Stop Wearing Your Dress Shirt Wrong (Dress Shirt Fit Guide)
[0:00:00] The dress shirt, a foundational piece of any
man’s wardrobe.
But, do you know the one secret that makes you look like James Bond in your dress shirt
instead of a frumpy office worker, it’s not about the brand and it’s not even about
the quality of the fabric.
The secret is, gentlemen, it’s all about the fit.
A great fitting dress shirt will highlight your best features and make you look sleek
and stylish.
But, no matter what your body type, a bad fit is going to do you no favors.
Thomas, with Real Men Real Style here.
And in today’s video, I’m going to show you to get the perfect fitting dress shirt.
Let’s start off with the shoulders.
The most important area where you need to nail the fit is in the shoulders.
This is one of the only parts of the shirt that can’t be altered or adjusted to fit
you better.
You must get the correct fit right out of the gate.
I don’t care if it’s on sale, if it doesn’t fit you here, do not buy the shirt.
The seam should rest at the edge of your shoulders right where the shoulder bone ends.
If the seam is hiked up your shoulder, then you need to try the next size up.
Likewise, if the seam is hanging down your arm, then you need to look at a smaller size.
The next most important place to get the fit right is in the collar.
If you want to be able to comfortably wear a necktie, you need to get the fit right.
This is another area where a tailor can’t do much to fix it if the fit is off.
If you can easily stuff multiple fingers between your neck and the collar when it’s buttoned,
then the collar is definitely too large.
But, if you feel like you’re being choked by Darth Vader every time you button the collar,
then it’s time to size up.
The perfect fit in the collars could allow you to fit two fingers in when buttoned up.
This allows for a nice close fit while still being able to comfortably breathe.
Next stop, let’s cover the torso.
A good close fit in the torso is key to looking great in your dress shirt.
Many dress shirts are very baggy off the rack, which is not a good look.
Fortunately, you can take that shirt to a tailor and they’ll be able to slim up the
baggy waist.
On the flipside, you don’t want a dress shirt that’s too tight.
You’ll easily be able to tell that it’s too tight because you’ll see a lot of pulling
in the fabric around the buttons.
The perfect fit will sit close to your torso with very little excess material, but you
won’t see the fabric pulling around
the buttons.
Now, let’s talk about the sleeve width.
Big baggy sleeves aren’t a good look.
You don’t want tons of extra fabric hanging everywhere.
Don’t be afraid to ask your tailor to slim down those sleeves.
Now, if your sleeves are so tight that they’re pulling and you can barely bend your arms,
then, gents, it’s time to size up.
The perfect fit is going to sit close to your arms, but will not feel tight or restrict
your range of motion.
Next stop, let’s cover sleeve length.
If the cuff of the shirt covers your knuckles, then you either need to get the sleeve shortened
or buy a different size.
But, if the cuff is sitting above the wrist bone, it’s definitely too short.
You want the cuff long enough that it will show beneath your jacket.
The perfect sleeve length will just cover your wrist bone.
Now, let’s talk about the width of the cuff.
You want your shirt cuffs to be comfortable, but if you can easily fit both your wrists
inside while it’s fastened, you either need to move the buttons to tighten it up or get
a different shirt.
But, if it fits so close you can’t even fit a single finger inside, definitely too
small, get a bigger size.
The perfect fit will hug your wrist without being tight.
You should be able to comfortably fit a finger or two with the button fastened.
And if you’re going to be wearing a watch, make sure the cuffs are big enough to fit
over it.
Hey, guys, what’s your favorite dress shirt color?
Are you team white or team blue?
Let me know in the comments below.
Now, let’s cover the shirt length.
The shirt needs to be long enough to tuck in, but it shouldn’t be a dress.
The shirt is too long if it goes past your crotch.
Fortunately this is something a tailor can fix.
But, if it only extends a couple inches below your beltline, then it will be too short to
tuck properly.
The perfect fit is going to go 3 to 5 inches below your beltline, guaranteeing that it
will easily tuck in and not come out.
Speaking of tucking, did you know that you can make a baggy dress shirt look a lot trimmer
just by the way you tuck it?
Not only that, but there’s a secret device you can use to make your shirt look slimmer
and remain tucked all day long.
What am I talking about?
I’m going to reveal the secret in this video here, guys, the four best ways to tuck in
your dress shirt.
[Music] [0:04:13] End of audio