A Guide to the Best Fitting Men’s Shirts

Regardless of colour or design your shirt should look good and be comfortable. If it does not fit well it is an issue with the cut not the body shape of the wearer. This is especially true for bespoke men’s shirts.

Ready made men’s shirts are cut to an average body shape and rarely fit anyone perfectly hence I will discuss how a perfect bespoke shirt should fit. If your the bespoke shirt fits you correctly (based on your physical frame), you rarely feel like you are wearing one. A well-fitting bespoke shirt is like non invasive cosmetic surgery and can cover imperfections and make you look slimmer, taller or even shorter however the opposite holds true when your shirts are ill-fitting.

Here are the most critical aspects of a bespoke shirt:

1. the shoulders and yoke on a bespoke shirt should cover your shoulders only - nothing else

2. the point of the shoulder should never extend down your sleeves

3. the shirt should be constructed with enough fabric so that when your arms are rotated and held out from your sides, that all your arm remains entirely covered

4. allow about 3-5 inches of slack in both the chest and stomach areas

5. make sure that the shirt is long enough so that it doesn't un-tuck from the waistline of your trousers, if you ever bend over or squat

6. when the neck collar is buttoned, it should be no tighter than to allow two fingers between the collar and your skin

It’s important to realize the role that ready-to-wear, made-to-measure, and bespoke men’s shirts play in the current market.

In the simplest of terms, ready-to-wear or "off-the-rack" clothing is that which has been mass produced based on standardized sizing. In so many words, the concept of a proper fitting shirt goes right out the window based on this size standardization form of shirt manufacturing. Manufacturers focused more on how cost-effective, efficient, and profitable ready-to-wear shirts rather than focusing on creating a proper fitting shirts.

As far as fitting goes Bespoke shirts are the ultimate. Bespoke shirts are created from unique individual patterns. So keep all of this in mind when you set out to purchase that perfect fitting shirt.

The author works for Green and Jack’s a London based bespoke shirt maker. You can create your own bespoke men’s shirts online.

bespoke shirt
bespoke shirt maker