’s very fashion fluid. What I have enjoyed out of my city, is that people here, especially on my campus, are fashion forward. I’ve been able to take things from everyone and make it fit my style.

3. Especially for the big guys like me, Bootcut jeans are a fashion miss. I know it’s impossible to find that pair of jeans that are 40-46W/ 32-36L that aren’t bootcut. What I’ve done is find a really good pair of jeans that fit me through the thighs and taper down at the leg and they are the Levi’s  Athletic fit jeans  (541). I go a step further to taper my pants and take them to a local alteration store. There is no shame, I even take my girl  along with me, take them there and size them how you want and if they charge you anything over 15$ find somewhere else. I promise you, everything you put on will look 10xs better with a tapered fit.

4. My biggest style is a classic all white low top canvas shoe/sneaker. I have about 4-5 in rotation. They go with everything. My favorite 2 are probably the Adidas Stan Smith and the Nike Cortez low classic. Both are timeless sneakers and go with anything. Buy a canister of Never Wet and they will never get dirty, I can speak from experience.