“When I was younger, I thought you shouldn’t really do that; you’re going to want to fit in with everyone else,” Newman said. “As I got older, I just realized that you should do what you want to do, so I started dressing more the way I wanted to.”
Today, Newman’s 48k TikTok and 105k Instagram followers bear witness to his personal style journey — which features many bespoke suits, colorful silk ties, and luxury suspenders — where he dishes comebacks as slick as his style advice. The Big Sartorialist chats about his foray into fashion, his Boston style pet peeves, plus tips for finding a fit as great as his own.
What inspired you to post your outfits online?
I started posting because I liked to follow guys on Instagram to see their style, their choices, and to get inspired by them. But everybody I saw was stick thin. I’d find a lot of people saying, “If you’re a big guy, you can’t dress well. That’s just for these guys who are small or thin, the classic model-type that you see.” I was like, well, if I post stuff that I’m wearing and show people you can do that, it’ll help people think, maybe, this isn’t just for this particular group.
How important is it for you to challenge these misconceptions with your content?
I try to focus on the positives of trying to inspire people, but it is, in some ways, a challenge. If your instinct is that [these are] the only people that should be able to have any kind of style because of their body type or some other aspect of them, then that’s incorrect.
You have such a unique wardrobe. How would you describe your personal style approach?
My personal style is a formal style. The 1920s, 1930s, that [era] is probably the most inspiring to me. The style at the time had some of the best looks. I thought it was very put together. I always admired the structure around it and that kind of discipline, too.
The negative thing about having Instagram is that I’ll look back at things I [wore] in the past and say, “What was I thinking?” But it’s a journey. The whole thing is, you start to figure out, alright, I’m going to try this, and if I don’t like it, I’ll try something new. Eventually, you start to get to your own style.
Do you feel like today’s fashion is missing something by focusing more on casual attire?
I do. It’s kind of a loss of formality that we have. There’s this overall trend that [is] definitely toward more casual looks, but I’m not convinced that’s what everybody necessarily wants. I think people go with what they see around them and feel comfortable as long as everybody’s doing the same thing. But there’s a discipline when you have a style of your own. There’s a formality that’s nice to see in certain situations, and I do think that’s lost in our society today.
You recently shared a funny clip assessing the state of fashion in Boston. Are there any local trends (or faux pas) you wish we could change?
I don’t want to sound judgy. I’m not here to judge anyone. It’s obviously harder in the summer around here. People often express to me how dress clothes are so uncomfortable. People have [associations] around nice clothes equal work, or nice clothes equal something that they don’t want to be associated with. There’s this psychological aspect, I think.
But when I look around, it’s this constant trend toward, “Well, anywhere I want to go, I’ll just wear sweatpants.” There are places for it. I’m not saying there’s something wrong that. But yeah, I have a pet peeve around that.
My other pet peeve is, if I see a guy in a suit and he wears a backpack. That’s just something that absolutely makes me grind my teeth. Totally get why they’re doing it. It’s easier to walk around. You have all your stuff there.
Do you have any advice for men on how to get a better fit and up their style game?
It’s really just taking it to a tailor and having somebody that you can go to who can make the right adjustments for you, whether it be the length or the fit. A bigger problem for bigger guys is [most stores] max out at a certain size, and you’re trying to fit into something that doesn’t necessarily fit with your body. I think that’s a problem with the mass production and why a tailor can really help you.
My other piece of advice, for bigger guys especially, is if you’re wearing nicer clothes, try to wear braces or suspenders and not belts. Especially if you have any kind of belly, [a belt is] going to just fall underneath it, and you really need your pants to stay at your true waist. Wearing braces helps [pants] to keep up there. It stays in a nice place, and it really looks good.
This interview was edited and condensed.
