Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we'll discuss how a
dress shirt should fit in your collar, in your sleeve, in your cuff, in your arm
hole, in your chest, as well as in your waist. We also touch on slim fit, skinny
fit ,and classic fit, so next time you buy a shirt, you end up with something that
fits you really well, it's more comfortable, and makes you look the part.
Dress shirts today are not just the foundation of classic men's wardrobe
that protect your outer garments from your body but they're also worn on
their own and because of that, fit is even more important because having a lot
of excess fabric around your waist just looks unattractive. Now, let's be clear on
what we mean about fit. Retailers often mean the cut of a particular shirt and
they call something slim fit but we talk about how it actually fits on your body.
In my experience, finding the right fit is so much more complex than just choosing
the slim fit, skinny fit, or classic fit in your dress shirt. Why? Because we're all
humans, we're different, we're asymmetrical, and one simple fit doesn't mean it fits
you in the sleeve or in the chest just because it's slim enough in the waist.
Unlike many other garments such as your waistcoat, your pants, your jacket, it is
essential to get the shirt fit right from the get-go because there's much
less room for alterations. Alterations in dress shirts are not just pricey
compared to the upfront cost but apart from adding darts in the back, they're
also visible which is unattractive. Why, you might wonder? Well first of all,
there's no fabric reserve in the seams unlike with a pair of pants or a jacket
and all the seams are exposed. An alterations tailor will likely not have
the same thread and it'll be difficult to replicate the exact stitch density and
look of the original shirt. So let's say your sleeve has to be shortened, because
it can't be lengthened, you would still see the different stitching on the cuff
compared to the rest of shirt and it just looks odd. With that being said, if you
have fit challenges because your body is very asymmetrical or you maybe have one
arm that's considerably longer and the other
one, a made-to-measure shirt or a true bespoke shirt slash custom shirt is
probably the way to go for you to achieve a perfect fit.
Fortunately, customized shirts are much less expensive now than they were in the
early 2000s. There are online MTM companies starting at $40 a shirt so
even if you don't have a big budget, you can still get a shirt where the fit is
customized to your body. So without further ado, how exactly should a dress
shirt fit? Well, it shouldn't be too loose but also not too tight but that
doesn't really help you, does it? First, let's talk about the armholes of a shirt
which is a factor that is often neglected. Ideally, you want them to be as
small as possible without restricting you when you move your arms. So what does
that mean, specifically? You should be able to pull a little bit in your
armhole, there should be a little bit room so when you reach forward,
there is really no restriction and you can just move freely. Why is this
important? Well, if your arm holes are too big, every time you lift your arms, you
will pull out shirt fabric around your waist and it either comes untucked or you
just have puddling fabric. Now, if you have a jacket, that may not be so obvious but
once you take your jacket off, there's puddling fabric around your waistband
which just looks awful. Well, I could just use sock suspenders, you might say, and
yes, you're right, but it's just another element in your wardrobe, it's
uncomfortable and if you just get the fit of your arm holes right, you don't really
have to deal with it in an everyday scenario. The second thing to consider is
the yoke and the chest width of your shirt. The yoke is measured in the back,
it's the horizontal seam from one shoulder bone to the other. Ideally,
that seam should extend just past that shoulder bone so you have enough range
of movement but also, not too much excess. It is essential to have enough chest
width so you can move comfortably just like with low arm holes. If it's too
tight, you will feel it when you reach forward and it's just uncomfortable and
you have to think about your shirt when you should just not notice that your
shirt's there at all. It's particularly important to have enough fabric in your
shoulder blade area, especially if your back is a little bit
rounded, just like I am, otherwise, you'll feel it and it's difficult to move and
reach forward. Next up, let's talk about the fit of the sleeve. These days, they're
often cut very slim which might look attractive when you just stand but as
soon as you move up with your arm forward, you can feel a restriction or
tension in your biceps area. To prevent that, you need more room in your upper
sleeve despite having a smaller armhole and then ideally, the sleeve tapers
further down because you don't want an excess fabric in the area around your
lower arm. Obviously, it all depends on the size of your biceps so if you have
big biceps, you might have to go custom because you rarely find shirts that have
a big upper sleeve but a very trim lower arm sleeve. Now, the perfect sleeve length
for a dress shirt means that the cuff should end exactly at the base of the
thumb. That's easier said than done because when you stand, it's really
simple to achieve that but as soon as you move, you'll need more fabric on the
outside which typically pulls up your shirt sleeves. That's why you want a
little bit of a reserve but if you have a longer sleeve and your cuff is too
wide, the shirt wrist comes all the way down to the beginning of your thumb or
mid thumb and it just looks awkward. Of course, you want your dress shirt to harmonize
with your suit or your jacket and there are many different intricacies that are
part of a well fitting shirt and you can learn all about them in this video here.
Four, a well fitting dress shirt has the right length for you. In my experience,
most dress shirts today are cut relatively short for me but I also have
a long torso. Personally, I like shirts that are longer, that cover my bum, and
that don't have fabric on the sides. That way, I don't have excess fabric inside my
pants but I don't have to worry about ever getting my shirt untucked in public.
If you want to wear your shirt untucked, you want a plain hem that is the same
length all the way around but frankly, it's not really a dress shirt anymore if you
wear it untucked. Five, let's talk about the chest, the waist, and the seat. Most men
have a different chest measurement than their waist measurement. Let's say I am a
42 inch chest in a 36 inch waist. The six inch difference is called the six inch
drop. In order to get that drop right, the
shirt can either be cut from the get-go so it fits you perfectly but if you buy
something off the rack, it is likely that it won't be perfect. In that case, you can
utilize darts in the back of your shirt that help you achieve the desired
slimness in the waist without reducing the chest width. As it's not possible to
make sure it's larger because there's no fabric reserve, it pays to get a shirt
that has the right width and yoke and the right width in the chest and then if the
waist is too wide, you can always reduce it. For most men, the shirt has to be
wider again in the hips that it wasn't a waste.
In my case, it's extreme because I have an 8 inch drop from my chest to my waist
and then a 30 inch increased from my waist to my bottoms. Because of that, most
regular shirts will be tight in my seat and I can see that in the X wrinkles
when I button the lower buttons of my shirt.
It's also uncomfortable and it feels restricting, so if you experience that,
the only thing you can do is leave the bottom buttons undone and hope that they
are covered by your pants. It may help to have a higher waisted pair of pants, if you
have to do that or you go with a custom or customized shirt that allows for
these extreme differences between your chest, your waist ,and your seat. Next up,
let's talk about the fit of the collar. If you want to learn more about shirt
collar styles, we have another guide right here. A collar that is loose and shows
excess space around your neck looks sloppy and like someone who just got a
shirt from their bigger brother. And if it's so tight that your skin
hangs over your collar, you look a bit like a pressed sausage. So how do you
know your collar is too tight or too loose? Well, the general rule of thumb is
that you just have to be able to add two fingers in on the side of your shirt
comfortably. The problem I have with that rule is that I can put two fingers in
no matter if I wear a shirt that is two sizes too small or two sizes too big
simply because my neck is flexible. Because of that, this rule is totally
useless in my mind. So what should you do instead? I suggest you actually measure
your neck with a measuring tape. In my case, I measure about thirty nine and a
half centimeters which is about fifteen point five or
fifteen point six inches. Because of that, a shirt that is slightly larger about
forty centimeters or 15.75 inches are ideal for me. Now, once you've
measured your accurate neck size, you can't just rely on the collar size
numbers that are provided by manufacturers because they can be wildly
different. I've seen shirts that were marked as fifteen point five inches but
that were, in fact ,six and a half inches. Typically, the actual size is always
larger. So once you've measured your neck, I suggest that you measure the actual
collar. To do that, you unbutton the shirt and you measure the inside of the collar.
You measure from the button shank where it's sewn on the collar to the end of the
buttonhole when it's laid flat. That gives you the exact measurement that you
will have when you actually wear and button this shirt and believe me, chances
are even if you have one size of shirt through different manufacturers and
sometimes even of the same manufacturer, those measurements will be different. So
what does it mean for you when you buy a shirt? Bring a measuring tape and measure
that collar and don't just believe in what the brand tells you. Of course, once
you go into high-end bespoke shirt making, people won't just consider the
shape of the collar but also the height and the typical fit of it. For example, my
right shoulder is more sloped than my left one so if you have a symmetrical
collar on your shirt, the tip on the right side will be further down than on
the left. A bespoke shirt maker can adjust for that in the height of the
collar and the cut of the shirt so when you look at people from the front, the
collar tips are in one level plane. Typically, this attention to detail is
not something you will find in a made to measure shirt but only with true
dedicated custom shirt makers. Last but not least, let's talk about asymmetries,
why? Well, all humans are asymmetrical but all off the rack shirts are symmetrical and
because of that, you will see flaws in the way a shirt fits. How can you tell?
Usually, in forms of wrinkles. For example, I mentioned my right shoulder is lower
than my left one. Well, you can typically see that in the back
because you see a kind of quarter-circle wrinkle underneath my shoulder blade, you
might see a wrinkle on the front side of my shirt, and you'll see a wrinkle
underneath my armpit. On the other hand, if a shirt is too tight in certain areas,
you'll typically see X wrinkles or pulling wrinkles. If there's too much
fabric, you'll just see puddling areas of fabric. If you have a round back and your
posture is not the best, you also may see more wrinkles on the front side of
the shirt around your collarbone. Now that you understand your body and you know where
it's asymmetrical, you can pay attention to those areas when you're trying on new
shirts off the rack. Not all shirts are cut alike and the patterns are different
and some will fit you better than others. However, in order to achieve a truly
great fit, you will have to go custom because you are an asymmetrical person.
Unfortunately, that can be rather expensive so for many men, a made to
measure option, sometimes, online made to measure is a good middle ground between
finding a shirt that fits reasonably well that is comfortable but also,
affordable. If you go out and buy shirts off the rack, typically, you'll encounter
different fits. Right now, the most popular is probably the so called slim
fit which again, is just a kind of cut of a shirt. Other cuts include the classic
fit, the modern fit, as well as the skinny fit. The classic fit has a traditional
silhouette, it's very roomy, it often has big sleeves, big arm holes, and enough
fabric around your chest, waist, and seat. In the past, the classic fit was popular
for two reasons; on the one hand, it was advantageous for manufacturers because
it meant that one shape of a body would accommodate all kinds of people no
matter if they were slim, medium, or big and on the other hand, the dress shirt
was merely a form of undergarment that was not really seen on its own and so it
didn't matter if it was trimly fitting, neatly fitting, or puddly. As it became
more popular to wear shirts on their own right, people paid more attention to fit
and especially the last 10 years, the slim fit shirt has somewhat become
the new normal. While a well cut slim feature is not necessarily uncomfortable,
most slim fit shirts are, in my experience. Why? Typically, the sleeves are
so slim, especially in the upper sleeve that you always feel the restriction on
your biceps when you move forward but I typically have higher cut arm holes
compared to the classic fit which is a plus if your sleeves are usually so
tight that having excess fabric makes them look awkward so if you move forward,
the sleeves typically pull back quite a bit which means you don't have the
proper sleeve length. Typically, slim fit shirts have darts in the back to provide
a trim silhouette but that's not always advantageous for people who have a bit
of a belly or not super slim because otherwise, the placket will maybe gap and
show X wrinkles. If you go with a custom shirt, you can have the fabric in the
back extended so even if you pop up your shirt or you move, it will never show
your exposed skin underneath of it. Because the slim fit doesn't work for a
lot of men, the new modern or contemporary fit has been introduced
which is somewhat in between a classic fit and a slim fit and therefore,
combining the best of both worlds. You typically get a higher armhole, you get a
little more room in the sleeve, get a little more room in your chest and your
waist but it's not excessive so it still looks like a well fitting shirt without
being uncomfortable or restrictive. If you have to buy a shirt off the rack, this is
my preferred fit but of course, it depends on the brand you buy it from but
typically, if brands offer different fits, I like the middle one between slim and
classic. Last but not least, let's talk about the skinny fit which is popular,
especially with younger men because they prefer a really trim silhouette of
let's say, a suit supply suit or just a very modern short jacket with a high
buttoning point and because of that, they also want a very trim fitting tight
shirt. In my opinion, skin tight shirts are not flattering for anyone but of
course, it's in the eye of the beholder and if you think it's a good look,
go for it. At the same time, if you're interested in classic men's style and
you want to be able to have your weight fluctuated ever so slightly,
this is not the fit for you. So in conclusion, without
a doubt, the best fitting shirt will always be the one that is made for you
by a custom shirt maker with experience who creates a pattern from scratch just
for your body, however, if that's not within your budget and it isn't for most men,
you can still find plenty of options today that range from online
made-to-measure to local stores that offer
made-to-measure and even within that bracket, you find different prices. It can
start at $40 and go all the way up to 250 or 300 dollars per shirt. It mostly
depends on the fabric and whether an interlining is used in the collar and if
the shirt has a lot amount of hand sewing or it's machine sewn. To learn
more about the details of dress shirts, the quality hallmarks, please
check out these videos here. in today's video I am wearing a two-piece navy blue suit
from Oxford it's single breasted with notch lapels and two buttons I'm
combining it with a custom shirt that is blue and white striped it has a very
kind of classic collar with long tips and it features what I would call a
modern or contemporary fit in a sense that it has a little bit of excess
fabric in the waist and throughout my body but it makes it extremely
comfortable without looking out of place it features French cuffs so I wear it with
cufflinks from Fort Belvedere in gold that match my pinky ring which is also
gold with a bloodstone because the color scheme of the shirt and the suit fairly
conservative I opted for a mottled pink knit tie which spices up the feel I
combined a pocket square that picked up those tones of magenta and pink as well
as blue and I added a pink boutonniere all of which you can find at our Fort
Belvedere store here the ratios I chose a pair of Burgundy Oxfords from Meermin
and for my socks I opted for a pair of shadow striped socks from Fort
Belvedere in navy and blue to pick up the tone from the shirt the suit and
tying it all together