How A Shirt Should Fit (And Be Looked After)
Bespoke Shirt by Roberto Revilla London
As a bespoke tailor and shirt maker this is a question that no doubt resides in my mind constantly as I fit and measure clients day in and day out, but that’s all instinct. I never have to really think about it.
I’m sure it’s a question many people ask and wonder about the answer so it’s high time I put my thoughts down to guide you through, in my opinion, how a shirt should fit.
I had to really think about it today for the first time in an age because I was going through a massive pre-autumn season wardrobe sort out. Everything, and I do mean everything in my wardrobe, has been brought out, tried on and then either gone to charity, for alteration/repair or back in the wardrobe in an orderly fashion if it works.
Shirts have become a frustration after this exercise. I use a mix of external cleaners and in-house laundering and both have, quite frankly, pissed me off.
Good quality shirts are made from natural materials – cotton, linen, merino wool or blends of those. They should not be washed at more than 20 degrees as far as I’m concerned. Otherwise they can shrink faster than you might want them to over a short to medium period of time.
Imagine I put you in a bath at 40 degrees (the temperature most people seem to wash their clothing at) for an hour and a half. Once you’d woken up from passing out, you would emerge from said bath a shrivelled shrunken prune, right? So washing shirts at 40 degrees (or even 30) can have the same effect.
They should be washed on a short cycle at no more than 20 degrees. Most modern detergents are good enough to take care of the majority of stains, if you’re especially prone to tide marks on the collar get a little bit of shampoo and smear it over the stain before you throw it in the laundry bin. That will help the stain lift out further before the shirt goes in the wash.
I started this article talking about how a shirt should fit and haven’t even talked about this yet. It’s important to remember that a shirt is usually the closest thing to your body. So a shirt that fits too tightly can be the worst thing, especially if you are prone to weight fluctuation or bloating from time to time.
Your shirt should fit comfortably through the torso without causing any tension across the chest or tummy. It should not be tight enough to cause pull at the buttons. But then it shouldn’t be so loose that you end up with inches of fabric floating around.
When you relax your tummy if you find yourself recoiling and trying to hold it in because you can feel the shirt pulling against you, that means it’s too tight.
I’ve found several shirts like this in my sort out today – not because I ever made them too tight, but because the bloody dry cleaner, or my darling wife, have washed them too hot despite my (I thought) very clear instructions.
The same goes for the collar – nowadays so many people don’t wear ties but they are gradually coming back in some industries and for certain types of individual who are fed up with how casual things have gotten when people present themselves in a business setting.
So people like comfort around the collar because they’re no longer used to wearing ties. I get it. But your collar should be loose enough so you can get your index finger in between it and your neck and slide your finger around. More than one finger and it’s too loose.
Similarly in the opposite direction if you are struggling to do that top button up in any way, if there’s any resistance, your collar is too tight.
Next – the shoulders. The edges of the shirt shoulder (the yoke), so the seam at the top of the arm and shoulder edge, should sit at the point where your own shoulder ends and the arm begins. Shorter than that and the shirt is too tight across the shoulder. Longer than that and the sleeve head/yoke edge will hang off your shoulder edge making you look saggy and droopy at the edges.
Moving on to your sleeves, the length of those should be such that the cuff edge sits at the break of the wrist – the point where your wrist starts to become your thumb. This means that the cuff needs to NOT be so big that it drops down covering any part of your hand. Unfortunately, that’s unavoidable with most off the rack shirts but it is something that can be controlled when you have your shirts tailored.
If the cuff is sitting in the right place, you should just have an inch or so of extra fabric sitting above the cuff. Bend your arm and the sleeve shouldn’t feel tight or get caught on your elbows. That extra fabric acts like the skin in your knuckles that allows you to extend and fold your fingers. Without it your knuckles would split, and you’d be in a world of pain. And blood.
Last up – length. For shirts worn tucked in, you want to make sure they’re long enough that when you sit down, the shirt doesn’t ride up out of your trouser waistband. Usually this means your shirt needs to be made a couple inches longer than your jackets, if you are in the bespoke tailoring club and again have control over this.
For shirts worn untucked, they need to be shorter, normally sitting about halfway between your waistband and the bottom of your seat (the bit where your bum starts to become your thigh).
It’s very difficult to achieve both worlds in one shirt – you either have them at a length to be worn tucked in, or a length to be worn untucked. There’s no in between really.
Last thing to mention is shirt condition. If you have shirts that are frayed on the cuffs or collar, or showing signs of wear through any other areas, or the fabric is starting to fur and look faded, then get rid.
In fact, any shirts that look worn or don’t meet any of the fit criteria above need to go. Life’s too short and if you’re reading this blog, you must care too much to be wearing shirts that don’t fit correctly, are uncomfortable or unsightly.
I hope this helped – I’ve written this on the fly, spilling my thoughts on to the page. If you have any questions please drop them in the comments below or get directly in touch with me at contact@robertorevillalondon.com
And if you want to explore the world of bespoke shirts, I’d love to help you take that first step and welcome you to the Roberto Revilla London workroom.
Till next time,
Roberto
