Men’s Custom Dress Shirts

Dress Shirt Fit

Most men wear dress shirts that do not fit them properly. The problem is that ready-made garments are made to fit many; as a result, they fit no one perfectly. We all compromise somewhere if a shirt fits us in the neck it fails us in the sleeve length; if it fits well in the sleeves, it billows out around the stomach. So the fit I’ll describe here is generally only achievable on a custom shirt or one that’s close to fitting and then tailored by a skilled hand.

A well-fitted dress shirt should first and foremost be comfortable; this is different for every man. Larger men are usually complemented by a looser fit while petite and thin men are complimented by a more form cut. In general, though, a shirt should:

Allow two fingers in the collar when buttoned.

Be tight enough around the wrist so that the cuffs must be unbuttoned to slip them off.

Have long enough sleeves so that you can raise your arms like wings and not pull the cuffs down the forearm; they should be short enough so that you don’t have more than 1 inch of fabric bunching near the cuff when your arms hang.

Shoulder points that extend to the end of the shoulder and no farther.

Have room in the chest and waist to pinch out 1-3 inches of fabric (depending on fit desired).