Fitting a Dress Shirt

Dress shirts are necessities in a modern man'sgeneral rule is that if you can slip in two fingers in
wardrobe, as they are one of the most commonthe space between the neck and the collar, it
types of clothing men wear both for casual andmeans it's a right fit. More than two fingers would
formal attire. And you can wear them with ormean the collar is too large. If you can only fit in
without the overcoat. In this case a perfectlyone finger, it means it's too tight. If you're buying,
fitted dress shirt is the way to go. It doesn'tmake sure you know if the fabric will shrink after
necessarily have to be branded or expensive,washing, so you can still adjust the size.
though high quality fabric is highly preferred. ButCollar spread varies in size too. Larger necks
no matter what brand you're wearing andshould wear wider collar spread, which is best for
regardless of how expensive the price tag is,larger knots and vise versa. Many times, neck
nothing else would be relevant if the shirt is asize is also proportional to body size. Thin men
wrong fit. Either if it's too small or too big forcould naturally have thin necks, and should wear
your size, it will never look good on you.narrower collar spread and smaller knots.
To avoid this unnecessary mishap in dressing up,As for the torso, you can choose among the
here are some helpful tips to remember whenstandard cuts, depending on your preference.
wearing and buying dress shirts:French or European cut is more "petite", and is
First on the checklist is the collar. This flap ofthe excellent choice if you want emphasis on your
clothing around your neck deserves utmostbody shape. American cut is big and loose, sort of
attention, as it is also one of the most exposedbaggy yet still comfortable.
parts of the dress shirt. And because it's justThe sleeves' length is equally important. But as
under the face on normal eye level, it is impossibleyou have noticed, men have different arm lengths
to go unnoticed.too. Typically, there's more than one sleeve length
What many men are not aware of is that, collarsproportional to a collar size. Here's a good way to
also have sizes proportional to the neck size. Acheck if the sleeves are short. The end of your
perfect fitted collar should be just about half inchsleeves (standard or French cuffs) should reach
more than the neck size, no more and no less.your wrist as you hang your arms down. It's
You can simply find out your neck size bygenerally considered short if more than half inch
wearing a measuring tape around your neck, andof the sleeve is pulled back when you swing your
add about half an inch. Better yet, try on thearms horizontally. The perfect fit cuffs should not
dress shirt first and button-close the collar. Thelet your hand slip through.