Fashion House Ladies Fashion and Mens Fashion

How to Dress your Shirt? Stylish Casual or Dressy part 3

Written on September 21, 2008 – 12:23 am | by dodo

Shirt and Fit

When selecting a ready-made shirt, you have only neck circumference and sleeve length to go by. If your arm length and neck size are not compatible with the standard size, you’ll need a tailor-made shirt. In ready-mades you may also have to choose between an ill-fitting torso and an ill-fitting collar, since most manufacturers use a standard proportion of collar size to chest width. If you find yourself in this situation, choose an ill-fitting torso with a well-fitted collar, since the collar is the more visible. Some manufacturers do cut shirts fuller or slimmer, so ask the salesman which brand and designers are best for your build.

Fitting Shirt collar

The collar’s fit is crucial. If it is too tight, it will pull and wrinkle, so even the finest shirt will look poorly chosen. If the collar is too loose, you will look messy.

To measure your neck properly, measure around the lower part of your neck at the point where the collar button rests. The ends of the tape measure should touch, but the tape should not be pulled tightly. You want to have enough leeway so that a tie, when knotted, will not strangle you.

If your collar wrinkles when buttoned and worn with a tie, it is probably too tight. If you have square shoulders, your button-downs will wrinkle even if the collar size is correct. You may be able to adjust the buttons by moving them to a point where the collar doesn’t pull. If that doesn’t work, don’t wear button-downs.

Recheck your collar size every year or any time you gain or lose weight. As you age, your neck size will change. My father was a surgeon who was more interested in his patients than his shirts. Year after year he ordered the same size shirts until one morning my mother found him with a razor, slitting the buttonhole on his brand-new shirt collars. ‘What are you doing?’ she cried. ‘My shirt’s too tight,’ he replied. We wondered how many years he had been slitting his buttonholes instead of buying bigger shirts.

Fitting the Shirt Cuffs and Sleeves

Measure the length of your arm from the centre of the nape ofyour neck along your shoulder and down to your wristbone. If one is longer than the other, buy the length that fits your long arm and have the other sleeve shortened.

Your cuff should fit closely around your wrist but still be comfortable. Adjust the buttons if necessary. Some shirts come with two buttons sewn on so you can button whichever fits your wrist better. Remember, cuffs should not extend much below your jacket sleeve. By the same token, never settle for a sleeve that is too short.

If your arms are extremely broad or muscular, you may need a tailor-made shirt in order to build more fullness into the sleeve. Skimpy sleeves are not only uncomfortable but will also pull on the shirt yoke and make your collar wrinkle.

Fitting the Shirt Shoulders

An ill-fitting shirt that is too tight will pull, creating long creases in the fabric across your collarbones. A shirt too loose in the shoulders will sag across the front.

If you have square shoulders, you’ll need a square yoke or your collars will always pull and wrinkle. Square yokes have to be tailor-made, though some fashion designers cut a yoke that is more square than the standard.

If your shoulders are quite tapered, you’ll need an extra-tapered yoke — again, tailor- made. You may also need your collar shortened.

The taper of the shirt body is a matter of both comfort and looks. You want to avoid any pulling or constriction across your stomach, as well as any bunching up or bagging of surplus fabric. A trim, slightly loose line wears best and is most comfortable. Make sure the shirt is long enough to stay tucked in.

Try on different brands to see which are cut for you. Some designer shirts are slimmer through the torso. It is quite easy to put darts in a shirt that is too full, thus reducing the excess bulk.

Now you know everything you need to know to successfully buy and fit a shirt. When you find a shirt you really like, buy two, so you’ll always have your favourite shirt clean and ready to wear.

Invest some time and effort in your shirt wardrobe — both casual and dress. A shirt in some form is one item of clothing you wear every day of your life.

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Tags: adjust the buttons, collar, collar size, fashion, fit, ill-fitting, length, measure, neck, pull, pull and wrinkle, shirt, Shirts, shoulders, size, sleeve, wrinkle, yoke